Comedy Queen

13-year-old Sasha has decided to become a stand-up comedian. Most of all, she wants to make her father, who cries in the shower when he thinks no one hears him, laugh. At home, everything reminds me of my mother, who is no longer alive, and the life-threatening tears burn behind my eyes. But Sasha won't cry. Secretly, she writes a list of everything she must do to survive the grief: shave her hair, stop reading books, turn down the world's cutest puppy and, above all, become a Comedy Queen.—sfanytime