Live Like Sam, Park City Library team up for free teen book club and author visit

"Octopus Moon" by Bobbie Pyron, an award-winning novel in verse about a young girl learning to navigate depression with the help of family, friends and a therapist, will be the featured title in a free teen book club hosted by Live Like Sam and the Park City Library. Students who attend will receive a free copy of the book ahead of Pyron's visit and signing on April 8. Photo:

PARK CITY, Utah —Live Like Sam and the Park City Library are partnering to offer a free after-school book club and hangout for fifth through eighth graders, culminating in an author visit and book signing in April.

The two-session program takes place on Fridays, March 27 and April 3, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. at the Park City Library, 1255 Park Ave. Students who attend will receive a free copy of “Octopus Moon” by Bobbie Pyron, a middle-grade novel in verse about a girl navigating depression as she starts fifth grade.

The book, published by Penguin Random House, was named a 2025 School Library Journal Best Book of the Year and received an Honor from the Schneider Family Book Award. Pyron drew on her own childhood experience with depression and anxiety to write the story, which follows a character named Pearl as she learns to accept help, build coping skills, and find her way back to herself with the support of family, friends, and a therapist.

Pyron will visit Park City for a book signing on Wednesday, April 8, at 6:30 p.m. at the library.

The after-school sessions are designed to provide students with a welcoming space to decompress, connect with peers, and engage in conversation about themes of friendship, resilience, and mental health — topics central to Live Like Sam’s mission.

Live Like Sam is a Park City-based nonprofit that provides free, evidence-based mental wellness and prevention programming to students across Summit and Wasatch counties. The organization, which honors the life of Sam Jackenthal, a junior national champion freestyle skier who died in a training accident in 2015 at age 16, reaches more than 4,000 students per year.

Registration is required.

The program is free and open to all fifth through eighth-grade students.