Young Adult Fiction That Leaves a Mark
Behind every story I write is a heartbeat — messy, honest, and full of hope.
My work explores the kind of emotions we rarely say out loud but all feel anyway.
If you’ve ever needed a reminder that healing is possible, even when the world feels heavy, these stories are for you.
Debut Novel:
Unfinished Goodbyes
A heartfelt young adult novel about grief, resilience, and the quiet moments that help us heal.
When seventeen-year-old Patrick’s world is shattered by loss, everything familiar—school, friendships, even the rhythm of everyday life—suddenly feels distant and unfamiliar. Caught between the weight of guilt and the desperation to feel normal again, he navigates the unpredictable terrain of grief in ways he never expected.As Patrick struggles to piece together what comes next, he finds support in unlikely places: a loyal best friend who doesn’t give up on him, a classmate who sees past his walls, and the subtle kindness of adults who understand more than he realizes. Along the way, Patrick discovers that healing isn’t a straight path—it’s a series of steps, setbacks, and moments of unexpected grace.Unfinished Goodbyes is a deeply emotional journey about love, memory, and the courage it takes to forgive yourself. Perfect for readers who crave stories that linger long after the final page.
Upcoming Projects
The Weight of Staying Alive
A tender, haunting story about fear, resilience, and the invisible battles a young teen fights alone.
Fifteen-year-old Rett Reed has spent months trapped in a cycle of unexplained symptoms—dizziness, collapsing, relentless headaches—that no doctor can explain. Once an athlete and a kid who lived for competition, he now moves through life like a shadow of who he used to be. As the holidays approach, Rett becomes convinced that something inside him is failing, and that his time may be slipping away faster than anyone realizes.
While his parents hover between fear and denial, Rett does everything he can to hold on to the small moments that still feel normal—family traditions, Christmas morning, quiet conversations, and flashes of the boy he used to be. But beneath all of it lies a weight he doesn't have the words for: the fear that this might be his last chance to get any of it right.
When a compassionate mentor enters his life, offering understanding instead of empty reassurance, Rett begins to see that not all pain is physical—and not every struggle shows up on a scan. As he navigates the blurred line between illness, anxiety, and the pressures he’s been carrying alone, Rett starts to confront the truth behind his symptoms… and the deeper question he’s been too afraid to ask:
What does it really mean to keep going when everything in you wants to give up?
The Weight of Staying Alive is a raw, hopeful, deeply human story about invisible battles, the grip of fear, and the quiet strength it takes for a kid to choose tomorrow—again and again.
Unspoken Hellos
A companion novel exploring the world that remains when the person you love most is suddenly gone.
In an instant, the life Jessi Schwartz knew disappears. One moment she is riding shotgun beside her older brother, Patrick—the constant in her world, her protector, her best friend—and the next she is waking to the kind of silence that alters everything. Patrick is gone. Jessi survived. And nothing about that feels like surviving at all.
As the small town of Salida reels, Jessi is thrust into a reality where every hallway, every memory, every whispered “I’m so sorry” reminds her of the brother who isn’t coming back. Her parents fracture under the weight of grief, each breaking in different ways, leaving Jessi to navigate the wreckage of a home that no longer feels like one. The empty seat at the dinner table becomes a symbol of everything she can’t say out loud.
School is no easier. Patrick’s absence hangs in the air—his name on tribute posters, his jersey retired, his friends grieving him in ways Jessi both understands and can’t bear to witness. Elliot, Patrick’s best friend, becomes a tether she didn’t expect, the only person who seems to understand that grief comes in waves, and that sometimes the strongest thing you can do is simply breathe through the next one.
As Jessi stumbles through her new reality, she struggles with the guilt of being the one who lived. But tucked inside the pain are small moments—unexpected kindness, old memories that feel like lifelines, and the possibility that healing doesn’t erase love… it carries it forward.
In a world without Patrick, Jessi must learn to speak the words she never got to say, to find hope in the cracks of her broken heart, and to discover that some goodbyes leave behind a different kind of beginning.
This is Jessi’s story.
The other side of heartbreak.
The side where she is the one left asking how to keep moving forward.
Blake Collins…
is a young adult author whose writing centers on emotional depth, quiet resilience, and the complex inner lives of teens who feel the world a little more intensely. Born and raised in Jackson, Ohio, Blake grew up surrounded by small-town stories, close-knit community, and the kind of relationships that would later shape the heart of his fiction.
After graduating from Jackson High School, Blake earned his degree in Early Childhood–Special Education from BYU–Idaho and later completed a master’s in Educational Leadership and Administration from Western Governors University. He has spent more than a decade in education—first as a teacher and instructional coach, and now as an assistant principal—supporting students, families, and teachers every day. His work in schools heavily influences his writing, giving him a unique perspective on the emotions, pressures, and unspoken struggles today’s youth carry.
Blake now lives in Idaho Falls with his wife and their four children. When he’s not writing, he can usually be found coaching, gaming on his Xbox, cheering on the Cincinnati Bengals, or connecting with students in the halls of his school. His debut novel, Unfinished Goodbyes, introduces readers to his signature style: heartfelt, honest storytelling with a focus on healing, hope, and the moments that stay with us long after the last page.
