Seventeen-year-old Tess Fowler has just dropped out of high school. She can barely function after learning of Jonah’s death. Jonah, the boy she’d traded banter with over texts and heartfelt e-mails.
Jonah, the first boy she’d told she loved and the first boy to say it back.
Jonah, the boy whose suicide she never saw coming.
Tess continues to write to Jonah, as a way of processing her grief and confusion. But for now she finds solace in perhaps the unlikeliest of ways: by helping her father with his new alternative funeral business, where his biggest client is … a prized racehorse?
As Tess’s involvement in her father’s business grows, both find comfort in the clients they serve and in each other. But love, loss, and life are so much more complicated than Tess ever thought. Especially after she receives a message that turns her life upside down.
The GoodTess is one of the funniest, most relatable characters I’ve ever read; even though I knew part of her smartass-ness was a type of armor to protect herself, I could tell she was a clever person and she had me laughing out loud several times throughout the book. And since y’all should know by now that I love quirky, I enjoyed reading about Tess and her dad bonding over his funeral business.
I also liked that the book brought up important topics: anxiety and depression, suicide, and online relationships. I met Peter Bognanni, and I could tell he was fascinated by the idea of befriending and falling in love with someone you met on the internet and possibly never in person. As an active Bookstagrammer, I could relate well to Tess’ connection to someone she talked to mainly through email, text, calls, and video chats.
The BadUnfortunately, with how the plot unfolded, I felt like Bognanni sort of perpetuated the idea of online relationships not being what they seem to be, which was disappointing.
I also didn’t totally buy some of the reasoning behind a specific character’s actions/feelings. I don’t want to be more specific in order to avoid spoilers, but it just seemed a little farfetched and strange, maybe because it wasn’t explained as well as it could have been. I think that’s why I couldn’t connect too much with the ending, even though it was beautiful.
The VerdictWhile the plot fell a little flat for me, I flew through this book because I felt an honest connection to Tess and wanted to know how things were going to pan out for her. (And when I say flew, I mean I read it in one sitting, from midnight to 4 a.m.) I’d recommend Things I’m Seeing Without You to contemporary fans who want a quick but thoughtful read, and also to anyone just so they can meet Tess!
Rating: ★★★
Publisher: Dial Books (Penguin Random House)
Publication Date: October 3, 2017
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