Hey all, it’s Sarah!
I am having such difficulty writing this post. I went back and forth on whether or not I wanted to write a review of this book. Now that I am, I have no idea what I even want to say about it. I guess we are both going to learn together what I think about this book…
I have been seeing this book everywhere and the premise totally sucked me in. This was yet another novel that was sneakily printed in another country and is now finally making its way to the U.S. (it isn’t very sneaky, I am just pretty oblivious).
Summary:
Ryan, Harley and Miles were all best friends with Isaac, but they were not friends with each other. They each played sidekick to Isaac’s gregariously personality. When Isaac dies each guy feels lost and alone, they slowly find their way to each other where they see a similar grief reflected back. This novel truly delves into how one moves on in an unexpected life after someone dies. Each guy is given the opportunity to speak for himself. The each describe the same events, but also add more to the plot.
Ryan is the swimmer, who is committed to his sport and schooling. His mother is the headmistress and he has never given her trouble. Ryan tries not to make waves and worries what will happen if he ever comes out, ever introduces his mom to his boyfriend. Isaac was the safe space and with that gone, Ryan must learn how to cope without him.
Harley is the rebel, who many blame for Isaac’s death. Harley must come to his own responsibility (or lack of) in Isaac’s death.
Miles doesn’t know if he and Isaac were even really friends, but he is sure he can find answers by going through the many hours of video footage of Isaac from last year’s school project.
Review:
This book was unique and cool, but in order for it to fully reach its cool factor, you had to stay with it the whole way. It did not click/become cool until Miles’s section that started to connect things. I found that Ryan wasn’t very likeable, so it was a hurdle to progress through his story to the others, which were better. I liked the connections and common threads throughout the stories. I liked that the reader was able to see what happened to each character before and after their section. Each was given the time to be the main character, instead of solely being the sidekick. I thought the concept was deep, I just think it took a long time to get there. Reluctant readers would have difficult with this book because it does not grab you from the beginning.
Rating: ?
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