Before You Go

Gr 9 Up–Jude’s summer is probably going to be a disaster. At least if his crappy concession-stand job on a Long Island beach is any indication. His parents, distant as ever since his sister drowned seven years earlier, leave him alone. Things look up a little when he spends time with his friends from school and those from work. And there is Becka. They love hanging out and they get along with each other’s friends. Then something horrible happens, and Jude cannot handle it. All of the unresolved feelings from his sister’s death compound with this latest tragedy. It’s not just the summer that’s awful; its Jude’s life. This is a character-driven story with a plot that’s a bit of a bore. The majority of the book is told from the teen’s point of view, but there are a couple brief sections, a paragraph or two in the middle of a scene, that lapse into someone else’s thoughts without any warning. These bits seem out of place and they break the feeling that the author is trying for. The story is supposed to be about Jude’s journey through grief and faith, with the faith part as more of a footnote. The end leaves readers feeling a little hope and a little fear for him. He seems to be on the mend, but balanced on the edge of a dull knife, where he might be okay, or he might not. The idea for this book is steeped in reality and makes one wonder just how much grief a person can be expected to bear, but the execution does not make for an interesting read.–Melyssa Kenney, Parkville High School. Baltimore, MD