Gr 9 Up—Annaleah had been spending all of her time either with Brian or thinking about him. In the space of a few whirlwind weeks, she'd fallen in love and alienated her closest friends. When he suddenly drops dead shooting hoops. Annaleah retreats into herself and lingers at his graveside. When Brian was alive, his attention was hot and cold: one minute he was sweet, spontaneous, and caring, the next he'd disappear without explanation. Was he with another girl? Much of this novel-in-verse dwells on Annaleah's grief and her awkward position as a pseudo girlfriend who had never met Brian's family or friends. In the midst of her sorrow, her longing for her own long-gone father and anger toward her present-but-absent mother pop into her thoughts. Though her voice rings true, her endless grief becomes tedious, even as the narrative pace moves quickly. However, this "enough already!" reaction echoes the feelings of her patiently skeptical friends. Eventually, her heartache reaches a neat resolution in the shape of a new boy. While there is an "aha" moment in relation to her father, the mother thread hangs loosely at book's end. Though certainly not unique among novels-in-verse for teenagers (think Lisa Schroeder's books), Schutz's work will undoubtedly be welcomed by fans of the genre.—Jill Heritage Maza, Greenwich High School, CT
Brian's death launches Annaleah into an unusually difficult form of grief, since her relationship with him was clandestine. She can't decide whether their private romance was especially sincere or just a sham. Written in first-person free-verse poems, Schutz's exploration of the unanswered questions death can leave behind is poignant, though the story's ending is a little too tidy.
Be the first reader to comment.
Comment Policy:
Comment should not be empty !!!