Review by New York Times Review
THIS REVIEW COMES with a disclaimer: The subject is radioactively sad. There are no silver linings or surprise resurrections in either of these devastating novels in which teenagers take their own lives. Even if you think you have a high tolerance for gut-wrenching fiction, the tragedy may knock you flat. Still, reading "The Last Time We Say Goodbye" feels like exploring a forest after it's been decimated by wildfire. You will see new shoots sprouting where you least expect them. Our guide through the post-suicide wreckage in Raymond, Neb. (population 179), is 18-year-old Alexis Riggs, whose younger brother, Tyler, has been dead for seven weeks. She's a plain-spoken math whiz with no patience for euphemism: "God, I hate that pause, while the person speaking searches for the most watered down way to say died. . . . I'm determined to be straight about it. My brother killed himself. In our garage. With a hunting rifle. This makes it sound like the most morbid game of Clue ever, but there it is." While begrudgingly journaling for a therapist, Lex distances herself from well-intentioned friends and dumps a thoughtful, self-aware boyfriend of the sort in short supply in actual high schools. He's the only weak link in Cynthia Hand's brave book, which is a departure from her Unearthly series. To begin with, there are no angels; according to an author's note, it's based on events that happened in Hand's family. Perhaps this is why the story gathers its strongest momentum on the home front. There isn't a lot of time for Lex's own heartbreak, whipsawed as she is between resentment of her AWOL father and concern for her mother. We see her after Ty's first suicide attempt two years earlier, emptying bullets from her dad's left-behind guns and then sealing them in a box labeled "Romance Novels." The moment is heartbreaking; and of course, Lex is haunted by the bullets she failed to hide. Despite the finality of Ty's absence - or maybe because of it - Lex continues to struggle with questions. Why does she still smell his cologne? What should she do with the letter he left in his bedroom for a girl named Ashley? Why are certain family pictures missing? "I Was Here" also hinges on a survivor's search for answers and struggle to envision the future. In Gayle Forman's latest irresistible tear-jerker, the survivor is Cody Reynolds, a house cleaner and first-year community college student, whose best friend, Meg Garcia, recently drank a bottle of poison and died alone in a Tacoma motel room. Meg was an academic superstar and golden girl who gave no indication that she was contemplating suicide - yet her death was meticulously orchestrated, down to the time-delayed emails delivered to her parents and Cody. Cody is (understandably) livid at Meg for the ice-water shock of her absence and for landing Cody on the eulogy circuit at so many stultifying memorial services. She says of her friend: "It was bad enough she had to die. On purpose. But for subjecting me to all this, I could kill her." Suffocated by sympathy, Cody takes the chance to leave town when the Garcias ask her to pack up Meg's college room. What she finds there sends her on a topsy-turvy post-mortem trip through the world her friend built without her. (It includes a guy who is a gem in jerk's clothing. P.S.A. for teenagers: In real life, jerks don't change.) As she gets to know Meg's posse and scrutinizes Meg's final, perplexing decisions, Cody is determined to hunt down the piece of information she believes will complete the puzzle of her friend's suicide. Of course, that single fact doesn't exist. The satisfaction comes from watching Cody rebuild her life despite the bottomless guilt and uncertainty. Her quest for peace, like Lex's, elevates a potentially lugubrious story to a place of humor and grace. Forman and Hand spin heartbreak into mysteries that remain realistically, uncomfortably unsolved. Readers requiring total resolution may want to steer clear. But braver souls, teenagers and adults alike, will be rewarded for heeding Lady Macbeth's advice, echoed in a chilling context by Forman: "Screw your courage to the sticking place." The payoff may not be particularly sweet in either book, but it is hard-earned and life affirming, which is infinitely more rewarding. ELISABETH EGAN'S debut novel, "A Window Opens," will be published in the summer.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [February 1, 2015]
Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* In the wake of her younger brother Tyler's suicide, Lex feels utterly alone. Her friends look at her in a way she can't stand, her mother has withdrawn, her dad and his new wife are distant, and she has pushed her decent, kind, and perfectly matched boyfriend (now ex) as far away as possible. She needs to make sense of this loss and piece together Tyler's last days and moments, and her struggle to do so becomes almost all consuming. But she still finds connections with Tyler's friends, with a neighbor girl from whom she had grown distant, and with Tyler, who seems to still linger in their home, leading her to clues. This is a quietly powerful, emotionally complex novel that will echo with readers long after it is finished. Lex's personal journey through grief and into a new life feels achingly real. Her decisions, while not always rational, are infinitely relatable. Even if her actions make her unlikable at times, it's impossible not to sympathize with her. Fans of Hand's paranormal romances may be surprised by the solid realism here, but readers will be eager to see what comes next after this novel, which is both shatteringly painful and bright with life and hope. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Hand's Unearthly series was a best-seller, and though this is a departure from her usual fantasy fare, her many fans will likely be eager to get their hands on this one, too.--Booth, Heather Copyright 2015 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Hand (the Unearthly trilogy) shifts to realistic fiction with the story of Lexie, a math star and unashamed nerd whose biggest problems are the aftereffects of her parents' divorce and wondering whether she'll get into MIT. Then her younger brother, Ty, commits suicide. When the book opens, seven weeks after Ty's death, Lexie's grades have slipped, she has broken up with her boyfriend, and she feels like she might be going crazy. During the two-month span over which the novel is set, Lexie sees a therapist (reluctantly), reunites with an old friend, withstands another suicide in her Nebraska high school, and learns more about what Ty was thinking. Hand's writing can be stiff, and Lexie's ex-boyfriend, Steven, is a too-perfect cipher, but she persuasively conveys the aftermath of suicide and the ways those left behind struggle with grief, anger, and guilt. Although Lexie's movement from paralysis to possibility is a little quick, her range of emotions is believable, and Hand is effective at showing how guilt can impede one's ability to move through tragedy. Ages 13-up. Agent: Katherine Fausset, Curtis Brown. (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 8 Up-For Lex, since her brother committed suicide, questions about their last goodbye have haunted her. Filled with regret, she ponders their last words and not being able to show him how much she loved him while he was still alive. The narrative unravels in perfect pacing, drawing readers into this emotional story. With a rocky home life in a small town in Nebraska, Lex begins pulling away from her friends, breaks up with her boyfriend, and struggles with life in general. When her therapist, Dave, assigns her the task of writing down her thoughts in a journal, flashbacks of the siblings' relationship and the protagonist's interactions with their parents fill in the gaps. Readers will be drawn in by the even pacing, the heavy moments never overwhelming the teen's story. Raw, emotional, and gripping, this book is Hand's first realistic fiction title, and fans of her popular "Unearthly" series (HarperCollins) will follow her genre change willingly. Libraries should jump at having this book, not only because of the author's previous work, but because it is an excellent and thoughtful exploration of grief.-Stephanie Charlefour, Wixom Public Library, MI (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Lex's present-tense narration relates her struggles in the months following her brother's suicide; she wonders if she feels Tyler's presence. Interspersed past-tense journal entries reveal memories of Ty--and why Lex feels so guilty about his death. Lex's realistically portrayed grief (with many setbacks but also lots of support) doesn't need the possibly supernatural element for poignancy, but readers won't mind it. (c) Copyright 2016. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
After her younger brother's suicide, ordinarily rational Alexis starts seeing her younger brother's ghost.Seven weeks after Ty shot himself with a hunting rifle, Alexis' mom announces she's seen him in the house. Alexis, a math student with aspirations of attending MIT, is skeptical but soon sees visions of her own. Alexis watches Ty die in recurring dreams, reluctantly relives firsts and lasts in a journal suggested by her therapist, and tries to stay strong for her mom, who is drinking to cope and certain that her own life is over. Alexis herself hasn't cried since her brother's death. Instead, moments of intense emotion open what Alexis powerfully describes as a "hole in my chest." The hauntings here are more emotional than paranormal, and Alexis' journey primarily entails reconnecting with estranged friends and family and slowly moving on. The characters involved are manya childhood friend-turned-occultist stoner, Alexis' emotionally absent father and Ty's last girlfriend, to name a fewbut each storyline is distinctly important and carefully woven in. Details of Ty's last days, Alexis' sense of guilt and the incident itself are revealed slowly and are often unexpected but always believable. Evocative and insightful. (Fiction. 14-18) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
