Some Other Now...So Wonderful, So Emotional!

 Trigger Warnings: Death and Depression

Sarah Everett has written a beautiful YA that looks at grief, dying, and love as it pertains to the past, present, and future of a tight-knit "family".  And yes, the quotations marks are purposeful. 

Summary of the book:

"Before she kissed one of the Cohen boys, seventeen-year-old Jessi Rumfield knew what it was like to have a family—even if, technically, that family didn’t belong to her. She’d spent her childhood in the house next door, challenging Rowan Cohen to tennis matches while his older brother, Luke, studied in the background and Mel watched over the three like the mother Jessi always wished she had. But then everything changed.

It’s been almost a year since Jessi last visited the Cohen house. Rowan is gone. Mel is sick and Luke hates Jessi for the role she played in breaking his family apart. Now Jessi spends her days at a dead-end summer job burying memories of her life in the Cohen house. But when Luke comes home from college, it's hard to ignore the past. And when he asks Jessi to pretend to be his girlfriend for the final months of Mel’s life, Jessi finds herself drawn back into the world of the Cohens. Everything’s changed, but Jessi can’t help wanting to go back, even if it means breaking her heart and losing them forever this time."

Book Fam, your girl is not a punk, but this book...this book right here had me all up in my feelings. Grief is such a complex emotion.  We grieve over the loss of many things, not just a loved one who has passed on.  We grieve missed opportunities, past mistakes, and heartbreak.  

I really enjoyed the characters in this book.  They were complex and it showed how each person responds to grief.  I love the relationship of Jessi with the Cohens.  We have a saying in my family, "Blood does not make a family."  Some of my siblings are adopted and I have a slew of play cousins.  You find your family wherever your heart is welcomed unconditionally.  Ms. Everett's use of alternating the timelines between the past and the present was very effective.  You could feel the tension building and man it was a roller coaster ride.

Simply put, this book is beautiful...hard on the emotions, but beautiful.  Grab your Kleenex and settle into this fabulous read.

Rating: 💖💖💖💖/5

Some Other Now by Sarah Everett goes on sale February 23, 2021.  Buy your copy at your local Independent Bookstore or at Bookshop.org.

Saturday Night Ghost Club

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There is an awkwardness of a kid trying to figure who he is and understanding the adults in his life. The book have Goonies, Stand By Me, Sandlot vibes, only much darker.  A quirky, heartfelt novel about love, loss, family, and friends.

When You Read This...

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I am totally impressed by an author's ability to tell a story through letters, and now in the 21st century; blog posts, e-mails, and texts.  I felt and understood all the emotions of the characters who were missing Iris.  My heart went out to Iris for how honest and raw she was about her situation.  Carl and Phil kept me in stitches! 

Well done Ms. Adkins!

Mr. Adeji-Brenyah is Book Bae...period!

 No disrespect to the person Nana Kwame Adeji-Brenyah might be dating, but when someone writes like this, he or she is definitely Book Bae. I've never read anything like this. From the first story, Adejei-Brenyah comes out the gate swinging; and each story is like a beautifully, devastating, punch to the body. Story after story delivers a body blow, but you welcome each hit. You need the next story.  It just hurts so good! 

I absolutely loved the sci-fi/fantasy tone to  the stories. Nana's writing is superb.  Each story is wickedly clever and cerebral, delivering slick, smart, commentary on issues such as race and consumerism in our country. I actually had to take deep breath after each story to recover and process. You can peel back the layers of each story and have discussions for days  It was so wonderful!

I am here for this young man and his writing.  I am ready for the next hit that he delivers.