Things I'm Seeing Without You
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Book Overview
Equal parts heartbreaking, funny, and life-affirming, this is a story about love after the most profound loss, for fans of Jesse Andrews, Rainbow Rowell, and Jennifer Niven. "Required reading." --John Corey Whaley, winner of the Printz Award
Seventeen-year-old Tess Fowler has dropped out of high school, tossed her laptop in a freezing lake, then jumped in after it fully clothed. Why? Because Jonah was the boy she knew only through texts and emails but understood to his very core. Jonah was the only boy she'd told she loved and the only boy to say it back. And Jonah was the boy whose suicide she never saw coming. Jonah's death has sent Tess pinwheeling into grief and confusion. But even though he's gone, Tess still writes to him. She wants answers to the yawning chasm of questions that's become her life. At the same time, she's trying to find solace in her father's alternative funeral business. Who knew that arranging last rites for prized pets could be so life-affirming? But love, loss, and life are so much more complicated than Tess ever thought . . . especially after she receives a message that turns her already inside-out world totally upside down. As funny as it is heartbreaking and completely unputdownable, Things I'm Seeing Without You shows us what it means to love someone, to lose someone, to wade through the beautiful/strange agony of the aftermath, and somehow love again. "Sometimes hilarious, always affecting." --VOYA
"Nails the messiness of grief." --SLJ
"Compelling . . . a draw for fans of Nicola Yoon." --BCCB
Seventeen-year-old Tess Fowler has dropped out of high school, tossed her laptop in a freezing lake, then jumped in after it fully clothed. Why? Because Jonah was the boy she knew only through texts and emails but understood to his very core. Jonah was the only boy she'd told she loved and the only boy to say it back. And Jonah was the boy whose suicide she never saw coming. Jonah's death has sent Tess pinwheeling into grief and confusion. But even though he's gone, Tess still writes to him. She wants answers to the yawning chasm of questions that's become her life. At the same time, she's trying to find solace in her father's alternative funeral business. Who knew that arranging last rites for prized pets could be so life-affirming? But love, loss, and life are so much more complicated than Tess ever thought . . . especially after she receives a message that turns her already inside-out world totally upside down. As funny as it is heartbreaking and completely unputdownable, Things I'm Seeing Without You shows us what it means to love someone, to lose someone, to wade through the beautiful/strange agony of the aftermath, and somehow love again. "Sometimes hilarious, always affecting." --VOYA
"Nails the messiness of grief." --SLJ
"Compelling . . . a draw for fans of Nicola Yoon." --BCCB
Format:Hardcover
Language:English
ISBN:0735228043
ISBN13:9780735228047
Release Date:October 2017
Publisher:Dial Books
Length:336 Pages
Weight:1.00 lbs.
Dimensions:1.1" x 5.8" x 8.4"
Age Range:14 years and up
Grade Range:Grade 9 and higher
Customer Reviews
1 rating
A Coming-of-Story Like The Outsiders or What's Eating Gilbert Grape.
Published by ShanWalksonWhidbey , 16 days ago
I read Things I'm Seeing Without You when Peter Bognanni taught a workshop at the residency I attended to earn a Masters in Creative Writing / Fiction. I wish I'd known about the novel a few years sooner because my high school language arts students would've found this book much more relatable than the dated curriculum required by the school district. The topic of suicide isn't easy for anyone to address, but Bognanni does it with compassion, understanding, and a fine gentleness that can open hurting hearts to the process of dialogue or healing. His prose is a lovely example of how writing well can be pertinent for those growing up with social media. The story line is mature, but so was the story line of classics like The Outsiders and What's Eating Gilbert Grape.
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