You Are Not Here - Softcover

Schutz, Samantha

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0545169127 ISBN 13: 9780545169127

Publisher: PUSH, 2012

Synopsis

A startling novel about love and grief from the author of the acclaimed memoir I Don't Want to Be Crazy.

Annaleah and Brian shared something special - Annaleah is sure of it. When they were together, they didn't need anyone else. It didn't matter that their relationship was
secret. All that mattered was what they had with each other.

And then, out of nowhere, Brian dies. And while everyone else has their role in the grieving process, Annaleah finds herself living outside of it, unacknowledged and lonely.
How can you recover from a loss that no one will let you have?

In You Are Not Here, Samantha Schutz has written a startling novel of love and grief, death and recovery. It is a jarring reminder of how the things we love the most can be lost so quickly--and what must be done in the aftermath.

About this title

About the Author:

Samantha Schutz is the author of the acclaimed memoir I Don't Want to Be Crazy, which was a New York Public Library Best Book for Teens and Voices of Youth Advocates Poetry Pick. You Are Not Here is her first novel. Samantha lives and works in New York City as a children's book editor. For more about her, please visit www.samanthaschutz.net.

From School Library Journal:

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 (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

About this edition

• Publisher: PUSH
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0545169127
• ISBN 13: 9780545169127
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 304