Intended Audience: Mature teens
Genre: Real life / Grief
Notes for Parents: There is coarse language, sex, drinking, and many mature themes. Reader discretion is strongly advised.
The Inside Cover
Kev’s the first kid their age to die. And now,
even though he’s dead, he’s not really gone. Even now his choices are touching
the people he left behind. Here, in nine stories, we meet people who knew Kevin
intimately, and those who never met him, friends from his childhood, his
ex-girlfriend, his best friend, all trying to figure out who Kevin really was,
and dealing with the fallout of his death.Being a teenager is a time for all kinds of firsts—first jobs, first loves, first good-byes, firsts that break your heart and awaken your soul. It’s an initiation, of sorts, and it can be brutal, but on the other side of it is the rest of your life.
What the cover doesn’t tell
you:
This is a collection of interconnected short
stories written by a variety of authors.
What’s good?
There
is no other way to describe most of these short stories but to say they are raw
with emotion and teeming with what is a disturbing reality for some teens. The
stories are cohesive, complementing each other well, with each subsequent story
giving us a better picture of the deceased and his family and friends. The
writing is good, the characters are strong, and the pace is even. Best Part: The first story and the last story.
What isn’t good?
Kevin isn’t easy to like. In fact, although he’s
described as having a cult leader kind of charisma, I didn’t see any of that
charm. He didn’t treat his friends well, or his family. This is not
a fun book. The subject matter is unsettling and the overall mood is heavy and
dark. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it did make me happy to finish
the book.Worst part: Kevin.
Recommendation þþþoo
The premise was interesting, and the stories
were surprisingly cohesive considering they were written by different authors.
I just didn’t like the subject matter and couldn’t relate to most of the
characters. Recommended, but only to those who will appreciate the stark
reality of some teenage minds. Aronson, Marc, and Charles R. Smith, Jr., eds. One Death Nine Stories. Somerville, MA: Candlewick, 2014. (Hardcover)
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