Us Without You

by Vicky Skinner

Perfect for fans of Tillie Cole and Laura Nowlin, this heartfelt and tearjerking novel starts when a girl embarks on a road trip to find out who her brother, who recently died, really was.

When her brother Luke disappeared one year ago, Ellie thought it was the worst thing that could ever happen to her.

Now Ellie knows better. Because Luke is dead. And all she feels is numb.

But when she receives some of Luke’s things in the mail from an address in Michigan, she decides she has to know where her brother went when he disappeared. And she’s not the only one who wants answers. She soon finds herself roped into a cross-country road trip with Luke’s best friend Wes, Luke’s ex-girlfriend Gwen, and Cade, the boy she almost kissed the night Luke ran away.

As they all get closer, Ellie realizes that she might not have known Luke as well as she thought. Was he her loving, golden-boy brother, or did he have secrets of his own?

Us Without You is the perfect read for readers who
- Friends-To-Lovers
- Hurt/Comfort
- Grief and Family Trauma
- Found Family
- Road Trips

272 pages, Paperback

Published December 2, 2025

About the author

Vicky Skinner was born and raised in Texas, where she started writing novels about kissing cute boys when she was fifteen and eventually earned a BA in Literary Studies from The University of Texas at Dallas. She’s a full-time writer, a part-time runner, and she currently lives in Dallas with her husband.

Reviews

[Katie Parrino · Rating 4 out of 5]

*SPOILER*


Ok so like I understand where Vicky was trying to go with the book and her concept of grief and I think she did well. Personally, it felt a bit forced like the grief didn’t seem very authentic and although she constantly used metaphors and I liked the ones she did use, I don’t think the true connection was really there. Oh there were some inconsistencies in the writing that bothered me. Also I felt the whole timeline with Chole didn’t make much sense and I don’t think it was explained enough. I wish she also went more in depth with Ellie’s relationship with her father. Also personally, I did not like Luke. I felt like he was very selfish, secretive and reckless.

I really did Cade I felt like he was strong and reliable character who was consistently there for Ellie. Their romance was a nice side story. I thought how Vicky made Ellie meet Jack Olsen was a comical yet important part of the story that helped her move on. I do like the ending, as it was a hopeful wrap up with the possibility of Chole and Ellie developing a closer relationship, Ellie and Cade ending up together, Gwen and Wes being happy together, and all the characters starting to accept that devastating event with Luke. Ellie starts to develop a more healthy relationship with her emotions.

[Leslie Stacy · Rating 5 out of 5]

i really really liked this book. It had me crying more than once, but I was very happy with the ending!