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The World Without Us
What do you do when someone you care about wants you to follow them to a really dark place? Do you pull away? Do you help plan the trip? Or do you put your own life on the line in the hope that love will coax your friend away from the precipice? When Mel meets Jeremy, she thinks she has finally found someone who understands her, someone who will listen to her, someone who cares. But Jeremy has secrets that torment him, and Mel isn’t sure she can save him from his demons. All she knows is that she has to save herself.
240 pages, Paperback
First published February 15, 2015
8 people are currently reading
429 people want to read
About the author
Robin Stevenson
43 books166 followersRobin Stevenson is the award winning author of over thirty books of fiction and non-fiction for kids and teens. Her books have received starred reviews and have won the Silver Birch Award, the Sheila A. Egoff award and a Stonewall Honor, and been finalists for the Governor General’s Literary Awards, the Lambda Literary Awards, and many reader’s choice awards. Robin was the Book and Periodical Council of Canada’s Champion of Free Expression for 2022, and received the Lieutenant Governor's Award for Literary Excellence in 2023. She lives on the west coast of Canada.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
March 25, 2015
This story is about suicide— throwing away life, coming up with reasons of why life isn’t worth it.
This story is about survivor’s guilt— wishing you could have done something, feeling angry that someone could be so selfish to see little worth in living for you.
This story is about the death penalty— taking away the life of someone who would choose to live if they could, turning a blind eye to the deaths of those we see as monsters.
This story is about finding a reason to live— and not having one at all.
Note: I won this book in a goodreads giveaway! Thank you!
This story is about survivor’s guilt— wishing you could have done something, feeling angry that someone could be so selfish to see little worth in living for you.
This story is about the death penalty— taking away the life of someone who would choose to live if they could, turning a blind eye to the deaths of those we see as monsters.
This story is about finding a reason to live— and not having one at all.
Note: I won this book in a goodreads giveaway! Thank you!
March 1, 2018
The books itself was following a well known troupe, but I needed to cross romance off my list of read books and this one seemed interesting enough. Without spoiling too much, it involves suicide, dark thoughts, confusing teenage hood, and new starts.
It was enjoyable enough at first, had the kinda quirky kinda punk vibe of fault in our stars. Then came the lead up to the traumatic event in the book, where it turned into a romance between to emotionally bedraggled teens in a small town that could've pushed just a little harder to become a cute romance with quaint goals. Then the book bombed hard near the end. (Bit of a spoiler) One of the two mains shaves their head and joins a cult, too much focus is put on a character that never had much going for it to begin with, and just seemed to drop in quality and rush it's pace.
It was enjoyable enough at first, had the kinda quirky kinda punk vibe of fault in our stars. Then came the lead up to the traumatic event in the book, where it turned into a romance between to emotionally bedraggled teens in a small town that could've pushed just a little harder to become a cute romance with quaint goals. Then the book bombed hard near the end. (Bit of a spoiler) One of the two mains shaves their head and joins a cult, too much focus is put on a character that never had much going for it to begin with, and just seemed to drop in quality and rush it's pace.
April 6, 2020
The World Without Us, I think, captures the emotional rollercoaster of adolescence quite well. It was clear from the beginning Melody was a victim of "survivor's guilt" as they called it, and her irrational thoughts, as much as they did not always make sense, was still logical for her hormonally-imbalanced teenage brain.
This book is rather dark and kind of in-your-face about it, with nearly all of Melody and Jeremy's conversations being about death, and other points such as Melody's mother fighting against the death penalty. Right from the start something about Jeremy's character felt manipulative and with a hidden agenda, at least for me, especially with the way he and Melody became friends in the first place. Which is why
Overall, The World Without Us is pretty solidly written in terms of actual storytelling: from the somewhat memorable, in-depth characters, and I also appreciated the way the book opened right in the middle of the action, and then going back and forth between time as we pick up on the story. Yet I found a lack of closure for many plot-points that, if done better, would have allowed for a more solid ending and overall plot.
This book is rather dark and kind of in-your-face about it, with nearly all of Melody and Jeremy's conversations being about death, and other points such as Melody's mother fighting against the death penalty. Right from the start something about Jeremy's character felt manipulative and with a hidden agenda, at least for me, especially with the way he and Melody became friends in the first place. Which is why
Overall, The World Without Us is pretty solidly written in terms of actual storytelling: from the somewhat memorable, in-depth characters, and I also appreciated the way the book opened right in the middle of the action, and then going back and forth between time as we pick up on the story. Yet I found a lack of closure for many plot-points that, if done better, would have allowed for a more solid ending and overall plot.
September 24, 2025
really enjoyed this one. The story was easy to get into and the writing flowed nicely. I liked the characters and the way the relationships were written felt real and relatable. It wasn’t perfect, but it kept me hooked and I found myself thinking about it after I finished. Definitely a solid read. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
November 25, 2017
"Sometimes we can't save people, she says. "No matter how much we want to."
Actual rating: 3.5 stars.
Actual rating: 3.5 stars.
October 11, 2020
Quite a dark topic however really made me think about different social issues. Not sure how I feel about this book although it was interesting.
April 9, 2022
well written book!
breath taking and thrilling!
breath taking and thrilling!
June 7, 2022
Irgendwie ist die Geschichte nicht zu ende. Normalerweise stört mich das nicht, aber diese hätte zuendeerzählt werden müssen.
August 2, 2022
This book was great. I wish it would have had more information but it got straight to the point.
This book is a good quick read and I definitely recommend.
This book is a good quick read and I definitely recommend.
March 29, 2015
Good, but with some serious reservations. Suicide is always a red-flag for me when I have to make recommendations for different programs in my school district. For some students in our programs, this would definitely be a trigger. In our schools, the guidance counselor and the school psychologist would be much more involved in both students' lives and there would have been numerous meetings with parents, trusted teachers, etc. I kept wondering why Mel's parents didn't run to find her a therapist after the first episode and certainly after the second.
The characters are a little too cavalier about death for my liking (I can hardly imagine any of my students saying even in a mocking tone, "What are you some school shooter or something? Gonna kill everyone?" - 12) but then again, I've known students who have thought about committing suicide and have tried it.
Mel thinks suicide is more of a game,flirting with death,a way to be edgy - without realizing the impact this has on Jeremy's fragmented and fragile emotional state caused by a previous tragedy. Her inability to see how they get to the edge of the bridge, although naive and full of denial, is also realistic for many teens. Her reasons for why life sucks make her sound rather whiny and entitled and given her parents, I'm not sure it's justified. The topics of mental illness and/or depression are skirted in this book. Barring those conditions, I don't understand her motivations for playing along at the beginning. Later, she admits, that she ignored all the warning signs, "No. It was worse than that. I'd embraced it. It was romantic to me, all that darkness. It was what drew us together, and so I did what I could to feed it" (107). That line, right there, should be why any parent or professional who is concerned about their child and wondering if they should get them some professional help, should read this book, and, immediately get them some help.
Jeremy is desperate to understand the enormity and finality of his tragedy (reminds me of Holden) but he doesn't have any outside help either. Nor familial support. One set of parents remaining clueless - maybe; two sets - hard to buy -even though Jeremy does finally see someone; they appear to be ineffective. Mental health therapists should have been a stronger component in this novel.
Nice symbol of the black hole to give this book some needed perspective.
Mel's mom is also spot on towards the end when she tells her she cannot bear all the burden of guilt herself. There's a nice little spin around Mel realizing her anger at her friend who called 911 during her first quasi suicide attempt is hypocritical. A telling moment in the book was when Jeremy shares a poem with Mel that has 'Help Me!" screaming between the lines and she tells him he's a good writer and then wryly notes, "Like that was the point" (89).
Mel's regret is authentic in the end, but Jeremy's response to jumping makes me want him to get a diagnosis immediately. Oh my goodness. More concern for readers in his response that maybe it all happened for a reason. Be careful when making this recommendation to young adults.
The characters are a little too cavalier about death for my liking (I can hardly imagine any of my students saying even in a mocking tone, "What are you some school shooter or something? Gonna kill everyone?" - 12) but then again, I've known students who have thought about committing suicide and have tried it.
Mel thinks suicide is more of a game,flirting with death,a way to be edgy - without realizing the impact this has on Jeremy's fragmented and fragile emotional state caused by a previous tragedy. Her inability to see how they get to the edge of the bridge, although naive and full of denial, is also realistic for many teens. Her reasons for why life sucks make her sound rather whiny and entitled and given her parents, I'm not sure it's justified. The topics of mental illness and/or depression are skirted in this book. Barring those conditions, I don't understand her motivations for playing along at the beginning. Later, she admits, that she ignored all the warning signs, "No. It was worse than that. I'd embraced it. It was romantic to me, all that darkness. It was what drew us together, and so I did what I could to feed it" (107). That line, right there, should be why any parent or professional who is concerned about their child and wondering if they should get them some professional help, should read this book, and, immediately get them some help.
Jeremy is desperate to understand the enormity and finality of his tragedy (reminds me of Holden) but he doesn't have any outside help either. Nor familial support. One set of parents remaining clueless - maybe; two sets - hard to buy -even though Jeremy does finally see someone; they appear to be ineffective. Mental health therapists should have been a stronger component in this novel.
Nice symbol of the black hole to give this book some needed perspective.
Mel's mom is also spot on towards the end when she tells her she cannot bear all the burden of guilt herself. There's a nice little spin around Mel realizing her anger at her friend who called 911 during her first quasi suicide attempt is hypocritical. A telling moment in the book was when Jeremy shares a poem with Mel that has 'Help Me!" screaming between the lines and she tells him he's a good writer and then wryly notes, "Like that was the point" (89).
Mel's regret is authentic in the end, but Jeremy's response to jumping makes me want him to get a diagnosis immediately. Oh my goodness. More concern for readers in his response that maybe it all happened for a reason. Be careful when making this recommendation to young adults.
April 10, 2015
Stevenson, Robin 978-1-4598-0680-1
The World Without Us Orca, 2015 $12.95 (pb) 226 p.
Diane Ferbrache, Hazen High School high school
We meet Jeremy and Mel standing on the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. They have apparently agreed to jump together, but Mel is not so sure. She tells Jeremy that she was just kidding, and Jeremy decides to jump alone. Mel tries to hold on, but fails. Luckily, Jeremy survives and the rest of the story is told in flashbacks that explain how they reached this point, and current time as they cope with what they have done (or almost done).
Orca publishing is known for edgy novels that focus on issues. This is certainly no different. The topic of teen suicide is not an easy one to cover, but this book does so adequately. Mel and Jeremy have problems – he’s searching for meaning in life after the death of his brother Mel’s family is distant, spending more time trying to get the death penalty overturned in Florida than with her. They spend hours talking about life, death, and why we’re here.
This could be a difficult book – there’s honest, open talk about suicide and death that could raise concerns or even act as triggers. The resolution isn’t “happy”, although both Mel and Jeremy choose to continue living. Spoiler – Mel finds comfort and meaning with the Hare Krishnas. But it’s an honest look at a question that many teens wrestle with. Shrug for high school
The World Without Us Orca, 2015 $12.95 (pb) 226 p.
Diane Ferbrache, Hazen High School high school
We meet Jeremy and Mel standing on the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. They have apparently agreed to jump together, but Mel is not so sure. She tells Jeremy that she was just kidding, and Jeremy decides to jump alone. Mel tries to hold on, but fails. Luckily, Jeremy survives and the rest of the story is told in flashbacks that explain how they reached this point, and current time as they cope with what they have done (or almost done).
Orca publishing is known for edgy novels that focus on issues. This is certainly no different. The topic of teen suicide is not an easy one to cover, but this book does so adequately. Mel and Jeremy have problems – he’s searching for meaning in life after the death of his brother Mel’s family is distant, spending more time trying to get the death penalty overturned in Florida than with her. They spend hours talking about life, death, and why we’re here.
This could be a difficult book – there’s honest, open talk about suicide and death that could raise concerns or even act as triggers. The resolution isn’t “happy”, although both Mel and Jeremy choose to continue living. Spoiler – Mel finds comfort and meaning with the Hare Krishnas. But it’s an honest look at a question that many teens wrestle with. Shrug for high school
May 4, 2015
Suicide, it’s not a funny subject but something that should be taken seriously. Mel already earned herself the nickname Death Wish, so why she joked about the subject was beyond me but when she meets up with Jeremy and they form a friendship, their idea of suicide was a dark joke. Jeremy was dealing with some heavy issues at home, his younger sibling had died and his father had then left. Mel is trying to help Jeremy but Jeremy is at a deeper place than Mel. Mel is taking everything light-heartedly, where Jeremy is hurt and his feelings run much deeper than he is expressing. As they stand together, peering over the edge, each of them is thinking of what awaits them should they let go.
I liked how Jeremy was able to talk to Mel about his issues and I thought that helped him deal with them. When Jeremy talks to the child that Mel is babysitting, I thought that was pointless. He really had an opportunity to shine but he just faded out. Mel seemed to be hiding and I really didn’t like her but she did make the book come alive. She looks good to everyone but inside she is crumbling.
I liked how Jeremy was able to talk to Mel about his issues and I thought that helped him deal with them. When Jeremy talks to the child that Mel is babysitting, I thought that was pointless. He really had an opportunity to shine but he just faded out. Mel seemed to be hiding and I really didn’t like her but she did make the book come alive. She looks good to everyone but inside she is crumbling.
June 4, 2015
I won this book from First Reads and I found it an interesting book to read. Although Stevenson's books are considered to be YA reads, this book also appeals to adults. It tells the story of Melody, a teenage girl who has become somewhat of an outsider at school, nicknamed "Death Wish" due to a foolish incident at a party. Her life is solitary until she meets Jeremy, who seems to get her. Their relationship starts out as friendship and they learn more about each other and their families. Melody's family is busy but loving and Jeremy's Dad is not in his life and his Mom seems to be a bit of a control freak. But as the book progresses, we start to understand why Jeremy's Mom is why she is and why their family is fractured. Jeremy starts talking about dark things and Mel thinks she is helping him. But one day on a bridge, she realizes that he is serious about suicide and wants her to jump with him and although she tries to save him, he falls. An interesting read about guilt, teenage life, grief and coming to terms with it all.
May 16, 2015
Robin Stevenson addresses troubling themes in “The World Without Us.” What do you do when a person you care about leads you into a really dark place? How far must you go to save your friend from his destructive tendencies? When is it okay to save yourself?
Told through a series of flashbacks, Mel thinks she has found a soulmate in Jeremy, but Jeremy is tormented by his own demons. The two make a suicide pact and meet on the Sunshine Skyway Bridge to jump together. At the last moment, Mel backs out, but Jeremy doesn’t. Even though both survive, Mel works to confront difficult issues: suicide, survivor’s guilt, and finding reasons to live.
Because the subject of teen suicide raises red flags in many arenas, some material about support hotlines or advice for teens who are concerned about a “friend” who may be considering suicide would be welcome additions to this volume.
Told through a series of flashbacks, Mel thinks she has found a soulmate in Jeremy, but Jeremy is tormented by his own demons. The two make a suicide pact and meet on the Sunshine Skyway Bridge to jump together. At the last moment, Mel backs out, but Jeremy doesn’t. Even though both survive, Mel works to confront difficult issues: suicide, survivor’s guilt, and finding reasons to live.
Because the subject of teen suicide raises red flags in many arenas, some material about support hotlines or advice for teens who are concerned about a “friend” who may be considering suicide would be welcome additions to this volume.
March 4, 2015
Mel and Jeremy (mostly Jeremy) have had some brushes with thoughts of suicide. When they become good friends, though, they seem to feed on one another's darker demons in a frightening folie a deux, until Jeremy jumps from the bridge. And survives.
Poor Mel is left to think that she failed her friend by 1: not jumping with him per their agreement, and 2: not stopping the jump. This way madness lies.
After recovering, Jeremy thinks not dying by his own hand is the best thing that has happened to him since he failed to save his own brother from death. So he quits school and runs off to join a cult.
Trouble is, Mel doesn't really like the new cult-y Jeremy, and still has survivor guilt problems of her own.
Juxtaposing a story of two people toying with the idea of suicide with a group of protesters bent on abolishing the death penalty makes compelling reading.
Poor Mel is left to think that she failed her friend by 1: not jumping with him per their agreement, and 2: not stopping the jump. This way madness lies.
After recovering, Jeremy thinks not dying by his own hand is the best thing that has happened to him since he failed to save his own brother from death. So he quits school and runs off to join a cult.
Trouble is, Mel doesn't really like the new cult-y Jeremy, and still has survivor guilt problems of her own.
Juxtaposing a story of two people toying with the idea of suicide with a group of protesters bent on abolishing the death penalty makes compelling reading.
November 2, 2015
At some points in the book I felt depressed because it talked about suicide and dealing with it.It made me think of how I could react to it.I thought about how grateful I am for not being in a situation that Jeremy and Mel are in.It made me think about my life and comparing it with their lives.
April 1, 2016
Rating & review to come!
Read
November 7, 2015This book was sad and heartbreaking. This book was also really well written.
December 2, 2016
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via the Goodreads First-reads program.
October 15, 2017
A tough subject for both writers and readers. I like that Stevenson has her readers look at suicide from someone who wants to commit and someone who does not. When the pain of living overwhelms I don't think the person who considers suicide as a means of relief from that pain realizes the permanence of the decision. I think with the stress and pace of life now any book that sheds some information on this subject is a welcome addition.
Read
February 9, 2018It was a fast read and it was a fun, quick book to just read in a couple days I didn't really like how it wased based on the past
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews