Goodbye from Nowhere

by Sara Zarr

Kyle Baker thought his family was happy. Happy enough, anyway. That’s why, when Kyle learns that his mother has been having an affair and his father has been living with the secret, his reality is altered. He quits baseball, ghosts his girlfriend, and generally checks out of life as he’s known it. With his older sisters out of the house and friends who don’t get it, the only person he can talk to is his cousin Emily—who is always there on the other end of his texts but still has her own life, hours away.

Kyle’s parents want him to keep the secret of his mother’s affair from the rest of the family until after what might be their last big summer reunion. As Kyle watches the effects of his parents’ choices ripple out over friends, family, and strangers, and he feels the walls of his relationships closing in, he has to decide what his obligations are to everyone he cares for—including himself.

National Book Award finalist Sara Zarr returns with an intimate, exquisitely crafted novel of anxiety and identity, of the ways that secrets keep us together and pull us apart, and of the courage it takes to see those we love for who they are.

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Audiobook, Young Adult Contemporary, Family

384 pages, Hardcover

First published April 7, 2020

About the author

Sara Zarr is the acclaimed author of ten books, most recently Goodbye from Nowhere, and Courageous Creativity: Advice and Encouragement for the Creative Life--a book on creativity for the young and young-at-heart. She’s a National Book Award finalist and two-time Utah Book Award winner, and is the host and producer of the This Creative Life podcast. Her first book, Story of a Girl, was made into a 2017 television movie directed by Kyra Sedgwick. She lives with her husband and cat, Mr. Donut, in CA and UT.

How I use goodreads: To log books I read in a year, books I want to read, and books by authors who were on my podcast, This Creative Life. (Those also turn up on my read shelf though I haven't necessarily read them!) I don't use the rating system but I will jot some notes about the books if I remember!

Reviews

[Emily May · Rating 4 out of 5]

“And maybe you need to do that with your mom, your dad, the whole family,” she said. “Let go. Let go of what you thought it should be. And see what it is.”

I've been reading Sara Zarr books for nine years at this point (2020) and I feel like she's remained fairly consistent. She doesn't go in for dramatics, though her stories are often powerful and moving. Her books are best described, I feel, as a kind of literary fiction for teens and young adults. Quiet, poignant tales about people and families.

Goodbye from Nowhere's set up details a lot of happiness. Kyle has fallen in love with his girlfriend and is bringing her to meet his family at their farm for Thanksgiving. They are warm, funny, and welcoming. They love her instantly. And yet, like a lot of Zarr’s work, there is an underlying melancholy to all this surface happiness. A distance to some of the characters; a fear that something is going to go wrong. It’s hard to pinpoint why, but it feels like change is coming.

And, of course, it is.

Kyle's life begins to unravel when he finds out his mother is having an affair and that his dad knows but refuses to do anything about it. He doesn't know who to turn to. He is caught in a limbo where his ideas of his parents' "perfect relationship" have been shattered, but where they are not divorcing so there's no real closure for him either. Nothing for him to grieve.

What I like about Zarr is that she never gives us any easy villains. Though Kyle's mother's actions are selfish, the third person narrative doesn't allow her to become one-dimensional either. Humans are complicated and this situation is especially so. His dad, too. Is he endlessly loyal or a coward? Maybe a bit of both. It is written with so much complexity, sensitivity and maturity.

Not everyone will like it. I know what to expect at this point because I've been reading Zarr for so long, but her books are often very quiet character studies. If a book that is solely about people and the interactions between them sounds boring, skip this one.

I also see from other reviews that some people took issue with the cousin relationship, so I wanted to comment on it. I did not personally feel it was romantic at all, especially because Emily makes it clear early on that she is aromantic, maybe asexual too. They were obviously very close and I do think Kyle might have had some complicated feelings for her because he was dealing with so much, but it never develops into anything. The only part of the book I didn't love was the one big coincidence with the guy he was coaching being the mystery kid. That felt a bit contrived.

Facebook | Instagram

[Neil Franz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I missed Sara Zarr's writing. That genuine-emotion-and-realistic-feel-kind-of writing. I'm glad I had to experience it again with this book.

Goodbye From Nowhere is about Kyle and his struggles and worries as a teen dealing with the knowledge that his mom is having an affair and his dad is living with this secret. Throughout the novel, it is apparent the shift happened to Kyle. Zarr's talent in writing made it all realistic and I really commend that.

It's sad to read how Kyle reacts to this secret and to see his downfall from a happy teen to an anxious boy. He worries a lot.  And with that, he ignores a lot of things that makes him happy: baseball, having a girlfriend, etc. It gets annoying sometimes on how Kyle responds but that it should be.

This will be a bore if you're not into novels about people and interactions but having read all Zarr's novels, all I can say is I really miss her story and writing.

[Irmak ☾ · Rating 2 out of 5]

"You can be happy, Kyle," she continued. "Even if Mom and Dad aren't."

This book was really not for me. I liked the writing style, the story was also not bad. However, I didn't like Kyle. I liked his growth throughout the book, and I understand that he's a teenager going through some hard things, but he was super whiny all the time.

Also, his relationship with his cousin was super weird. I understand that they were close, but the way he thought about her and talked about her... It was just weird. I never liked his relationship with his girlfriend too, even at the start he was insecure about it.

Anyways, it could've been much much better. However, the story was super realistic.

[Darla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kyle's family is struggling. He knows his mother "has been seeing someone." His dad knows, too. That is how Kyle found out. Once the cat is out of the bag, Kyle is bogged down with the burden. Should he tell his sisters? Does he have an obligation to the other family -- to make sure the guy's wife knows what is happening? How can he even focus on having a good relationship with his own girlfriend with all this baggage? Why should he even try to keep playing baseball? Sara Zarr does a good job of showing us the inner workings of a family in crisis from the perspective of a teenage guy. His cousin Emily becomes a lifeline to him and actually helps him to work through his conflicted feelings. He has some moments of looking at that relationship out of perspective and works through that as well. I really enjoyed the family interactions, the old movie references, and their family dance party--Boz Scaggs "Lido Shuffle," anyone?



Thank you to Balzer + Bray and Edelweiss for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Christine Indorf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kyle life is perfect. A wonderful family and beautiful girlfriend what more can he ever want. Until the day his dad tells him his mother is having an affair. Kyle depression spirals out of control. He loses his girlfriend and his grades suffer and his parents don’t care. They just tell him not to tell anyone, including his sisters. Can he make his parents see the wrong they are doing?? Does anyone even care?? What should he do??
I like this storyline of people being unfaithful and coming back together but this one I didn’t like. His parents put their problems on Kyle and didn’t care how it was effecting him. Kyle was suffering and his parents did nothing. His mother continued her affair and his father had his head in the sand. It was a depressing read from start to finished. Not a read I would recommend and it is unfortunate because it had great potential.

[Jenn Mattson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sara Zarr is an incredible writer - she can write dialogue and create characters so incredibly real and incredibly interesting. At first, I thought Kyle, the protagonist, was almost intolerably annoying, just so Pollyanna, but then suddenly he seemed like someone I know, and definitely like a believable teenage boy. Then I was interested in his life and the very real ways that life can change and how people react to that change, and I couldn't put the book down. Excellent!

[Danielle (Life of a Literary Nerd) · Rating 3 out of 5]

"You can be happy, Kyle," she continued. "Even if Mom and Dad aren't."

Drama, drama, drama.

I am not envious of all the crap Kyle Baker has to go through after some family secrets come to light and he's trying to pretend they aren't effecting him. Lots of frustration and unlikable characters makes this a compelling read. And while there was a lot of craziness and pain, I always appreciate a story centered on family. I thought it did a great job exploring family complexities and how relationships evolve (and sometimes devolve) over time.

I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review

[Jay G · Rating 2 out of 5]

Want to see more bookish things from me? Check out my Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfer...

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review*

When Kyle Baker discovers that his mother is having an affair, and that his father already knows about it, his whole world begins to fall apart. It becomes worse when his parents ask him to keep the affair to himself when they go to their next family gathering at his grandparent's farm. He begins to pull away from his girlfriend, and baseball team. The only person he feels he can talk to is his cousin, Emily.

I was not a fan of this book... Although nothing ever happened per say, it gave me weird incest vibes between Kyle and his cousin Emily that I could not get behind. The other family dynamics and relationships were intriguing, and I liked reading about those. Kyle really bothered me though, and I wish he had just communicated with Nadia and his baseball coach instead of shutting down completely. I do understand his thoughts and feelings, but it just drove me crazy watching him destroy his life and relationships because of what his parents were doing...

Overall, the book just wasn't for me.

[Ambia · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am quite dissapointed in this book. I thought it sounded interesting as a family deals with the repercussions of a cheating scandal but the characters were all terrible and it made this book so frustrating to read. Kyle is so needy and self-absorbed it was infuriating seeing him beg for people's attentions. He did see this flaw in himself and try to improve, but the majority of the book is him feeling sorry for himself. Also, was it necessary to have so many descriptions of his sexual fantasies? What purpose did they even serve?

At first I felt for the mother because she was unwanted in this family and her husband did nothing to ease her time with his family. I'm also willing to give people the benefit of the doubt if their marriage is no longer working, yes lying and cheating is bad but I can also see that navigating change in a marriage with kids is hard as well. And then we find out that she's kind of selfish and stupid as well. Her affair is so careless and she doesn't do much to protect people from the fall out. She didn't even seem to care about her lover in the end either. The husband barely exists. His sister Megan reminded me of some high and mighty people I know who act like they are saving the world but they don't realise they are the arseholes. The whole family neglects their Mexican in-laws and are way too overbearing.

I will admit it dealt quite well with the changing nature of family and the effects of time on the young and old alike. We had these two different perspectives of people going through the same change but one set had been through more experinces like it. It was also a good window into the complications of family who are not perfect by any means and having to deal with shattered perceptions of your own life.

Am I the only one who thought this guy liked his cousin a bit too much. Definitely not. Other characters seem to pick up on it. At first I thought it was just my inability to comprehend close cousin relationships because my cousins barely register as acquaintances, but as I read on I knew it was weird. This was a surprise. I did not expect weird incestuous vibes from this story.

All in all a very werid book because of this strange vibe and the main character was unbearable.

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Many thanks to EdelweissPlus and the publisher for providing me with a DRC of this title for review. All opinions are my own.

Alright, I'm just going to come out with it right away: this book was a snooze fest. I'm not sure if it's because my reading tastes lately have been more high-octane (fantasy, thriller, etc) or if it was that this was a YA book that was really trying to read like literature (and yes, that word should have been read with an annoying British-esque type of accent) but this book was BORING. While it should have been an interesting look at a year in the life of a family dealing with some heavy issues (the mom's adultery, the teenage son's first serious relationship and his downward spiral when it ends, the selling of the family farm) it really just read like a sad story of a teenage boy who couldn't come to terms with anything in his life and really just wanted to whine about everybody and everything in his life.

And, add to that the weirdness of Kyle's relationship with his cousin Emily (and the fact that reading his thoughts and feelings about her felt like being stuck in the old Friends episode where Ross is convinced that his cousin is into him), and this book just wasn't for me. I'm not sure what type of reader I would recommend it to, and the plus sides of it showing a male teenager dealing with feelings and anxiety were NOT outweighed by the slowness of the story and the oddity of his infatuation with his cousin.

Final verdict? This is a second or third purchase for LARGE collections and not a must-buy in any circumstance.

[Kelly]

One thing that’s been consistent in Kyle Baker’s life is his family. It’s big, full of personalities, and every summer, they all gather at the Nowhere Farm to celebrate one another. This year, he’s bringing his serious girlfriend Nadia and cannot wait for her to meet them and get to know where he comes from.

Things go well -- Nadia loves his family and they seem to love her. But it’s not too long before everything Kyle thought he knew about himself and his family comes crashing down. His father breaks the news that his mother is having an affair.

Kyle promises not to share that news with his sisters, but the silence begins to kill him. . . and it kills the relationship he has with Nadia, as he becomes distant and cold toward everyone. He’s struggling with how to process the news and it comes to a head the more he begins to think about the woman and child who are connected to the man with whom his mother is having her relationship. They don’t know, and when Kyle meets them both by chance, he’s further devastated carrying the truth around with him.

So he does what feels right: he reaches out to his cousin, who helps him navigate the ups and downs of discovering family secrets and navigating what it means to see someone in a light different than one in which you’ve always held them.

Sara Zarr’s latest book feels a lot like a Sarah Dessen book, and that’s a compliment. There’s tremendous real-world world building, with a complex family relationship that Kyle has to navigate. His relationship with Nadia at the beginning doesn’t last, though what we see of it is fascinating. They’re extremely mature on the outside, joking even about potentially getting married. But it becomes clear how immature Kyle is as he wrestles with the bomb his father delivered. He doesn’t seek support but distance, becoming cold and unapproachable toward someone he had such strong feelings for -- as well as worries about what she might now think about the family he’d shown her to be something out of dream.

This well-paced book is perfect for readers who love family stories, who love flawed but likable main characters -- and Kyle is both of those things, even when he becomes extremely frustrating to watch -- and those who want stories about what happens when the next generation of a family is poised to take over traditions that span their entire lives and the lives of their own parents

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sara Zarr is an expert at portraying real people struggling with real problems. I know that sounds like I'm selling her talent short, but just the opposite. It's easy to blow things up. It's easy to disintegrate someone with a ray gun, or say that a wizard cursed your characters. But it's hard to make believable characters, grounded in reality, having real world problems, and yet have them be sympathetic, and interesting, and lovable even if they aren't likable.

Sara does that so, so well. Siblings fight, relationships flounder, little annoyances snowball into bigger problems, and it's just as gripping as any space opera. Here's a story about a boy who thinks his family is amazing, and his new relationship is amazing, and everything is just well, perfect at this moment in time . . . and then when it isn't perfect, when the cracks appear, what can he do? What should he do? Especially when the adults around him prove to be flawed and unreliable, as real adults are.

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to enjoy this, but I ended up just being bored for most of the book. Not much really seemed to happen, and the parts that I found more interesting were glossed over in favor of parts that I found more boring. I couldn't connect with really any of the characters, and I actually kind of hated Kyle's parents for how they treated him (while playing the victims themselves), and I was also a little creeped out because some of Kyle's attention towards Emily seemed less like friends/cousins, and more like he was into her, and that made me very uncomfortable. Kudos for having an aroace character though. That was an pleasant surprise.

[Kim]

I had to dnf this because I knew it was going to be a 1 star. Unfortunately I do not care for the main character at all, and his thing for his cousin is weird. I'm glad there are other reviews confirming that these things remain true throughout the rest of the story so I won't feel like I'm missing out.

[Laura Gardner · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Adults fail.” “Other people are real.” Sara Zarr is an author I’ve enjoyed for quite a while. She’s good at dropping truth bombs in her YA realistic fiction and presenting interesting characters going through conflict. This one kept me interested and also made me wish I had cool cousin/friends. Audiobook was good!

[Thamy · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5. Rounding up because it is cute and it gets better, even if it was underwhelming overall.

Kyle comes from a very big family who always gets together in his grandparents' land called Nowhere. But things are changing in his life, he has a girlfriend, his oldest sister left home and isn't talking to them, and he learns a secret too big about his parents that throws him off. Maybe his family is very different from what he always thought it was.

I think this story is very pretty. I loved the family element and how Kyle does his best to deal with what life is throwing at him. I also like the self-criticism the writer makes sure to right. Kyle is spoiled, he has no idea, but the author does, and I found it really nice how subtle it all is until it's all blows on his face.

I also like Emily and Nadia very much. Actually, I wish we had had more of them, they were such great characters! Most of the female ones were, so it was a pretty this book centered on the male ones.

We also get plot twists, and a lot of them for a coming-of-age story. That was probably the best part of this book. Things do happen. At the same time, the story wasn't that great. I had a hard time relating to Kyle even though I did feel sorry for his situation and knew he was doing his best to cope with it all. It was really too much for him. Still, he never really grew on me.

This book is also a bit wordy, probably to give you the heartwarming atmosphere it intends. It's not that slow to read though. It's just a lot of going around until the plot twists come—and because of that effect, they always surprised me a lot, even when they weren't that big of a bomb.

In all, I'll confess I was bored through a lot of the story, it never picked much steam. Still, there were many positives, as I mentioned above, good female characters, good plot twists, they just weren't well used to balance the weak points. A book I'll recommend to people looking for YA contemporary centered on a male character, which is rare, and to those who enjoy coming-of-age stories about families that won't go crazy (although Kyle's relationship with his cousin Emily could be seen as borderline, there's no incest in the book, not even in a platonic matter, don't worry).

I also think there are themes worthy of discussion, like how Kyle's parents deal with their problems, including money problems. Who is right, his sister or his parents? What would you do if you were either of them? And the situation with Nowhere, was that the best conclusion? The story does go deep, so I'm sure there will be people loving it. I'm just not one of them.


Honest review based on an ARC provided by Edelweiss. Many thanks to the publisher for this opportunity.

[Jen Ryland (jenrylandreviews & yaallday)]

I'm a huge fan of this author but ... this book was a little low energy for me. I don't mind quiet, literary books in general but I felt like this one jus drifted.

I liked that the narrator is a guy and and part of a big, messy family. To me it seemed like this was about his relationships with all the women in his life: his female cousin, his girlfriend, his mom. I didn't think his relationship with his cousin was weird or creepy, but it did seem like she filled the place of a girlfriend or best friend on an emotional level.

Kyle learns his mom is having an affair, which would seem to have been something that would add some sense of tension, but it really didn't. Or that some dots would be connected between Kyle's interesting relationship with his cousin, Kyle's mother's affair, the big family, but they weren't.

Could just be my weird reading mood these days, but I needed something more.

Read more of my reviews on JenRyland.com! Let's be friends on Bookstagram!

Thanks to the publisher for providing an advance copy for review!

[Sunny · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's all right. Its about how a teen is handing a rough patch in his life, and then getting some real insight into his family and 'real life'. Coming of age book for sure and it ended in a good spot, just not for me.

[✌︎ lua ☺︎ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kyle Kyle Kyle. His perfect family turns out to be not so perfect. Depression hits us all differently.

______________

Sara Zarr brings us a new, quiet family drama. Kyle Baker knows he has a big family with his many cousins, aunts, and uncles. Every year they get together on the Nowhere farm for a week long reunion. This year, Kyle can't wait to bring his girlfriend Nadia to meet them. To no one's surprise, she's nervous she might not exactly fit in with the tight knit clan. After what seems to be a successful week, Kyle's dad takes him aside to tell him troubling news. Kyle's world falls apart with the secret that he's been conscripted to keep. Depression falls and the upcoming year has Kyle struggling to regain his balance.

Ok, let's get into the story. I like the execution. It's not over the top and simply sticks to the reality of what would happen to any teenager caught in between his parent's issues with his own. Kyle as a person is selfish and self absorbed which is relatable. His whole entire reality, which he never really questioned, has been unveiled. His parents are not the people he thought they were, but maybe so isn't he. Maybe he's not the happiest person in the world but rather an anxious wreck. Wrapped in his own head, never asking what he can do for other people but always begging for people to be there for him. It gets frustrating but it's part of the growing process huh.

As Kyle learns to let go and be attentive, he has some missteps along the way. What can I say more about upper middle class, white America? When the final climax happens it's as disastrous as you would expect. Yet, after the initial blow out and the dust settles, you wonder why it didn't happen sooner. Yes, it was bad and embarrassing and painful, but not anymore than keeping it a secret for months. Goodbye from Nowhere shows us how family will always be there for us if you're they're for them too. Be present.

[Kyra Bredenhof · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

The whole premise of this book is that the main character Kyle's mother has had an affair, and Kyle's dad has known about it all this time and is just carrying on as usual. That's the issue in Goodbye from Nowhere - it's essentially about adultery. And picking up this book I was a little dubious that that meant this book was going to be some sort of morally twisted, sexy kind of book, but the way the blurb described the plot made it seem like it was going to be okay. Like the affair was something bad, something that ripped the family apart.

And that's what this book explores: how the way Kyle's mom's living in sin brought a lot of hurt to their family and to the other family involved. But I think any book that broaches topics like these that doesn't have any sort of Christian worldview is bound to have its flaws. Because without God, without His mercy and grace, there can't be real forgiveness within a flawed and broken family, there can't be real healing, there can't be real hope. I think that's what's missing in this book, that restoration that comes from being a child of God.

This 'non-Christian' attitude kind of comes across throughout the book: there's quite a bit of swearing, Kyle sleeps with his girlfriend, and his cousin is repeatedly asked if she is gay because she's never had a boyfriend. I'm not saying that I only want to read Christian fiction or that every book needs to mention God (apart from blasphemy, which was also prevalent in this book). I guess Goodbye from Nowhere just pointed out to me again the emptiness of a life without God.

I still enjoyed this book. I still found it well-written, liked the characters and how they were developed, smiled at the satisfying ending. But it was missing something.

[Abby · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was honestly pretty underwhelmed by this book. I did love the cousin/extended family dynamic because it’s pretty rare to see that. Kyle’s relationship with Emily felt really genuine in the beginning but started moving toward a weird and slightly creepy gray area in the second half. There was cool ace/aro representation for Emily, but it really felt like the only reason that was added was to stop people from thinking that Kyle’s weird feelings could be reciprocated. But this doesn’t change the fact that I loved their relationship and the fact that they were able to have each other to rely on throughout the story. All around the story was really heartfelt but could have been a little more dramatic, especially in the end. Also, I’ve yet to find any book with truly realistic texting (and this one is far from perfect), but a few of the texts between Kyle and Emily felt like they could be real. So bonus points for that.

[Akilah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is what I love about YA fiction: just regular teens doing regular teen things, which in this case means Kyle dealing with the fact that his parents are people who make terrible decisions which turns him into a people who makes terrible decisions. It's great! (That is not sarcasm, btw.)

Great characters, beautiful writing as always, and a nice, complex cast of family characters. I would read a whole book about Megan or Emily. And what was going on with Martie? Also, I was actually intrigued by the grown-ups' drama. I don't know if I'd care to read a book from their perspectives (the whole time I would be like, "yes, yes, but what about the TEENS?"), but I think I might and that is honestly high praise.

4.5 stars

[maya ⟢ · Rating 4 out of 5]

i think this was a young adult family drama and that concept was executed perfectly. the characters were very, very flawed and very human and i loved kyle, especially because of his vulnerability and the way he cared about people. emily was an interesting character as well (guys!! a badass aro-ace girl with a septum piercing ok!! ) and i loved their relationship. i related to kyle the most and all his insecurities and it was nice reading about someone who's had the same thoughts and concerns and ugh i really love that entire athlete being a coach and mentor to younger kids thing

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

A couple of months ago, I was wracking my brain for books dealing with divorce or living with parents who were divorced. I just couldn’t think of ones where that was the primary plot point.

This book doesn’t deal with divorce but it does deal with a kid watching his parents’ marriage crumble as he finds out about his mom’s affair. So much takes place in his head as he sorts through his own feelings about the loss of all that’s “normal” in his life and then exacerbated by changes to his extended family as well.

[Joi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a simple story. Kyle finds out that his mom is cheating on his dad, and he doesn't know what to do with the information. This new information turns Kyle's life upside down and he begins to fail at every aspect of life.

This book was only okay to me. I didn't love it. That's mainly because I didn't love the character of Kyle. He was weird to me and an over-thinker. I finished it because I thought the book was going to get better.

[Alex Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Favorite part of this book was the explicit aro/ace representation.

I also really liked how quiet this book was: the conflict was the MC destroying his life and then trying to turn it around. It deals really well with the difficulties of leaning on other people for support but also the necessity of it. This isn't the showiest YA book—slice-of-life for sure—but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It also effectively distracted me from a 24-hour cold runny nose, which I am also grateful for.

[alisonwonderland (Alison) · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Flawed people trying to love each other.”

That’s what this book is about. And I guess that’s why I felt so much as I listened - because I’m a flawed person trying to love other flawed people.

Michael Crouch narrated the audiobook, and he’s one of my favorite readers.

Alison’s Summer Reading 27/35

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Anxious Kyle is a pretty typical teenager with a family that appears normal but is far from that. In fact, there are so many hidden secrets and drama in his immediate as well as extended family that his anxiety is completely understandable. I think this book would appeal to readers who like John Green (especially Turtles All the Way Down). It's not my favorite Zarr book but I did enjoy it.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was strange reading a Sara Zarr book from a male perspective. It took me awhile to get into but I ended up enjoying it once I did. There were some things that made me raise an eyebrow and it wasn’t my favorite story of hers but it was ok.

[Korie Gorski · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is my kind of book. A quiet character study about people and relationships. Don’t read this if you want interesting/exciting/fast plot. This is a coming-of-age book about complicated feelings, relationship, and identity. The best kind of book (in my opinion).