THINGS I'M SEEING WITHOUT YOU
by Peter Bognanni
Pages: 336
Publisher: Chicken House
Publication Date: 1st Febuary 2018
Received From: Chicken House
Seventeen-year-old Tess talks to Jonah every day; through texts, tweets and emails.
So when she discovers Jonah has committed suicide, her world implodes. Feeling heartbroken and traumatized Tess unexpectedly finds herself at her estranged father’s house, wondering how well she really knew Jonah. Now, having dropped out of high school, struggling with questions about life and loss, Tess and her father come together to try and find the answers.
First things first, can I just say that Chicken
House are smashing it out of the park with their YA's this year!! I mean
seriously, I've not read a book that I've not wanted to immediately re-read
and Things I'm Seeing Without You
is no exception. I'll be honest I thought this book was going to be a little
bit depressing when I first started reading it but as the story unfolded you
notice the humour in it, the notes that make you smile and the moments that
catch your breath. It delves into a situation no one wants to find themselves
in and resolves itself in the most peculiar of manners, and I wouldn't change a
single second of it.
Things I'm Seeing Without You is the story of Tess, a girl who's life gets flipped on
its head when the boy she's fallen in love with commits suicide. He said he
loved her, but now he's gone, and Tess has to find a way to come to terms with
what she's lost. Tess’s life feels like it's stopped with the boy’s, she lost
as she drops out of school and moves in with her estranged father (who by the
way just happens to be running a funeral business - of sorts). But life hasn't
stopped and from this point on everything is going to be different, things Tess
thought she knew will come unravelled as she discovers the truth about the boy
she's been talking to everyday for months.
Finding a balance between writing a good story
and being respectful to the difficult issues you're writing about is not an
easy task. In Things I'm Seeing Without You Bognanni tackles some
hard subjects, but he manages to find a way to mix the difficult with the
storytelling to produce a book that hits right in the feels.
It is no secret that the way to a good review
from me is to write a load of messed up characters and show me that they can
find redemption and this book does exactly that! Okay, well... maybe not messed
up as such but the characters in this book are falling apart. Unsure how to get
through the day after the worst thing they could ever imagine happening
happens. But as the story continues you find yourself wishing the characters
forward, and somehow... in a way I did not see coming... they find their way to
the end of the book.
At first this seems like a book about death but
in reality, it’s about living, celebrating life and finding a way to go on in the
most unexpected of ways. Things I'm Seeing Without You is a story that
will have you grabbing for the tissues at times but at it is also filled with
small smiles, great storytelling and characters you can't help but care about.
If you haven't had the chance to read this book yet, then I cannot recommend it
enough!
**I received this book as an ARC from Chicken House Books to read & review. This is a 100% honest review.**
