Review: Things I'm Seeing Without You by Peter Bognanni
By Peter Bognanni
Published By: Dial Books on October 3rd 2017
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Fiction
Pages: 336
Purchase: Amazon - Kindle
Synopsis:
Seventeen-year-old Tess Fowler has just dropped out of high school. She can barely function after learning of Jonah’s death. Jonah, the boy she’d traded banter with over texts and heartfelt e-mails.
Jonah, the first boy she'd told she loved and the first boy to say it back.
Jonah, the boy whose suicide she never saw coming.
Tess continues to write to Jonah, as a way of processing her grief and confusion. But for now she finds solace in perhaps the unlikeliest of ways: by helping her father with his new alternative funeral business, where his biggest client is . . . a prized racehorse?
As Tess’s involvement in her father’s business grows, both find comfort in the clients they serve and in each other. But love, loss, and life are so much more complicated than Tess ever thought. Especially after she receives a message that turns her life upside down.
Beware Of Spoilers!!
My Thoughts:
I picked this book up because on the cover it says "Required reading for anyone who's ever loved or lost someone... but especially both." As some of you may know, I lost my grandmother last year and I've been picking up books lately that deals with death and depression. I figured, "hey, this book sounds like a good read." This book is not what I expected it to be at all. I was pretty disappointed in this book.
I feel like it didn't really focus too much on the grieving process. I think it focused too much on Tessa's dads business. I think the funeral aspect of this book kind of ruined it.
Pros:
Quick Read: This book was such a fast read. If I didn't have a job or a toddler, I'm sure I would have finished it in like four hours. The chapters were short, which I love. I love being able to take little breaks in between chapters and this book is a great provider for that.
New Romance: So we know that Tess was technically "dating" Jonah. I feel as if it wasn't a real relationship because I feel like it was just flirting and whatnot. I love that she meets Daniel from this tragedy. Daniel is a great guy and I was totally rooting for him when he was first mentioned in this book.
Cons:
Not Enough Romance: I needed more of Tess and Daniel. We only get a few intimate scenes with them and at the end of the book, they're separated again. I hate long distance relationships in books. It drives me crazy that I don't get any cute cuddly scenes!
Grieving Process: I feel like this book doesn't do the grieving process justice. I've lost a relative, not a significant other. So I could be 100% wrong about this. I just feel like Tess handled everything wrong and took everything a bit too far. There was also just a lack of emotion throughout the book. I just feel like all the characters were blah.
Awkward: There were some awkward parts in this book that made me a bit squeamish. I tend to just think of young adults as kids in high school. Not college students. So when anything sexual is mentioned in a YA book it makes me feel weird. Even though I know the characters are most likely 18+ I feel weird.
Recommend To:
Anyone who likes a quick YA read.
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