Welcome to Day 20 of the Blogging From A to Z April Challenge here at
Reading on the F Train. Today's topic is The Theory of Everything by J.J. Johnson!
The Theory of Everything by J.J. JohnsonMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is somehow a truly delightful book about death; a frequently funny story of grief and anger and loss. After Sarah’s best friend dies in a horrific freak accident, it’s like Sarah no longer has control of her own mouth. Her “snark box” turns on at the drop of a hat, and she’s messing things up with everyone in her life. Watching her claw her way out of the angry, scary hole she’s in at the beginning of the story would be compelling enough, but her voice is one of the clearest and most authentically “teen” voices I’ve read in a long time. This book is satisfying without being trite, and moving without being one of those books that totally destroys you. I loved Sarah’s quirks--her pockets, I’m afraid, look a lot like mine, and her charts and doodles add a lot of charm. Recommended for anyone, especially fans of contemporary stories that don’t totally revolve around romance.
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I've never heard of this one until now. You know, I've seen several reviews on your blog for books I'm not familiar with. I'm starting to think my local bookstores are woefully under stocked. Either that or you're just really good at digging up obscure, good books. :)
ReplyDeleteI hadn't heard of this one either until the Cybils! Actually, that was true of a couple of the finalists I had to read.
DeleteI'm not sure where I discover most of my books--when I lived near Books of Wonder, that definitely helped...and actually, the Cybils didn't just give me a shortlist of books, it gave me a whole new group of blogs (the other YA Fiction judges/panelists) to follow, which was nice because often that group of people will come across books my other blog circles haven't discovered yet. I like feeling like I'm introducing people to books I loved :)
I've heard this title, but I had no idea what it was about before reading your post. This sounds like something that I'd enjoy. I especially like the authentic teen voice thing and a story that doesn't destroy you. Thanks for the recommendation, Jess! I'm going to head over to Goodreads and add it to my TBR list right now.
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