' Kari's choice for May 2013 This is an extremely well-written and suspenseful book about a boy struggling with the grief of his brother's death. Which is the only controversial thing about it, but for the most part, I thought the curse words were a necessity to get the correct view of the character. Unfortunately it's not going to be in our JR/SR High School because of the harsh language. A rough and gritty novel about a teenage boy who has lost his brother, but exactly how well did he know his brother (perhaps not as well as you might think.) A book I would highly recommend. ' One of those books that grabs your attention from the beginning! Lots of twists and always has you thinking. Pros: appealing and relevant to the male teenage audience emotion-driven Cons: the ending is resolved a bit too quickly. Matt must learn to address his anger and confusion stemming from his family's dysfunction, teen drama at school, and TJ's hidden life. ' Matt goes on an adventure of self- and familial-discovery after his older, and much revered, brother TJ becomes another casualty of the recent Iraqi War. Overall Performance: Narration Rating: Story Rating:.Probably for the more mature teen (Matt talks like a teenage boy who has been mistreated by his dad his whole life).' This book isn't going to fly off the shelves, but it will appeal to many. It's a story of love, fear, and family, with a tiny touch of romance. I wanted this to be a war story it's not. This story is beautifully told by first-time novelist, E.M. And that discovery is a shock - both to T.J.

This evidence sends Matt on a literal and figurative journey of discovery. When Matt finally gets up the nerve to sneak into T.J.'s room and break open the trunk, he finds evidence of a T.J.

Dad's whole presence exudes violence and threats and Matt is afraid of him. Dad refuses to talk and refuses to acknowledge the letters (shoved in a closet) or the trunks (locked in T.J.'s room). It would be nice if Matt could openly look through T.J.'s personal effects delivered by the Army. It would be nice if Matt could read all of those condolence letters sent by friends and strangers. It would be nice if Matt could talk to his dad about their loss. 'Matt is grieving over his brother, T.J.'s, death. Kokie explores grief and self-discovery in this powerful first novel. With compassion, humor, and a compelling narrative voice, E. Matt will do whatever it takes to find out the truth about his brother’s past. Now, even if it means pushing his dad over the edge…Įven if it means getting expelled from school… He wasn’t expecting T.J.’s personal effects to raise even more questions about his life. Seventeen-year-old Matt Foster thought that if he could only get his hands on his brother’s stuff from Iraq, he’d be able to make sense of his death.

Personal effects by em kokie