A review by kristid
You Are Not Here, by Samantha Schutz
3.0
It's funny, how verse novels with such few words can often invoke more emotion than a novel with twice as many. You Are Not Here is a novel about loss, and ultimately moving on.
Annaleah's relationship with Brian was complicated. From what we find out I'm not sure that Brian felt the same way that Annaleah did. It's easy to be mad at her for being so naive, yet at the same time it's easy to see how being in love can blind you. The depiction of the grieving process was done extremely well. You can feel Annaleah's hopelessness flowing off the page.
Perhaps it was the novels prose but, I felt a distance from all of the characters. That being said, Shultz is a very talented writer and I enjoyed reading the novel overall, with it's poetic nature. I reread many of the passages because they were that gripping.
An emotional and fast read, You Are Not Here is a beautiful story of love, loss and forgiveness.
Annaleah's relationship with Brian was complicated. From what we find out I'm not sure that Brian felt the same way that Annaleah did. It's easy to be mad at her for being so naive, yet at the same time it's easy to see how being in love can blind you. The depiction of the grieving process was done extremely well. You can feel Annaleah's hopelessness flowing off the page.
Perhaps it was the novels prose but, I felt a distance from all of the characters. That being said, Shultz is a very talented writer and I enjoyed reading the novel overall, with it's poetic nature. I reread many of the passages because they were that gripping.
An emotional and fast read, You Are Not Here is a beautiful story of love, loss and forgiveness.