A review by luckybydesign
Sorry For Your Loss by Jessie Ann Foley
5.0
I’ve been in a bit of a reading slump for awhile - reading, but the books I was reading were just okay, not the kind of books you’d stay up late to read, or to sneak a few minutes between tasks to get a chapter in. And then came Sorry For Your Loss, by Jessie Ann Foley.
Sorry For Your Loss follows Pup (which is a nickname; his real name is James) and his huge family of 26 - he is the last of 8 brothers and sisters. The story follows Pup as he tries to come to grips with life a few years after his brother Patrick suddenly passed away. Pup’s family isn’t one to talk about uncomfortable things, and so Patrick’s name is never mentioned, and his high school graduation photo on the wall going up the stairs was replaced by an image of a baby angel. And because Patrick’s never mentioned, everyone in the family deals with his death on their own, leading often to catastrophic results. Pup seems doomed to a life of mediocrity as he numbly fights his way through life, but then one teacher, Mr. Hughes, his art teacher, takes a chance on him and one stunning photograph he’d taken. And in this one chance, Pup’s life begins to change.
Jessie Ann Foley is masterful with words and in immersing you in the lives of her characters. They feel so real. This made the experience of living with Pup for a bit feel like a delicious dip in someone else’s world for a while.
Thank you to Edelweiss and HarperTeen for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.
Sorry For Your Loss follows Pup (which is a nickname; his real name is James) and his huge family of 26 - he is the last of 8 brothers and sisters. The story follows Pup as he tries to come to grips with life a few years after his brother Patrick suddenly passed away. Pup’s family isn’t one to talk about uncomfortable things, and so Patrick’s name is never mentioned, and his high school graduation photo on the wall going up the stairs was replaced by an image of a baby angel. And because Patrick’s never mentioned, everyone in the family deals with his death on their own, leading often to catastrophic results. Pup seems doomed to a life of mediocrity as he numbly fights his way through life, but then one teacher, Mr. Hughes, his art teacher, takes a chance on him and one stunning photograph he’d taken. And in this one chance, Pup’s life begins to change.
Jessie Ann Foley is masterful with words and in immersing you in the lives of her characters. They feel so real. This made the experience of living with Pup for a bit feel like a delicious dip in someone else’s world for a while.
Thank you to Edelweiss and HarperTeen for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review.