This book was a mixture of a love story and a sad story about a boy who had mental health issues. This boy had a way of hiding his mental issues from his girlfriend, who was a bit of a brat to him. She didn’t know what was happening to the boy and took out their issues on him. This may have had a bigger effect on him than what the story told because, in the end, he did decide to take his life.
This story takes place of a mystery, two people trying to find their lost friend. The author of this book is able to portray so many emotions to the reader that the characters are going through. Tim, the best friend of Chris helps the main character but holds a small bit of resistance toward her. While no one really blames the entire thing on her, there are some small difficulties where some of the blame is placed.
The book is in a series of letters addressed as “you”. This is so that Jessie can write to Chris, who no longer exists. She goes to Chris in her mind and in her writing. There are instances where she imagines Chris running alongside her or lying in bed with her. This really shows her love for her boyfriend and her inability to let him go. He is the single most important thing to her in his life.
I love the way that the author brings in the characters in the book. There is no jump between characters, and it always seems to run smooth. Chris and the main character are introduced first with a funny story about how the main character is stripped down almost completely naked in a lake, and Chris pokes her in the back with a stick because he thinks that she is dead. This was ironic and a funny way for the two to meet. Tim gets introduced when he is frantically trying to find Chris. He is frantic and stressed out when he talks to Jessie. Michael gets introduced as Jessie’s gay friend and the one who made Chris run away angry when the two were “dancing.” Tamara was introduced as the mean girl that thought that the entire incident was Jessie’s fault. She called her a fat loser and in all was really mean to Jessie.
This book was in all a book about suicide and depression. The end of the book was a letter and dedication to Al, a friend of the author. The author wrote this book in memory of a true story. While the characters were not real and the storyline was partially made up, there are very real emotions in the book. The author’s friend had gone missing while running alongside a river, just like the main character’s boyfriend had. This was a heart clinching story, and this book sheds a big light on the issue of suicide. I believe that everyone should read this book, and recognize that it is hard to know if someone is thinking about killing themselves or not.
