The Boy in the Black Suit

Reynolds, J. (2015). The boy in the black suit. New York, NY: Anthem Books for Young Readers. At seventeen years old, Matthew Miller experiences something so devastating that his world is turned upside down. Everything is not what it should be. Everyday, Matt puts on his black suit, not because of his mother’s recent passing, but he wears it to work at the funeral home. Since his dad is hitting the bottle to drown out the world, someone has to help out with the bills. As he tends to funerals, he searches for someone who understands his felling of loneliness. That is when he meets Lovey. A girl who is so tough, he is drawn to her. As they build a friendship, Matt and Lovey find that their loneliness begins to grow into something else.

Reynolds provides a realistic story of a teenager loosing his mother to cancer, who father turns to alcohol, and finding that he is lonely when none of his peers seem to understand him. The black suit that Reynolds has Matt wear throughout the book represents not only the death of his mother, but it becomes part of the process of him mourning her, as well as apart of his identity. Wearing his suit and working at the funeral home are things that help him cope with his loss and find comfort in others feeling what he felt and still feels. When he meets Lovey, he finds that through her toughness shows him that things do get better and finds comfort in knowing they have experienced similar loses.

Matt highly dislikes flowers, but Reynolds places them throughout the book within the funerals, his mother’s gravesite, and the botanical garden towards the end of the story. With flowers comes life and death, full of colors of different forms at the beginning and dullness crumpled to dust in the end. Reynolds uses the flowers to represent the cycle of life, its beginning and its end.

Reynolds also uses such dialect that is common amongst young teens, both when speaking and in Matt’s thoughts. He is able to present a story through Matt’s eyes and mind. This alone will captivate young adult readers.

Reviews

“Gr 7 Up—Matt's mother just died, and his dad isn't coping well, hanging out with the local drunk and downing whiskey, which results in his getting hit by a car and landing in the hospital. Matt is also grieving his mom's death and now he's on his own, until he lands a job at the local funeral home: $15 an hour and Mr. Ray as his boss. Attending other people's funerals helps the teen come to grips with his own grief. Hearing mourners express their real thoughts of suffering at each funeral allows Matt to figure out his own feelings. Mr. Ray is wise and shows up at all the right times to help out the struggling young man, and when Mr. Ray's secrets come to light, he appears even cooler in Matt's eyes. Amid all this, Matt meets Lovey, the girl of his dreams, who is smart, funny, gorgeous, and tough. A mystery intersecting Lovey's life and that of Matt's best friend, Chris, deepens the plot. Written in a breezy style with complex characters who have real lives, this is another hit for Reynolds, fresh off the success of his When I Was the Greatest (S. & S., 2014). The author's seemingly effortless writing shines in this slice-of-life story, which covers a lot of the protagonist's emotional ground. The realistic setting and character-driven tale keeps readers turning the pages of this winner.—Amy Cheney, Alameda County Library, San Leandro, CA. School Library Journal”

"The realistic setting and character-driven tale keeps readers turning the pages of this winner." -School Library Journal

"A vivid, satisfying and ultimately upbeat tale of grief, redemption and grace." -Kirkus Reviews

"Matt is a wonderfully sympathetic, multidimensional character whose voice is a perfect match for the material and whose relationships with Love and Mr. Ray—also a fascinating character—are beautifully realized. This quiet story is clearly a winner." –Booklist

I fell in love with this book immediately upon turning the first few pages. I was able to connect with Matt with the experience of losing a parent to an illness. Matt decided to become active in honoring his mother when working at the funeral home and tending to the services. He constantly had flashbacks and memories of his mother that made his move forward. He knew that if he did or didn’t do something, his mother would be so mad at him. I wear purple a lot in honor of my mother, it was her favorite color, I try to do what she would have done as a mother. I went back to school for myself as well as for her. It was the one thing she wanted to do, but couldn’t due to being sick.

Those young adults who have lost a parent to sickness will definitely understand Matt’s point of view throughout the story, they will be able to connect with his character. The reader will find that there is a sense of healing with Matt as he journey’s through his process.