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.

Inexcusable

Lynch, C. (2015). Inexcusable. New York: Simon & Schuster BFYR.

Loved by his family and peers, Keir is viewed as an All American football star, until he hurts a player on the opposing team one night, giving him his new nickname, Killer. His reckless behaviors within the story are viewed as innocent and harmless. But when things begin to take a downward turn, Keir struggles with finding his place and commits the ultimate mistake when he date rapes a girl he thought he loved. Denying such an event, Keir is faced with realization he committed a crime against a friend when under the influence of alcohol and drugs and now must face what is coming for him.

This realistic novel is intended for adolescents 15 years old or older due to the content of denial, sexual violence, rape, alcohol, and drugs. The point of view of Keir is a defenseless rapist. As the story is told alternating events of Keir’s end of high school, the reader is taken aback when realizing what really happens and cannot help but feel uneasy for Keir and sympathy for the victim in the end.

This novel can be used to demonstrate how being under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol can change the world around you in a split second, how decisions are altered and the consequences of our actions.

Andre the Giant: Life and Legend

Brown, B. (2014). Andre the Giant: Life and legend. New York, NY: First Second.

One of the early professional wrestlers, Andre the Giant, was faced with a rare disorder where his body produced too much hormones causing him to be such a large man. As fame came, so did the drugs, alcohol, and the rollercoaster of downfall. As the years went by, Andres body begin to crumble from his syndrome and he dealt with a lot of pain. With physical pain came emotional conflicts, such as a daughter that Andre did not see much of. While in town to attend his father’s funeral, Andre the Giant passed away in his sleep and the legend live on in wrestling fans today.

This graphic novel is intended for adolescents of 15 years old and up due to the images of alcohol, aggressive language, and violence portrayed outside of the wrestling ring.

This graphic novel would be for those individual boys who are interested in wrestling already and want to research one of it’s greatest celebrities. Students could also research his syndrome and have a better understanding of how it works and takes ahold of the body and emotions, as well as treatments or cures for it.

My Friend Dammer: A Graphic Novel

Backderf, D. (2012). My friend Dahmer: A graphic novel. New York: Abrams ComicArts. Based on the real Jeffery Dahmer, Backderf provides insight on the Jeffery before he became the notorious serial killer. This graphic novel gives the reader an idea of what life was like for Jeffery before he became famous, his dysfunctional home, absent father, alcoholism, what he did after school to animals, who he stalked, what interested him, and his first encounter with murder. The reader is able to connect with the author better, by visualize Dahmer and his behaviors through the illustrations.

This dark realistic fiction is ideal for adolescents 15 year old and older due to the content of it being about a serial killer and what he did to carry out his actions, his thought process, and obsessions.

Teachers can use this graphic novel to introduce a research project for speech, debate, or criminal justice classes. This can be a starting point and bridge the research into more detailed and centered topics about Jeffery Dahmer.

The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Alexie, S., & Forney, E. (2007). The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian. New York: Little, Brown. When the opportunity comes for Junior to step off the reservation, he is both excited but filled with guilt. As a Spokane Indian, he is faced with abandoning his heritage and faces ridicule for it from his peers on the reservation. With support from his parents, Junior decides to attend another school that is 22 miles away from home. With daily challenges of getting to and from school, being accepted by his peers at his new school, his peers on the reservation, and most important being rejected by his best friend, Junior emotionally journeys through high school knowing he did the right thing in making a bad situation better for himself.

This books is intended for ages 12 year-old and up. While going back and forth between the reservation and his new high school, Junior deals with alcoholism, death of a loved on, tragic accidents, acceptance of his peers and locals, and poverty, while also trying to figure himself out like any other teenage boy, especially when it comes to the opposite sex. Junior handles a lot in this realistic fiction.

The absolutely true diary of a part-time Indian would be a good novel for adolescent boys to read as they begin to discover who they really are and learning to do and doing what makes them happy.