The Way He Lived

The Way He Lived
Emily Wing Smith

There wasn't enough water on the hike.
Joel didn't drink enough water to survive.

Those facts alone mean nothing...except that maybe Joel let himself die. Maybe he was trapped and couldn't figure any other way out.

That's how you get when you're trapped: desperate.

Another book from Authorpalooza in August.
From the inside cover

Sometimes being true to yourself means sacrificing everything.
Joel Espen could never be who he really was in the small town of Haven. Still, there was always something different about him. Sixteen years old. Green eyes that could see right into your heart. A slefless need to save people. Even the way he died reflected the way he lived: helping others. But suddenly losing your brother....your best friend....your first love?

As the six teens who were closest to Joel try to find the meaning behind his death, they begin to realize that tragedy can sometimes set you free-- by revealing who you truly are.

Another book that will go on my shelf in my office at work. Another author that captures the teen world so well. I read this book in August and have already pulled from it this school year as I deal with students and their issues, real and percieved.

Each section of this book is told from the perspective of someone else that knew Joel. Each section is titled by a line from the children's poem:
Monday's child is fair of face
Tuesday's child is full of grace (just an aside- I am a Tuesday's child)
Wednesday's child is full of woe
Thursday's child has far to go
Friday's child is loving and giving
Saturday's child must work hard for a living
But the child that's born on the Sabbath day
Is fair and wise and good and gay.

Joel is a Sunday's child. And everyone loves/ed him. But why did he have to die? Did he want to? Was it a loving sacrafice on his part? or a way to leave an unbearable existence? Questions we will never have the answer to, but questions that allow his family and friends to explore their own lives and where they want to go from here.



Buy the book here

Product details:

Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 240 pages
Publisher: Flux (November 1, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0738714046
ISBN-13: 978-0738714042
Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 0.7 inches

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Indeed.