Someone Else's Shoes by Ellen Wittlinger

Someone Else's Shoes

by Ellen Wittlinger

Tackling divorce and suicide with a warmth and sensitive humor that refuses to be weighed down, Someone Else's Shoes chronicles a road trip that unites three young people in search of family and acceptance. Fans of Sharon Draper, Jo Knowles and Counting by Sevens will be moved by this tale of what brings us together when things fall apart.

Twelve-year-old Izzy, a budding stand-up comic, is already miserable about her father's new marriage and the new baby on the way. Then ten-year-old cousin Oliver and his father, Uncle Henderson, move in with Izzy and her mom because Oliver's mother committed suicide only a few months ago. And to make matters worse, Ben, the rebellious 16-year-old son of Izzy's mother's boyfriend, winds up staying with them, too.

But when Uncle Henderson--who has been struggling with depression after his wife's suicide--disappears, Ben, Izzy, and Oliver set aside their differences and hatch a plan to find him. As the threesome travels in search of Henderson, they find a surrogate family in each other.

Reviewed by Sam@WLABB on

4 of 5 stars

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How do three sort of broken young people start to reassemble themselves? They make some bad choices, go on a road trip, and most importantly, they find each other and learn to open up about their losses.

• Pro: I wasn't sure about Izzy, but she grew on me. At first she seemed a little selfish. However, as she opened up more, I discovered she was also hurting. She did change quite a bit from her experience, and I saw it happening, bit by bit, and each time, I was quite proud of all the progress she made.

• Pro: Ben, Oliver, and Izzy seemed so different from each other, but they all shared the loss of a parent in some way. Oliver's was probably the most devastating, but I like that Wittlinger didn't make Ben and Izzy's "losses" seem like non-events, because they weren't for them. The different degree of loss also gave the other characters some perspective, and helped them work through their issues. I like how it put that "in someone else's shoes" thing into practice.

• Pro: The portrayal of a father in the throes of grief can be quite meaningful to a child, who is in the same situation. Men are so often portrayed as "strong", and this father wore his grief on the outside, in full view. Sometimes we need to see things like this.

• Pro: The road trip was so wrong, but also pushed the characters in the right direction. It was an opportunity to see a different side of Ben and Izzy, as well as, finally see Oliver release all the pent up anger, fear, and sadness he had been hiding from his dad.

• Pro: Wittlinger's discussion involving Oliver's mother's suicide was handled in a gentle and considerate manner. They discussed the mother's existing mental health issues and her battle with them, while also standing behind therapy and medication as a way to deal with grief and depression.

• Pro: The ending was full of hope, and a story with so many heavy things needed to be capped off with a healthy does of hope. So, thank you, Ellen Wittlinger for that, and for the cute comedy bits in-between, which gave this story balance, and kept it from being too heavy.

Overall: A tender and heartwarming story of grief and loss, but also of connection and healing, which thoughtfully tackled some very big issues.

*ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 30 August, 2018: Finished reading
  • 30 August, 2018: Reviewed