"Through raw moments and strikingly mature characterizations, Kokie explores loss, personal relationships, and the burden of preconceptions." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
T.J. is gone, but Matt can’t shake the feeling that if only he could get his hands on his brother’s stuff from Iraq, he’d be able to make sense of his death. As Matt searches for answers, he faces a shocking revelation about T.J.’s life. What he learns challenges him to stand up to his father, honor his brother’s memory, and take charge of his own life. With compassion, humor, and a compelling narrative voice, E. M. Kokie explores grief, social mores, and self-discovery in a provocative first novel.
I really honestly did not like Matt as the lead here. I feel he screwed it up, especially with his reaction to Theo's secret. I did not understand his anger. He had made his brother out to be this amazing hero and wanted to prove his greatness, but he gets mad after wrongfully heading to conclusions. To me it seems Matt didn't really fond his brother all that great, based on the part where he felt he was stuck in his brother's shadow and felt his brother starved him of proper brotherly affection and in the book says he strives for this affection from his brother. I didn't care for the Matt-and-his-love-interest-dramatics as a sub plot. We don't even get to see Matt try to prove his brother until after some really lame floundering around where we are thrown into Ted and the father-son issues without any explanation on Ted until much, much later. All and all I think the concept was good and it didn't start the best but it took more than it could handle.
