First things first this book tells the story of Cody who is left devastated after the suicide of her best friend Meg. Meg’s parents ask Cody to travel down to the college and gather her things. Faced with a thousand questions and no answers she begins researching the life Meg had that she didn’t know about including following a lead she finds on her laptop that connects her to a pro-suicide group.
Huge Trigger: On a personal note my friend committed suicide last year so I can tell you this could be a book that some people might not be ready for. I found it helpful but overall I have mixed feelings about the book.
Cody comes to learn that Meg was visiting this site and talking specifically with one person who encouraged and helped her. As with most people Cody’s natural reaction is to hunt this person down and confront him. This is the most interesting part of the book and honestly I couldn’t be objective on this guy or anything like it. At one point he tells her (Meg) that her family and her little brother would be free to be themselves without her when you can see the destruction that it roots it’s hard not to hate the guy.
Also- as Meg baits the guy and she spins deeper and deeper down the well she actually starts considering it at one point needing to get rid of her mother’s pills because the urge scares her so much.
Cody does come to learn some deeper reasons why Meg killed herself or get a better understanding of the reasons anyway. I did have to wonder when that comes out why Meg’s parents didn’t tell the poor girl the truth in the first place.
Also the relationship in the book was a little too cliché for me. She meets Ben. She hates Ben. She comes to learn that Ben is deeper, kinder and pretty much Prince Charming. Plus he’s the misunderstood musician. Of course right? I did however like Cody’s relationship with her mother. While it wasn’t great I thought it was honest and reasonable and I really liked her mother noticing and pointing out her strength in the end.
Recommend: I guess I’m fifty-fifty on this one. I would recommend it overall but I have to admit that’s a highly personal bias. Also I would be careful of who may be reading this book. While Forman’s main point is the emotional loss and destruction left behind I would worry that some readers might pick up on things like the urge that takes hold of Cody at certain points in the book.