By: Beth Revis
Genres: Young Adult
Posted: June 30, 2016
A WORLD WITHOUT YOU is a moving and emotional story of a grieving young man with a mental illness and his sister, who feels both resentment and love for the brother she barely knows anymore. What I love most about Beth Revis's latest work is that Phoebe, the sister, narrates part of the book, but she isn't used to tell Bo's story. Bo has a strong voice, and he is in charge of his own narrative, though his delusions don't match the reality in front of him. Readers unfamiliar with mental illnesses that involve dissociation and delusions should listen to Bo's side closely. Bo has a mental illness, but unlike stereotypes or stigmas that may suggest otherwise, he is a multi-faceted human being who is capable of every emotion and has the ability to live a full life. Even if it may look different than a neurotypical one. His grief over Sofia is heartbreaking, and his journey to heal and to find sustainable hope again, to break from a toxic friend, and to let his voice be heard is absolutely unforgettable.
Likewise, Phoebe is a well-rounded character in her own right. Her relationship with her brother influences her significantly, and she battles with herself over feelings of jealousy, resentment, and affection towards her brother. She feels more pressure to be the perfect child when all she wants is freedom and room for imperfections. The conclusion to her and Bo's story is beautiful and heartrending.
Beth Revis's A WORLD WITHOUT YOU is an important take on mental illness, sibling relationships, and learning how to fight your problems in a healthy way.
Book Summary
After the unexpected loss of his girlfriend, a teenage boy suffering from delusions is convinced that he can travel through time to save her, in this gripping new novel from New York Times bestselling author Beth Revis.
Seventeen-year-old Bo has always had delusions that he can travel through time. When he was ten, Bo claimed to have witnessed the Titanic hit an iceberg, and at fifteen, he found himself on a Civil War battlefield, horrified by the bodies surrounding him. So when his concerned parents send him to a school for troubled youth, Bo assumes he knows the truth: that he’s actually attending Berkshire Academy, a school for kids who, like Bo, have "superpowers."
At Berkshire, Bo falls in love with Sofia, a quiet girl with a tragic past and the superpower of invisibility. Sofia helps Bo open up in a way he never has before. In turn, Bo provides comfort to Sofia, who lost her mother and two sisters at a very young age.
But even the strength of their love isn’t enough to help Sofia escape her deep depression. After she commits suicide, Bo is convinced that she's not actually dead. He believes that she's stuck somewhere in time — that he somehow left her in the past, and now it's his job to save her.
Not since Ned Vizzini’s It’s Kind of a Funny Story has there been such a heartrending depiction of mental illness. In her first contemporary novel, Beth Revis guides readers through the mind of a young man struggling to process his grief as he fights his way through his delusions. As Bo becomes more and more determined to save Sofia, he has to decide whether to face his demons head-on, or succumb to a psychosis that will let him be with the girl he loves.
by: Beth Revis
Razorbill
July 1, 2016
On Sale: July 19, 2016
Featuring:
372 pages
ISBN: 1595147152
EAN: 9781595147158
Kindle: B0177AGO00
Hardcover / e-Book