Title: Fadeaway
Author: Maura Ellen Stokes
Publisher: Yellow Jacket
Reviewer: Yolanda Ridge
ISBN: 9781499806748
Since this review is not really a review at all but more of a personal reflection, I’m going to start with a quick description so I can get into listing the things I love about Fadeaway.
Publisher’s blurb:
When Sam’s best friend Reagan dies after her heart suddenly gives out, Sam must learn to deal with her grief and ultimately discover who she is without her best friend by her side.
What I love about it:
1 – The main character is 14-years-old
Fourteen was a very formative age for me: my family moved cities, I experienced by first true heartbreak, resisted peer pressure and remained vegetarian (pressure that came less from peers and more from family and cattle country in general), and discovered a passion for sport that would get me through several more life-altering changes. I don’t really remember being twelve and by sixteen, I had already figured a lot of stuff out. This is why I find it frustrating that authors are generally told not to write 14-year-old characters because they’re too old for middle grade and too young for young adult. (Maggie Tokuda-Hall wrote a great post this week about the subcategories of MG and YA). Readers need characters of all ages, including fourteen. And Sam’s a great one.
2 – Sam’s grief is shown in a raw but totally realistic way
My dad died when my twin sons were 2-years-old. It was a very difficult time for me and my grieving process was very complicated. I love that Sam’s grief is not shown as a linear progression where each day is better than the day before. There are days that Sam misses Reagan so much she can’t get out of bed. There are moments that she laughs out loud at a memory of Reagan. More often than not, these moments are followed by a wave of sadness. I love the coping mechanisms she develops as she figures out how to be Sam instead of Reagan&Sam. I have not lost a best friend but I’ve left many friends behind when I’ve moved between cities. Every time, it felt like I was reinventing myself as I learned to navigate a different world without the support network I’d come to rely on.
3 – The story is sad and sweet and even a bit slow – without being boring
For so many reasons, our society is becoming more and more about instant gratification. I see this everywhere, including in the books we give to children. I worry about how this will affect my own kids. I worry about how it has affected me. So I appreciated being reminded that books do not have to be action packed. Or set in a fantastic fantasy world. Or heavily illustrated. Or a mash up between one best seller and another. I refuse to call Fadeaway quiet but I love that it takes time to unravel. And I love that there are some good basketball scenes along the way.