Title: What You Left Me
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary/Paranormal
Author: Bridget Morrissey
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Publication: June 5th 2018
What You Left Me by Brigid Morrissey is one of those Young Adult Contemporary books where you want to talk to someone about it but you have no idea what to say that won’t be a spoiler. Have you read If I Stay by Gayle Forman? If yes, then you will LOVE this book. If no, then you will still probably love this book. It is a contemporary, yes, but it has some paranormal elements that make for one heck of a sad, but impactful, story. This is one book you definitely don’t want to miss out on.
Graduation day, oh man I definitely hated that day. You have to dress nice, wear a heavy gown over those nice clothes and then spend hours sitting outside in the heat and sun and sweat your butt off. All for what? To get a piece of paper saying you passed the worst part of your life? Graduation day might be a great experience for some people but for most, it’s just another thing to sit through. Luckily for Petra and Martin, they have each other to keep company with while, what seems like the largest school EVER, graduates.
Petra and Martin were two very different people but I think these two very different people needed each other. I can’t help but wonder how their lives would have differed if they had met sooner. Maybe the horrible thing that happened to Petra never would have happened. Maybe Martin wouldn’t have gotten in the car with his intoxicated best friend. But without that last part, this would be a very different book and I sort of, kind of like this book the way it is, even though it is extremely sad.
I love the aspect of the book where just a chance meeting with someone can have such a huge impact on your life. It wasn’t just for Petra and Martin, it was for a lot of things. A lot of people in this book met because of Martin’s accident but a lot of people also suffered because of it. One moment in life can change things so drastically, whether for the better or worse. Life is made up of a ton of these tiny moments and I really loved how the book pointed that out.
Spencer was Martin’s best friend, he was the one who caused the accident, and I think he was the one most impacted by this entire thing. Yes, you would think that causing a car accident because you were drinking would be extremely impactful but he has to live with the fact that he might have killed people and then he has to live with the fact that he no longer has his best friend and then he has to think about all the people who will be missing Martin if he does die. That is a lot of pain to bear alone. I felt really bad for him but at the same time, he got what he deserved for drinking and driving.
In the end, I am so glad I requested to read this book. It was a truly special experience for me. The book ended differently than If I Stay by Gayle Forman did and that ending made the book a lot more memorable than the other book. READ. THIS. BOOK.
