The Way He Lived by Emily Wing Smith
I read the The Way He Lived by Emily Wing Smith after it was recommended by Sara Zarr. Plus, Smith lives in Salt Lake City. Double bonus! I’m always up for reading books by my local authors.
Set in a small town in Utah, The Way He Lived is the exploration of how the death of sixteen-year-old Joel Espen affects six of his friends and family. Joel died for lack of water while trying to save his friends and leaders while on a church-sponsored scouting hike. The book opens after his death and Emily Wing Smith did a fantastic job exploring a character who isn’t even alive in the book.
Told in six loosely connecting stories, each voice deals with the aftermath of Joel’s absence and what his life meant to them. From both his older and younger sister who each felt as though Joel were their best friend, to his debate partner in school, his almost girlfriend, his unlikely best friend, and his best friends girlfriend. As a group, all our understandably upset but each deals with their grief in very different ways. This is the type of book that isn’t shy to deal with adult issues yet aimed at teens. It’s subtle yet strong.
The Way He Lived book trailer:
Emily Wing Smith is a debut author to watch for. She’s off to a great start. Emily Wing Smith website.
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Category: Book Reviews, Fiction, Young Adult
Tags: book trailers, female author, Fiction, LDS author, published 2008, Q-T Author, U-Z Title, Utah author, videos
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I didn’t want this post to be lonely without a comment and I’m glad I did pop over from Twitter, however, because I am a huge fan of loosely connected stories and novels told in stories so I will definitely go check this book out.
on February 13th, 2009 at 7:56 pmOh thanks Karen! This post was feeling rather lonely. Emily Wing Smith is a local author and I’d love to hook up with her one day at a signing.
on February 15th, 2009 at 9:14 pm[...] review Maw Books Blog review Publishers Weekly reviews Readingjunky’s Reading Roost review Salt Lake City Weekly review [...]
on March 14th, 2009 at 12:33 pm[...] The Way He Lived by Emily Wing Smith [...]
on November 16th, 2009 at 3:04 am