Things People Ought to Know About Me: After my brother died, I didn't cry. Thirteen-year-old Lucy Bains is smarter than your average 7th grader, but there is a lot she doesn't understand: why her brother, a 17-year-old violin virtuoso, is depressed and has lost his passion for performing, why her mother is more interested in her brother's malaise than in Lucy's skill as a mime artist, and why her archaeologist father--who left them years ago and now lives in Peru--suddenly wants to come visit. And most baffling of all, when did her best friend Charles become someone she might like to kiss?
After their lives take a tragic turn when Henry kills himself, Lucy and her mother escape to Peru, desperate for any solace and distraction Lucy's father can provide. But when a local bookstore owner (and unapologetic poetry-pusher) who, like Lucy, is no stranger to grief, proves more present than her still-elusive father, Lucy must confront some hard truths about love and family, guilt and grief, and what to do when a best-friend-turned-crush is crushing on someone else.
With searing prose and a poetic voice, debut author Sarah Callendar tackles one of the most difficult losses a person can experience in an unforgettable young adult novel.
