Sorry For Your Loss by Jessie Ann Foley

Sorry For Your Loss by Jessie Ann Foley is my latest read and absolutely one of my favorite books that I have read this year.  This is such a powerful book about grief and trauma, how it affects us, and the things we can do to start to heal.  This is a story that is going to stick with me for a long time, a story that I won't soon forget.  This is a novel about the devastation of losing a loved one, the different ways in which we deal with it, but most importantly the hope that can surface when we can find peace.  I just can't say enough good about this beautiful novel!

Sorry For Your Loss is the story of Pup, the youngest of eight Flanagan children.  Being the youngest, he is often overlooked by those around him, especially as the family is still dealing with the death of Pup's older brother, Patrick, from just a couple short years ago.  With Pup about to fail his art class, his eccentric teacher gives him one more shot at redemption.  When he absentmindedly snaps a picture of his brother passed out on the roof, he sets into motion a budding love for photography and more importantly a chance to start healing as a family.  Through the portfolio he starts building for an art competition, Pup gracefully captures the grief his family still feels, but also the ways in which they can overcome this grief and find peace with the loss they have all suffered.   

 

 

From Amazon: 

From Printz Honor winner and Morris Award finalist Jessie Ann Foley comes a comitragic YA novel that will appeal to fans of Jandy Nelson and Jeff Zentner.

As the youngest of eight, painfully average Pup Flanagan is used to flying under the radar. He’s barely passing his classes. He lets his longtime crush walk all over him. And he’s in no hurry to decide on a college path.

The only person who ever made him think he could be more was his older brother Patrick. But that was before Patrick died suddenly, leaving Pup with a family who won’t talk about it and acquaintances who just keep saying, “sorry for your loss.”

When Pup excels at a photography assignment he thought he’d bomb, things start to come into focus. His dream girl shows her true colors. An unexpected friend exposes Pup to a whole new world, right under his nose.

And the photograph that was supposed to show Pup a way out of his grief ultimately reveals someone else who is still stuck in their own. Someone with a secret regret Pup never could have imagined.

Winner of the 2020-2020 North Star YA Award

Named to YALSA's Best Fiction for Young Adults list