What I Leave Behind by Alison McGhee

What I Leave Behind by Alison McGhee is such a unique book.  This is the story of Will, a kid with a huge heart, told in 100 chapters of 100 words each.  While his story is short, and a very quick read, the reader will quickly see the kindness of this character as he searches for his place in the world after the suicide of his father.

Since his father's passing, Will has taken to walking everywhere.  It is in this walking that we see his thoughtfulness and heart throughout this short novel.  Not only does he reach out to help his closest friend, one who he hasn't spent time with in forever but is the victim of a recent sexual assault, but he also finds joy in the small boy he often sees as he walks to work.  But his kindness is not only limited to people.  The "insane dog" that is chained up in one of the yards he passes also becomes a target of his generosity.  And through these interactions, this novel will touch your heart in a way you may not have expected from such a quick read.  


From Amazon:

“An artful exercise in melancholy…Every reader will love openhearted Will.” —Booklist (starred review)
“Haunting, introspective.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Emotionally raw…[A] piercing narrative.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“McGhee artfully illustrates the tangled web wherein grief intertwines with the mundane.” —BCCB

After his dad dies of suicide, Will tries to overcome his own misery by secretly helping the people around him in this exquisitely crafted story made up of one hundred chapters of one hundred words each, by award-winning and bestselling author Alison McGhee.

Sixteen-year-old Will spends most of his days the same way: Working at the Dollar Only store, trying to replicate his late father’s famous cornbread recipe, and walking the streets of Los Angeles. Will started walking after his father committed suicide, and three years later he hasn’t stopped. But there are some places Will can’t walk by: The blessings store with the chest of 100 Chinese blessings in the back, the bridge on Fourth Street where his father died, and his childhood friend Playa’s house.

When Will learns Playa was raped at a party—a party he was at, where he saw Playa, and where he believes he could have stopped the worst from happening if he hadn’t left early—it spurs Will to stop being complacent in his own sadness and do some good in the world. He begins to leave small gifts for everyone in his life, from Superman the homeless guy he passes on his way to work, to the Little Butterfly Dude he walks by on the way home, to Playa herself. And it is through those acts of kindness that Will is finally able to push past his own trauma and truly begin to live his life again. Oh, and discover the truth about that cornbread.