Meghan Boehman

Representation: N/A
Trigger warnings: Death of a child and friend in a car crash in the past mentioned, grief and loss depiction
Score: Seven points out of ten.
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I saw Dear Rosie when I visited one of two libraries (the other one didn't have this title) and I immediately wanted to pick it up. I glanced at the blurb, making me think Dear Rosie is heavy yet intriguing, and the high ratings increased my expectations. When I read and finished the book, it was quick but enjoyable.

It starts with the first character I see, Millie, with her three friends: Florence, Claire and Gabby. Millie had a fourth friend, Rosie, until the last one died in a car crash, throwing the remaining four friends into a storm of grief they haven't recovered from yet. Soon enough, after the opening pages, Millie stumbles upon a book someone left while at the laundromat and she questioned if it has any connection to Rosie. That investigation spanned most of Dear Rosie but it obscured the central theme of grief sometimes. I surmise the author set the narrative only a few days after Rosie's death, when her friends are still in the early stages of bereavement, but the quick pacing worked against its favour. By the closing pages Millie and others have moved on already from that incident but still remember Rosie--a realistic way to handle the situation. The abandoned journal led to an underground tunnel system where Rosie's name was on there, which led to Millie and others putting their names on also. The conclusion ends Dear Rosie on a bittersweet note.… (mehr)