Alison Espach

This coming-of-age novel also encompasses themes such as the meaning of love, the effects of grief and loss, survivors' guilt, and developing a deeper understanding of our parents and the aging process. Katy dies at an early age, but the effects of her death go on for decades.
Some interesting and memorable quotes:
"I was a survivor...I had proof that we were all, in the end, exactly the same, and that anyone who pretends differently is lying.. and thinking of this- made me feel like I could say or do anything." (p.106)
"...now that you were dead, we could say anything we wanted. No swear word was ever going to be as terrible as 'dead'"(p. 111)
"That's what happens when parents die... All of a sudden, you want an answer to every question you never thought to ask them." (p. 321)… (mehr)

Though the writing was witty and the plot kept me interested, I was ultimately a little disappointed at the end of this. How is Emily different at the end of this book? What's going to happen to her? It's kind of unsatisfying for a book to follow a character from age 14 to 30 and then just stop when the character's on the verge of maybe figuring some stuff out. Hmph.

I did like the twist with Mr. Basketball at the end. It almost made me wish the book were from his perspective, but I guess that would just make it a kind of modern day [b:Lolita|7604|Lolita|Vladimir Nabokov|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1327871906s/7604.jpg|1268631], right? The part where he said, "I didn't want a child or a wife and I got what I wanted," was like a gut punch.

The things I'll take away from this book:

1. It horrifies me how fast some kids grow up. Stay young and innocent as long as you can, friends. Do not enter into some tragic romance when you're just a kid.

2. Prague sounds really cool.

3. Don't leave a plastic spoon by the stove.

4. The "What can you do with a _____?" game Emily and her dad played.… (mehr)