You Are Not Here by Samantha Schutz

You Are Not Here by Samantha Schutz
Release Date: October 1, 2010
Publisher: Push
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 224
Buy This Book:  Amazon





Summary: Annaleah and Brian had something special -- Annaleah is sure of it. When they were together, they didn't need anyone else. It didn't matter that it ...more Annaleah and Brian had something special -- Annaleah is sure of it. When they were together, they didn't need anyone else. It didn't matter that it was secret. All that mattered was what they shared.

And then, out of nowhere, Brian is killed in an accident. And while everyone else has their role in the grieving process, Annaleah finds herself living on the outside of it, unacknowledged and lonely. How can you recover from a loss no one will let you have?

My Thoughts: First off, I'll start explaining why I only gave this book 3 cupcakes. Generally 3 cupcakes does mean I liked it, I just didn't like it as much as I wanted too or love it. You Are Not Here is written in verse and it reminded me of Chasing Brooklyn a lot which I did enjoy. I usually do not like too many books written in verse so that may be why my rating is a little low. I also wasn't aware before reading it that it was written in verse. However, it is a fast read so I gave it a shot anyway.

We are introduced to the main character Annaleah who is grieving for Brian. I can't really call Brian her boyfriend since it was not official and he more or less hid her. Hardly anyone knew they were together, even his family was in the dark. We dive right into the book with Brian's death and Annaleah's reaction, than we get a glimpse into their whole relationship through flashbacks. Honestly, she reacted pretty well to all this. She didn't even tell her mother they were together (how does that happen?). She was really close to Brian. She even lost her virginity to him so how does the girl not have a major freakout when he dies? She has a few friends but her best friend Marissa is the one who is there throughout the story. They weren't really getting along too well before his death because she thought he wasn't good enough for Annaleah.

My impression of the cast of characters is a bit clouded I guess. Annaleah seemed like a normal girl but I didn't feel like she reacted enough to the news of his death. Yes, she shut herself off mentally but how could she not go around and tell everyone about their relationship? I can understand not wanting the whole world to know but it really bothered me her own mother did not catch on. Marisa was a good friend, even though they didn't always agree, she came to Annaleah's rescue and was there for her when she needed her most. As for Brian, I wanted to feel sorry for him, I wanted to like him but for the simple fact that he didn't acknowledge their relationship and was seen with another girl at some point by Marissa and his friend mentioned it to Annaleah; he came off as a player.

I was glad Annaleah started to move on to someone else, but that happened so fast and it didn't happen to almost the end of the book. I think I would have enjoyed learning more about the new guy and seeing if he was a good guy or not (he seemed to be though).

I think You Are Not Here is a nice one  but just didn't hold my attention long enough and will see what else this author writes.

Overall: This one is an alright book. Not my favorite though, but remember I'm not a big fan of books written in verse so if you are, you may like it a lot more than me.

Cover: I've seen a few versions of this ones cover and I've liked them all. 

What I'd Give It: