The Way He Lived
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- R$ 34,90
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- R$ 34,90
Descrição da editora
A new edition of the raw and heartbreaking YA debut about one gay teen’s sacrifice and the community that can’t come to terms with the way he lived.
Sixteen-year-old Joel Espen died of thirst and heat exhaustion while on a hike in the Grand Canyon. He collapsed in a desperate attempt to get water for his friend. In the aftermath, everyone said was the strongest, bravest, and kindest young man anyone knew. But nobody really knew him.
The novel tells the story of Joel’s life and death through the memories of those who grew up around Joel. As each character presents a piece of the boy they knew, it becomes clear that however much people loved and admired Joel, there was something about him they could never quite admit—could never bring themselves to see. The heartbreaking tragedy was not only Joel’s death, but that in his life the people who loved him most, couldn’t accept him for what he was.
The Way He Lived is an unsparing story of a teen’s life and death and legacy in a small community told with nuance and subtlety.
“Powerful, funny, beautiful, and infinitely real. I love this book.”—Sara Zarr, National Book Award Finalist
“Compassionate and heartfelt.” —Ellen Wittlinger, Michael L. Printz Award Honoree
Winner of the 2009 Utah Book Award
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Besides living in the same Mormon community in Utah, Tabbatha, Adlen, Miles, Claire, Norah and Lissa have something else in common: each had a special connection to Joel Espen, who died of dehydration after giving away his water during a badly planned Boy Scout expedition. In vignettes showing the six teens' differing points of view, first-time author Smith probes into the psychologies of the survivors to demonstrate Joel's effect on their lives and their attempts to make sense of his death. Tabbatha, Joel's overachieving older sister, accelerates her recovery from the "nervous breakdown" she suffered before Joel died, telling herself that each new effort is something her brother would have wanted from her; his best friend, a self-proclaimed "bad kid," slashes the tires of the Scout leader's truck, using the knife Joel left him. The author preserves each narrator's complexity, investigating their defenses and revealing their core selves while dropping clues about the enigmatic Joel. It's a testament to Smith's skills that although her central character speaks only through other people's recollections, his identity emerges distinctly by the end of the novel, giving the audience enough information to judge his actions for themselves. Ages 13 up.
