How to Lose Yourself Completely
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
A teen grappling with grief and anxiety is sent to wilderness "adventure therapy,” where he meets a group of friends—and a girl from his past—who will change his life forever. This captivating novel is perfect for fans of Jandy Nelson and John Green.
Ever since Sean’s death, Case’s anxiety has been spiraling. Sean wasn’t just his older brother—he was also Case’s best friend. The only person who really got him.
When his parents suggest “adventure therapy,” Case is desperate enough to agree. Maybe roughing it in the woods with a group of anxious strangers will help him find a way forward. After he boards the bus, he sees the one person he’s been trying to avoid: Diana. Sean’s girlfriend.
Once they set off, there is the expected cringey singing and forced sharing. But when their counselor mysteriously disappears, the trip suddenly turns into a journey of survival. This group of kids, with nothing in common but their prescriptions and lack of social skills, will have to band together to make it back home. In the process, they will change each other’s lives forever.
From award-winning author Peter Bognanni comes a profound, surprising, and hopeful novel about grief and love.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Bognanni (This Book Is Not Yet Rated) presents a taut survival story set against the stark beauty of Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Seventeen-year-old Case is reluctantly participating in an "adventure therapy" trip for teens with anxiety disorders, an undertaking made worse by his grief over the death of his older brother, Sean. Case's unease deepens when he discovers that Diana, Sean's ex-girlfriend, is also on the trip. What begins as a structured wilderness excursion spirals into peril when the trip leader vanishes along with everyone's medications. Stranded and desperate, Case and Diana, who both read as white, and their three fellow teens rely on one another to navigate the unforgiving terrain, locate supplies, and endure mounting environmental threats. As the group confronts physical danger, compassionate prose carves out space for quieter reckonings, particularly between Case and Diana, whose shared grief over Sean shifts from cold silence to tentative understanding. Moments of action are anchored by layered depictions of anxiety and resilience, and watching the characters forge bonds and push beyond their perceived limits is both gripping and deeply affecting. It coalesces into a blend of wilderness adventure and emotional healing bolstered by hard-won connection. Ages 14–up.
