Like Nothing Amazing Ever Happened by Emily Blejwas
Release: April 14th 2020
Format: Ebook
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Source: Amazon
Synopsis:
A poignant story of a boy picking up the pieces of his life after the unexpected death of his father, and the loyalty, concern, and friendship he finds in his small-town community.
Justin doesn’t know anything these days. Like how to walk down the halls without getting stared at. Nor what to say to Jenni. Or how Phuc is already a physics genius in seventh grade. Or why Benny H. wanders around Wicapi talking to old ghosts. He doesn’t know why his mom suddenly loves church or if his older brother, Murphy, will ever play baseball again. Or if the North Stars have a shot at the playoffs. Justin doesn’t know how people can act like everything’s fine when it’s so obviously not. And most of all, he doesn’t know what really happened the night his dad died on the train tracks.
And that sucks.
But life goes on. And as it does, Justin discovers that some things are just unknowable. He learns that time and space and memory are grander and weirder than he ever thought, and that small moments can hold big things, if you’re paying attention. Just like his math teacher said, even when you think you have all the information, there will be more. There is always more.
Set during the Gulf War era, Like Nothing Amazing Ever Happened is a story about learning to go on after loss, told with a warmth that could thaw the coldest Minnesota lake.
Like Nothing Amazing Ever Happened Review:
Wow! I was just speechless after reading this book. It talks about a subject which I feel needs to be written carefully. The topic being how to deal with the loss of a loved one and the author perfectly captured it.
The story is very simple, yet so beautiful and poignant. The author tells us how people cope with death differently. For Justin’s mother, it is about turning towards religion and God. Murphy wants to become an atheist because he doesn’t believe anymore. Justin is still trying to find out what happens and looking into science and parallel dimensions. The book talks about coping in so many layers. Moreover, it tells us that in the end, we just need to live in the moment and cherish it. But it also highlights the importance to know the history of anything to appreciate if more. I loved the whole angle of Justin researching the history of his town to have others connected to it.
Another aspect that I loved about this story is that there are no good or bad characters. The author did not stereotype the characters, and captured them realistically. They are all normal decent people who are living their lives. On a side note, I also liked the friendship between Jenni and Justin. Phuc is a wonderful side character, but I wish the author had given him a better name *lol*. I loved all the facts he mentions about parallel dimensions and infinite possibilities we have. Another reason I liked the story was for all the war trivia it mentioned. It gives everyone an idea of the background behind the Gulf War and Vietnam. Overall, I truly loved reading this book, and now want to read the author’s other works.
