Sorry for Your Loss

April 15, 2019
A coming-of-age novel about loss, grieving, and family. Sixteen-year-old Pup Flanagan is struggling. He is not doing well at school, he has an (unrequited) crush on his best friend, Izzy, and above all, he is still grieving the loss of his brother Patrick, who died suddenly at age 20 of bacterial meningitis. As the youngest of eight siblings and one of 27 loud family members who unfailingly gather for Sunday dinners, Pup knows his whole family is also hurting, but no one talks about it. Not even his brother Luke, who is drinking far too much (and far too often), or his lesbian sister Annemarie, his favorite. Things start to change when his art teacher takes an interest in him, suggesting that Pup take up photography. Through photography he befriends Abrihet, an immigrant girl from Eritrea whose family is as close-knit and warm as Pup's. While the story primarily focuses on Pup as he learns how to express himself through art and companionship, Printz Honor winner Foley (Neighborhood Girls, 2017, etc.) deftly paints a portrait exploring the different ways that grief and loss affect the members of a loving yet broken Chicagoan family who are finding their ways back to each other with the help of their youngest, most underrated member. Pup and his family are white. An introspective novel about the healing power of art with light touches of tears, laughter, and romance. (Fiction. 14-18)

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May 1, 2019

Gr 9 Up-Award-winning author Foley has crafted another outstanding YA novel in the story of James "Pup" Flanagan. As the youngest of eight children, Pup is quickly sinking in his grief over his brother's sudden death. Patrick's passing is particularly painful for Pup because he was the only one who made Pup feel important. Their family refuses to discuss his death and even well-meaning friends can say little more than "sorry for your loss." Helping Pup gain new perspective and healing are his art teacher, Mr. Hughes, and girl crushes new and old. After a year of mediocre art projects from Pup, Mr. Hughes sees something in one of Pup's photographs. That belief in him as an artist, that opportunity to excel in the face of failure, sets up Pup's journey. There are wonderful moments of levity, but ultimately the book is a poignant examination of the loss of a loved one during the time between adolescence and adulthood and how events like that shape lives forever. The text successfully navigates the grieving process in a meaningful way. VERDICT Written with Foley's keen ear for family dynamics, this is definitely a strong choice for fans of her work and those new to the author.-Elaine Baran Black, Georgia Public Library Service, Atlanta

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 24, 2019
Set in Chicago, this introspective story about grief within a large family focuses on high school junior Pup Flanagan, the overshadowed youngest of eight children. Now, almost three years after Pup’s brother Patrick died suddenly while at college, the Flanagans seem to have moved on, all except for Pup and his brother Luke, a law student. Luke has developed a drinking problem, and Pup has failed at romance and is in danger of failing Studio Art. As a last-ditch effort to save his grade, he tries photography at his teacher’s suggestion. With the help of a mentor, Albrihet, an advanced art student and Eritrean immigrant who is navigating problems within her own close-knit family, Pup finds a way to use his camera as a vehicle to express the impact of his loss. Well-delineated characters and Foley’s (Neighborhood Girls) subtle hand distinguish this moving novel, showing Pup’s gradual healing process as he gains enough courage and self-confidence to help his alcoholic brother and establish a meaningful relationship with Albrihet. Scenes of the Flanagans’ weekly family dinners, which include in-laws and cousins, are perhaps the most revealing, effectively capturing the family’s unspoken tensions, loyalty, and love. Ages 14–up.

Starred review from May 1, 2019
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* Being the youngest of eight kids means a lot of things for Pup Flanagan. It means he has nephews who are older than he is, and his parents are a little too burned out to pay attention to his not-so-great grades. It also means that even though the whole giant family has a weekly dinner, no one ever talks about Patrick, the brother who died two years ago, leaving Pup with a hole that no one else seems to feel. When a failing art grade leads to a photography assignment, Pup discovers an unexpected talent. A photo he takes of his brother Luke in a vulnerable moment wins him a passing grade and a slot in an art competition. As he builds his portfolio, he begins truly looking at the people in his life: the girl he's always had a crush on, the acquaintance he's surprised helps him develop his photos, the members of his family who may be grieving after all, and his still-living brother who's been quietly in crisis. Printz Honor Book author Foley (The Carnival at Bray, 2014) takes readers through Pup's tenderhearted and sometimes painfully funny third-person observations. It's a narrative that, while often simple in execution, is threaded through with incredible feeling. A warm and clear-eyed examination of a family swimming through grief and a boy who finds the light.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)