No One Here Is Lonely

October 22, 2018
Eden’s longtime crush, Will, is killed in a car accident just before high school graduation, on the very night they finally kiss. When she returns Will’s jacket to his mother, she is given the phone number to In Good Company, software that replicates the voice and personality traits of the departed. Eden uses the service to chat with Will, or at least a facsimile of him, via telephone. She goes to him for advice and comfort when her plans to be a camp counselor go up in smoke; when she and her best friend, Lacey, have a falling out; and when she discovers her mother cheating on her father. But Eden’s continued crush and growing dependency on Will prevent her from developing relationships with real people, especially a boy she is just beginning to trust. Everett (Everyone We’ve Been) makes the improbable seem plausible in this novel, which is part unrequited love story, part cautionary tale about grief turning to obsession and fantasy. Ages 12–up. Agent: Suzie Townsend, New Leaf Literary.

November 1, 2018
A teen struggles with loneliness during the summer after high school.Sheridan "Eden" Paulsen is terrified of change. Her best friend, Lacey, deserts her for a new group of friends, she discovers her mother cheating on her father, and she has no one to talk to. But then she calls longtime unrequited love Will, who will be there "whenever [her] heart desires." The catch? Will Mason died two weeks before graduation. Before his accidental death, Will signed up to be a Cognitive Donor with In Good Company, a phone service that allows people to talk to a Companion--a highly artificially intelligent facsimile of the deceased. Keeping her phone on as she moves through her summer, Eden takes Will with her everywhere she goes: to work, out with co-workers, and as she completes her summer to-do list, the pre-college list she and Lacey were supposed to tackle together. As summer wears on, Eden falls in love with Will despite knowing he's not real. Narrator Eden's position as the uncertain middle daughter in a family of achievers who know who they are and what they want will resonate with readers who are also unsure of their own paths. The speculative aspect of the Companion blends seamlessly with the realism. Eden and Will are black, Eden has a black co-worker, and everyone else is assumed white.Readers developing a sense of self will be in good company here. (Fiction. 12-18)

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December 1, 2018

Gr 9 Up{amp}mdash;Eden's life has been a set of constants and safety: her best friend Lacey, her crush Will, and her overachieving family are all predictable and reliable, until Will is killed in a car accident two weeks before high school graduation. Lacey begins drinking and distances herself, hanging out with a new set of friends Eden doesn't like, ditching Eden's carefully constructed summer as well as college plans. Eden's grief over losing Will overwhelms her until Will's mother gives her a phone number that leads her to a Cognitive Donor bank, where she can call and listen to Will's voice at any time. This disembodied Will responds to Eden and assuages her grief, offering encouragement and round the clock support, but Eden's reliance on him holds her back just as she needs to move forward. As her perfect family begins to fall apart and reconciliation with Lacey seems impossible, Eden realizes that endings are also beginnings, and relying on herself is the best way to pursue happiness. This emotional whirlwind is easy to fall into, as readers will be curious about the Cognitive Donor technology just as those dealing with grief and loss themselves will connect to Eden's journey to acceptance. VERDICT Fans of Gayle Forman and Nina LaCour will appreciate Everett's emotional roller-coaster of a story.{amp}mdash;Kerry Sutherland, Akron-Summit County Public Library

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 15, 2018
Grades 9-12 Eighteen-year-old Eden's life is all about change. Lacey, her best friend, is inexplicably distancing herself, canceling their summer plans to work as camp counselors and, instead, starting to hang with a different crowd. And then there's Will, whom Eden has loved for four years?Will, who died in a car crash. It seems impossible to cope with the loss of both her best friend and the object of her affection. But then she discovers a high-tech outfit called In Good Company, which offers a chance to communicate with Will or at least those parts of him that he had uploaded into a complex computer program. Eden becomes obsessed with talking by phone to the disembodied voice of the simulated Will, running the risk of losing contact with real life and with Oliver, who loves her. Everett has written a not-unfamiliar love story, but what makes it unusual is her invention of In Good Company. Its service is not altogether plausible but will appeal to techies; the rest of us will stick around for the romance.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)