After Eli

Gr 7 Up–Though it’s been three years since his older brother was killed during the Iraq War, 14-year-old Danny Anderson is still coming to terms with this senseless tragedy. His parents can’t offer solace because they’re deeply mired in their own grief. As a means of coping, Danny changes his middle name to Eli to keep the memory of his brother alive, and he begins cataloging a Book of the Dead in which he lists the various ways people throughout history have died. Danny is transformed the summer preceding his sophomore year when he meets 15-year-old Isabelle and her younger brother and sister, twins Jasper and Journey. He also finds comfort in his budding friendship with brainy classmate Walter. As he spends more time with this motley group, Danny feels uplifted and becomes more introspective about life and death. While processing his grief, he starts to realize the importance of moving forward (“Sometimes you have to destroy the past so that you’ll have to learn how to live in the new world.”). Flashbacks recalling Danny’s life with Eli lend heartbreaking pathos to this story. Rupp’s poignant bildungsroman is therapeutic, particularly for those readers who have experienced the unimaginable loss of a loved one.-Lalitha Nataraj, Escondido Public Library, CA