Personal Effects

Seven months since his beloved brother T.J. was killed in Iraq, Matt is so laden with anger and pain that he is on the verge of exploding. A vocal pacifist classmate’s antiwar slogans and graphic T-shirts push Matt over the edge: fists, blood, and Dad’s words in his head -- "Wuss. Show him...Fight." Matt breaks the student’s nose and smashes a glass trophy case. Stiff, bruised, and suspended for a week, he worries only about what his violence-prone father will do to him when he gets home. The author conveys Matt’s grief over T.J. and his fear of his father so palpably that the reader’s stomach tightens in empathy. His father, an ex-sergeant, refuses to discuss T.J.’s death or allow Matt any sign of sorrow, telling him only to "man up." Matt’s best friend Shauna and her real concern help Matt get through the days, but even this one good thing contains tension: Matt longs for much more than friendship from Shauna but is awkwardly unclear about what signals she is sending. Kokie sets up a credible situation that builds to such intensity that something has to give, and when Matt discovers love letters among T.J’s things, he lights out on a road trip to explore some unknown pieces of T.J.’s life. In the process, Matt confronts unexpected truths about who T.J. was but gains the friendship of others who loved him, too. Kokie’s well-crafted debut novel depicts a military family with admirable complexity while tracing one young man’s hard-fought coming of age. lauren adams