Behind You

Rating:
Summary: Viewing earth from the afterlife
Review: Jeremiah has died from a cop's mistaken bullet. Now, those he has left behind try to figure out how to go on with their lives in this very moving story by Jacqueline Woodson, author of the award-winning LOCOMOTION and HUSH. The 2002 hit by Alice Sebold, THE LOVELY BONES, concerned a young girl watching her family from the afterlife after a violent death. In a similar way BEHIND YOU takes readers into the lives of Jeremiah's mother, father, ex-girlfriend and two friends, along with Jeremiah, as he views life on Earth from the afterlife.

Jeremiah ("Miah"), an African-American prep-school star athlete, left a large hole in many lives. Ellie, his Caucasian girlfriend, finds that her pain does not lessen after months. No one else in her school understands this and tells her that she "is such a widow." Nelia, his mother, is finding it hard to get out of bed. Ellie and Miah's father start visiting her to offer and receive comfort. Kennedy is now the big athlete at the prep school and is tired of people comparing him to Miah. Carlton, a longtime neighborhood friend of Miah's, now has no one to share his secrets with and feels utterly alone.

In between glimpses of the pain-filled people on earth are wonderful scenes of Miah in the afterlife. He finds his beloved grandmother and tries to learn to let go of the connections he maintains to earth.

While sadness is prevalent in this book, hope emerges as Miah's beloved people on Earth find ways to connect to and help each other in surprising ways. Demonstrating her excellent writing skills again, Woodson evokes strong emotion with well-chosen words and characters in BEHIND YOU.

--- Reviewed by Amy Alessio