How to Live without You

March 1, 2022
Emmy attempts to find her missing older sister, Rose, by immersing herself in a series of complicated relationships that enigmatic Rose inhabited. Emmy is a Black teen who had a tight bond with her sister even though, for the past 6 years following their parents' divorce, they lived in different states: Emmy moved to San Francisco with her mother, while Rose stayed in Dayton with their father. Emmy is just beginning to question her family role of academically brilliant but socially stunted younger sibling when Rose goes missing. The search to figure out what happened helps Emmy gain a better perspective on their relationship. Alongside Emmy, readers witness Rose's battle with depression as Emmy investigates the disappearance. The central characters experience stigma related to mental health but find different treatment modalities. Rose and Emily's father's social anxiety and mild case of agoraphobia begins to ease as he starts dating again. Their close childhood friend, Levi, manages his ADHD with cognitive behavioral therapy. Barriers to seeking treatment are evidenced in Rose's journey. Through the characters' varied experiences, readers acquire a mental health vocabulary that helps them engage more fully with the story. Ultimately, this thoughtful novel explores how two sisters' identities were shaped by their foundational relationships. What emerges is a complex picture of mental illness and the stigma that can keep people silent. A riveting, thought-provoking read that examines the effects of mental health on familial bonds. (Fiction. 14-18)

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April 18, 2022
Six years after their parents’ divorce forced two Black sisters to part ways—and three months after one of them goes missing—their once-deep bond sustains a search in Everett’s (Some Other Now) mental health–centered novel. Reserved Emmy, now 17, has spent the last several years living with the teens’ mother in San Francisco, while stubborn, wild-spirited Rose, two years older, stayed in Riverwood, Ohio, with their father, who lives with mild agoraphobia. Emmy can’t believe that her sister would run off without telling her, so she returns to Ohio for the summer, seeking to “draw back to me through that magnetic pull we share, that inexplicable bond of sisters who are also best friends.” As Emmy reconnects with hometown friends, hoping to find clues about Rose’s disappearance, she begins to learn that her sister is a much different person than Emmy has believed her to be. With the reluctant help of once-jovial childhood friend Levi, Emmy begins to look for clues Rose left behind on an Instagram account, slowly coming to terms with how separate their lives have been. Told in a delicately introspective first-person voice and including mentions of depression, suicide, and stigma, Everett’s novel traverses the many effects of untreated mental illness. An author’s note concludes. Ages 14–up. Agent: Suzie Townsend, New Leaf Literary & Media.

August 19, 2022

Gr 9 Up-Despite the Parent Trap-esque arrangement that sent Emmy to California with their Mom and kept Rose in Ohio with their Dad after the divorce (a.k.a. the "civil war") six years ago, they are tight. Super tight. They talk every day, and Emmy religiously follows the set of "separation instructions" Rose created to protect her, chief among them "Never kiss a boy who can't name his favorite book" and "Make lots of friends, but tell just one person your secrets." When Rose disappears, no one seems overly concerned. No one, that is, except Emmy. Rose has never gone off the grid for more than a day or two-not the almost three months it's been this time-and she's never cut off communication with Emmy. Ever. Until now. Emmy, now 17, decides that if she can just inhabit the space Rose left, she'll be able to discover where she went. Yet Emmy's homecoming and reconnection with their childhood friend Levi quickly brings a torrent of troubling questions instead of answers and the image of the sister she thought she knew slowly unravels. As Emmy follows the clues to her sister's whereabouts, she dives deep into the mysteries and realities of mental health, depression, first love, and identity. VERDICT Comprising equal parts mystery and tender coming-of-age story, this work adeptly pulls readers into Emmy's journey as she considers the many facets of growing up and knowing the ones you love.-Jill Heritage Maza

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Starred review from May 1, 2022
Grades 10-12 *Starred Review* Everett (Some Other Now, 2021) takes readers on an emotional journey as 17-year-old Emmy's older sister, Rose, goes missing and Emmy flies across the country, determined to find her. After their parents' divorce and the two sisters' consequent separation, Emmy and Rose find ways to remain close through phone calls and infrequent visits. But when Rose disappears, Emmy begins to realize that there was far more to Rose than anyone, even she, ever knew. Told in reflective prose, this contemporary mystery offers important contributions to the discussion of teen mental health, particularly through a thoughtful author's note that acknowledges the complexity of the subject and the singular and limited nature of storytelling. Despite the seriousness with which these themes are handled, the book still provides a tense and entertaining narrative that's touched with heated romance and compelling commentary on family and relationship dynamics. Everett displays prowess in conveying immediate emotion while staying true to the facts of the story and constructing realistic circumstances and characters. This contributes to an even greater sense of urgency, making this novel hard to put down. An excellent choice for fans of Nina LaCour, Katie Cotugno, and John Green.

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