Never Eighteen
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $8.99
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- $8.99
Publisher Description
A teenage boy takes a journey to bring truth, beauty, and meaning to his life. “There won’t be many dry eyes at the end of this extremely affecting story.”—Kirkus Reviews
Austin Parker is never going to see his eighteenth birthday. At the rate he’s going, he probably won’t even see the end of the year. The doctors say his chances of surviving are slim to none even with treatment, so he’s decided it’s time to let go.
But before he goes, Austin wants to mend the broken fences in his life. So with the help of his best friend, Kaylee, Austin visits every person in his life who touched him in a special way. He journeys to places he’s loved and those he’s never seen. And what starts as a way to say goodbye turns into a personal journey that brings love, acceptance, and meaning to Austin’s life.
“It is easy to connect with Austin because his journey is honorable . . . Bostic’s narrative is concise, chapters are short, and the story never lags. Her story is sad, but it is real and pulls no punches.”—VOYA
“Bostic writes this graceful, affecting tale without pretension . . . Perhaps it’s because of that simplicity that the story concludes with such a powerful emotional punch.”—Kirkus Reviews
“It had the vibe and similarities from two of my favorite books and maybe even a third that are all pretty popular: If I Stay, Thirteen Reasons Why, and The Fault in Our Stars.”—Mission Viejo Library Teen Voice
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In Bostic's melodramatic debut novel, 17-year-old Austin Parker, who is dying from leukemia, embarks on an exhilarating weekend journey through the Seattle area with his best friend/crush, Kaylee. Austin is determined to visit everyone who has touched his life and dole out wakeup calls to those who aren't living life to the fullest. He visits the mother of a friend who died, an ex-girlfriend in an abusive relationship, various family members, and others, interspersed with trips to a fair, a keg party, the Space Needle, and Mt. Rainier. The brief episodes unfold at warp speed, weakening their believability and impact; despite the painful circumstances in their lives, Austin's acquaintances open up to him immediately during his surprise visits in dramatic, expository conversations ("The old Allie died that day, on the sticker bushes, right along with her virginity and her self-respect," says a friend who was raped). Sensitive, selfless, and nonthreatening, Austin comes across more as a wise-beyond-his-years guru than an authentic teen teenage girls will shed tears over his inevitable death, but male readers will be hard pressed to identify with him. Ages 12 up.
