Nobody Knows Bu You

YA thriller 

     "It must be cold on the dock now.  Probably windy and frigid, like it is here today.  That seems appropriate on the one hand and strange to imagine on the other.  In my ❤️ it's endless summer there.  A place we can never return to but that would always welcome us back.  I guess the leaves are gone too.  And any last trace of his blood."

     Kayla, narrator of Anica Mrose Rissi's Nobody Knows But You, and camp bunkmate, Lanie are inseparable from the start.  Lanier brings out the daringness in rule following Kayla.

     "I feel like before you I wasn't even fully myself.  I was a larva.  A plain, unremarkable caterpillar that, in you presence, changed into a beauuuuuuuutiful butterfly.  It's like you saw the very best version of me, and by seeing it, you helped me become it." 

     The girls break rules together, sneak outside their cabin together, make up inside jokes together.  They're seemingly a world unto themselves until Jackson enters the picture.  Even though he treats Lainie horribly (in Kayla's opinion) she falls for him hard, willing to excuse any neglect or meanness on his part.  Kayla is frustrated that Lainie can't see that she deserves a lot better.  She also is feeling deserted, afraid that she's losing her best friend.

     Camp ends early.  Jackson's body is found floating in the lake.

     "You know what's strange?  How completely fucking normal this week has been.  You are on trial for Jackson's murder and I have been going to school like normal."

     Thr bulk of the text consists of letters Kayla writes (but never sends) to Lainie over a period of three months.  News stories and interviews with with counselors and fellow campers are also included.

     Nobody Knows But You is a perfect book for the active reader who tries to deduce what really happened before the last page.

On a purrrsonal note, today on campus we had a flag raising for Juneteenth.  It was followed by a real feast catered my Moe's Barbeque.  We had pork, chicken, cornbread, macaroni and cheese, and baked beans--all topped off with two kinds of pudding.  I ate enough 😋 in that meal to happily 😊 skip supper and warm up leftovers for Eugene.  (Jules)

It was a very nice day.  (Tobago)

A great big shout out goes out to the fine 🙂 folks who make Moe's Barbeque something special 😀.

Tobago and Jules Hathaway 

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