The Year We Fell Apart (YA)

Unlike most of the books I review I didn't track down Emily Martin's The Year We Fell Apart by interlibrary loan or spot it on Orono Public Library's new books section. It was what I call a truly fortuitous find. A student group was selling books to raise money for a good cause. It's a slightly older book (2016). So it might not be in stores around you. But I bet you could find a copy on eBay or inter library loan. Believe me it's well worth the effort.
Harper, Cory, and Declan are next door neighbors and long time best friends. They built a tree house when they were eleven that was their hangout. But as sometimes happens with trios, Harper and Declan have become more than friends. They're exploring all the dimensions of their new relationship…
…when Declan's father sends him away to boarding school at the beginning of their junior year. The winter of his sophomore year his mother died in a car accident, killed by a drunk driver. His father claims that it's because he has to travel a lot for work. He doesn't want him home alone for up to a week at a time. But there's a lot more to it than that.
Harper learns that a long distance relationship is a lot harder than she anticipated. Feeling that Declan is slipping away into a world she's never seen, after making a mistake she thinks he won't understand, she preemptively breaks up with him.
Then he returns for the summer. She needs his understanding and support. Her own mother is battling an aggressive form of cancer. But she's also desperate for him not to know about the incident that got her kicked off the swim team and earned her a reputation as a slut.
This deeply engaging coming of age novel sensitively explores the question of whether two confused and hurting people can find the way back to what they once had.
On a purrrsonal note, the second day of the blood drive also went well. The Red Cross collected 136 units. The donors had an awesome time in canteen and were able to take home shirts specially designed for UMaine. And the minions and I made sure nobody fainted.
A great big shout out goes out to everyone who helped make our last blood drive of the school year a great success.