Teenagers need more books like this. The world needs more books like this. Rachel Lynn Soloman’s sparkling debut, You’ll Miss Me When I’m Gone, is just the type of young adult novel I love to collect in my library. It’s intelligent, never trite or simplistic, and contains the emotional authenticity I crave in young adult literature, often feeling shortchanged. Not here. This contemporary story kept me turning pages over and over again.

Rachel manages to give dual POV sisters, Adina and Tovah, unique worlds and even worldviews even though they grow up in the same family. I ached for the sister who tested positive for Huntington’s Disease but I felt every bit as much tension and angst in reconciling the other players in this story and how the terrible diagnosis touched them as well.

This book is lyrical and rich, raw, and many times frustrating and uncomfortable. In my book, that is storytelling at its best. The plot is thought-provoking and peppered with many sides of the Jewish faith and traditions. All of these components do exactly what they should do: touch readers and make them think…and think again.

If you like books about the heartaches of growing up, those (sometimes) strained relationships between siblings, and a family deal with a crisis... this one might be for you!

Unfortunately, halfway through, I was missing huge chunks of text and was unable to complete the book. However, I absolutely adored the first half of the book and can't wait to buy a finished copy.

TW for self harm and suicide ideation.

Oh, this is one that aches. It’s a lovely and heartfelt look at sisterhood and family and the uncertainty of the future. I loved Adina and Tovah and I ached for them from the very beginning. Their relationship has been damaged but they both so desperately want to reach out to each other and they both aren’t quite sure how. It’s just so real and honest and emotional. I loved it from start to finish, through the highs and the lows. I felt like I could’ve kept reading about Adina and Tovah for the rest of their lives. I HIGHLY recommend this one.

This was by far the most thought provoking book I have read. It completely blew me away. I have never read a book that centered on Huntington’s Disease, nor did I know much about it going into the book. I also haven’t read many books, if any, where the main character’s were Jewish. I learned a lot about Jewish culture while reading this book and really enjoyed it. The story had an almost poetic tone and flowed seamlessly. The story had so much depth to it.

I love how the story was told through both twins points of view. They were both so completely different, and interpreted scenarios in such opposite ways, I feel like we really needed both points of view. The jealousy between the twins is palpable, each has what the other thinks they want. I couldn’t imagine knowing that at some point in my life I would develop this awful disease that I was watching my mom suffer from. I had a lot of mixed feeling about Adina, one point in the story I really enjoyed her character then at another point I would be so embarrassed by her actions. Tovah I seemed to connect with better, there wasn’t any major dislike for her from me.

Overall this was one of the best books I have ever read, and will recommend it over and over to absolutely everyone! It was so well written and researched, and I learned so much about so many different topics while reading it. I thought it was an amazing book with a unique and absolutely wonderful storyline.

This is the type of book that is extremely relevant in the age in which we acknowledge certain privilages and give voices to those who have been silenced. This is one of those books. Read it, cry, love, share it.

This is the first book that I've read that had a heavy focus on the Jewish faith, practices, traditions, and language and it was wonderful! It was diverse not just in religious and cultural ways but also in the racial differences of love interests and physical illness rep (Huntington) as well. I was impressed by how well all the different topics merged into a well-told, cohesive, and touching story.

Tovah and Adina were complex and complete characters and I loved their interaction with their peers, parents, love interests, and one another. I truly enjoyed this debut novel and cannot wait for more from Solomon.

CONTENT WARNINGS: suicidal ideation, self-harm, chronic illness

I barely have words for how much I adore YOU'LL MISS ME WHEN I'M GONE, but, I shall try my best.

EXAMINING SISTER RELATIONSHIPS
The relationship between reserved, grunge and biology-obsessed Tovah and headstrong viola prodigy Adina is unlike any other sibling relationship I've seen in YA. From the beginning of the story, you know this won't be a traditional relationship. Their relationship only splinters after one receives a life-altering diagnosis for Huntington's Disease, the same illness making their mother slowly deteriorate.

These sisters destroy each other. Uplift each other. Call each other out on their messiness. The other relationships in this book are just as beautifully messy.

STRETCHING THE LIMITS OF FEMINITITY
Adina's your girl for this one. She did whatever she wanted to, however she wanted. She'd manipulated men from at least fourteen for her own ends, which, while I don't condone it, was certainly fascinating to read. She makes you redefine what a girl in society should be, and what we expect for teenage girls. She's unapologetic with her sexuality, free with her thoughts, and unflinching with her cruelty. I loved her a lot. #TeamAdina forever (though I certainly loved Tovah, too!)

Another favorite facet of this novel was each girl's ambition. Tovah plans to attend Johns Hopkins for undergrad, then medical school. She's in every extracurricular you could imagine to achieve this goal. Adina is a viola prodigy, the first chair in her school orchestra and a shoo-in for a music conservatory. She dreams of becoming a soloist. Each twin works hard to be at the top of their game, and subtle changes of language in each POV show that Tovah is more science-inclined and Adina is more musically-inclined.

MENTAL HEALTH
I wasn't expecting this, but the depiction of suicidal ideations and self-harm was so accurate it made my heart hurt for the character dealing with those issues. I wanted to give her THE BIGGEST HUG. YMMWIG shows the beginnings of these two pervasive thought patterns, along with a short recovery arc (not that the recovery was short, the arc just wasn't a huge part of the novel).

The book also explores that self-harm isn't JUST about using metal instruments; you can hurt the ones you love and alienate yourself to punish yourself for things you haven't done wrong.

SMALLER, YET STILL SO IMPORTANT THINGS
• This story is #OwnVoices for Judaism! Though it wasn't written to educate me, I still learned a lot about the twins' faith, especially since Tovah turns to religion and Adina altogether eschews it.
• Each twin had different parental relationships that were heavily explored. Especially Tovah and her dad bonding over Nirvana! It was so precious.
• College is front and center here, a welcome change from other books.
• Each twin has a romance! One is toxic, and one is adorable and wholesome. I'm sure, by now, you can guess which twin had which.
• Friends letting you down is another theme.
• The writing is beautiful and heartaching and hopeful all at once.