All That It Ever Meant

HOLY PLOT TWIST BATMAN!!! I'M NOT CRYING YOU'RE CRYING.

All That It Ever Meant is a short book. The chapters are quick, only a few pages long each, but the pace is very slow. Somehow, the frequent chapter breaks and the slow pacing really work well for this story. For almost the entire book, I felt like Mati was hesitant to tell us the full story. But eventually, as Mati continued to reveal piece after piece, I realized that it's not that's she's hesitant to tell the story, it's literally just how she is processing the grief her family is experiencing. It is stated multiple times throughout the book that Mati sees the world differently from other people; she thinks differently. (Maybe she's neurodivergent?) So, when you read this book, come into it knowing that you're going to have to be patient. And the wait is worth every Meticais.

Speaking of Meticais! They are nonbinary, fashionable, and enigmatic. They and Mati go back and forth a lot with "What?" and "You tell me!" But Meticais feels like they are there to help push Mati through processing the grief and telling the story without telling her how to go about it. And real talk, I am DYING to see an illustrated version of this book with all of Meticais' outfits included.

I think the final thing is really like to touch on is just how central family is to this story. It's really beautiful. Watching this family come back together after being shattered by grief is so real. Their father, a newly widowed Dad, is really trying to keep his family together while keeping himself from falling apart. His decision to take them to Zimbabwe, to reacquaint themselves with their roots, was a very solid decision.

This story has the kind of plot twist that will make you wake up your entire household as you scream at it. It will make you want to reread it just so you can see how you managed to somehow miss ALL the foreshadowing and hints. And then you'll sit back and finish reading Mati's story and think "Wow."