What You Left Behind

by Jessica Verdi

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Pub Date Aug 01 2015 | Archive Date Oct 23 2015

SOURCEBOOKS Fire | Sourcebooks Fire

Children's Fiction

Description

A heartbreaking and poignant novel of grief and guilt that reads like Nicholas Sparks for teens!

Jessica Verdi, the author of My Life After Now and The Summer I Wasn’t Me, returns with a heartbreaking and poignant novel of grief and guilt that reads like Nicholas Sparks for teens.

It’s all Ryden’s fault. If he hadn’t gotten Meg pregnant, she would have never stopped her chemo treatments and would still be alive. Instead he’s failing fatherhood one dirty diaper at a time. And it’s not like he’s had time to grieve while struggling to care for their infant daughter, start his senior year, and earn the soccer scholarship he needs to go to college.

The one person who makes Ryden feel like his old self is Joni. She’s fun and energetic—and doesn’t know he has a baby. But the more time they spend together, the harder it becomes to keep his two worlds separate. Finding one of Meg’s journals only stirs up old emotions. Ryden’s convinced Meg left other notebooks for him to find, some message to help his new life make sense. But how is he going to have a future if he can’t let go of the past?

Advance Praise

"Verdi holds nothing back, shedding a realistic light on Ryden's situation, his decisions, and their very real consequences. His voice is spot-on and doesn't sugarcoat the harsh realities that he faces. It isn't often that a book nails the male teen voice as well as Verdi does in this work. An excellent addition to YA collections." — School of Library Journal (Starred)

"Verdi balances her plot elements deftly in a read that could have gone terribly wrong in less sure hands." — Krikus Reviews

“Ryden’s story is a moving illustration of how sometimes you have to let go of the life you planned to embrace the life you’ve been given. A strong, character-driven story that teen readers will love.”— Carrie Arcos, National Book Award Finalist for Out of Reach

"Verdi holds nothing back, shedding a realistic light on Ryden's situation, his decisions, and their very real consequences. His voice is spot-on and doesn't sugarcoat the harsh realities that he...