Schmitt, Adam P. Speechless. Candlewick Press, 2018. 293 pages. $16.99. ISBN 978-1-5362-0092-8. Ages 9 up. P7/Q8
Jimmy’s cousin Patrick has died, and he is elected (by the family) to give a eulogy. He is petrified. He’s pretty good at public speaking, but it still makes him nervous. Worse, he never liked Patrick. “There are no funny stories about Patrick. He ruined everything. I hated the kid.” The book explore the two kids’ history together and the reasons Patrick irritated Jimmy (“Patrick was the kind of kid that would kick your dog. Not to see what the dog would do, but to see what you would do.”) It’s not until p. 236 that we find out HOW Patrick died—he wore hockey skates onto the ice into a little pond and broke through the ice and drowned. It’s only at that point that Jimmy brings up his suspicion that Patrick did this risky behavior because he didn’t care if he died. Through stories Jimmy explores for putting into his eulogy, we find out more about what Patrick was like. The day of the funeral, his mother finally admits that her father had killed himself, and Jimmy remembers signs that things weren’t right in Patrick’s home. In the end, Jimmy has one positive thing to say in his eulogy: “I never listened. From now on, I will.” The story has an interesting take on how to view difficult people, and is helpful in facing the fact of suicide.
June 2019 review by Ann Goddard.
Oregon Coast Youth Book Preview Center 