Personal Effects

by E. M. Kokie

Overview

After his older brother dies in Iraq, Matt makes a discovery that rocks his beliefs about strength, bravery, and honor in this page-turning debut.

Ever since his brother, T.J., was killed in Iraq, Matt feels like he’s been sleepwalking through life — failing classes, getting into fights, and avoiding his dad’s lectures about following in his brother’s footsteps. T.J.’s gone, but Matt can’t shake the feeling that if only he could get his hands on his brother’s stuff from Iraq, he’d be able to make sense of his death. But as Matt searches for answers about T.J.’s death, he faces a shocking revelation about T.J.’s life that suggests he may not have known T.J. as well as he thought. What he learns challenges him to stand up to his father, honor his brother’s memory, and take charge of his own life. With compassion, humor, and a compelling narrative voice, E. M. Kokie explores grief, social mores, and self-discovery in a provocative first novel.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763655273
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	09/11/2012
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	9.00(w) x 5.70(h) x 1.20(d)
Lexile:	HL670L (what's this?)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

E. M. Kokie is an attorney, but has long had a strong interest in literature for teens. Personal Effects is her first novel. She lives in Madison, Wisconsin.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

PERSONAL EFFECTS is one of the best novels I've read in a long time—it's complex, moving, and beautifully written. I want everyone I love to read this book.
—Jacqueline Woodson, National Book Award Finalist, Coretta Scott King Award winner, and Newbery Honor winner

With a pen dipped in adrenaline, E.M. Kokie tells a harrowing story of profound grief and powerful honesty. Read it immediately.
—Ellen Wittlinger, author of the Michael L. Printz Honor winner Hard Love

PERSONAL EFFECTS is a courageous book about the anger and pain of loss. But most of all, it is about different kinds of love.
—Francisco X. Stork, author of Marcelo in the Real World and The Last Summer of the Death Warriors

Timely, passionate, and political, PERSONAL EFFECTS is a story that needs to be told. Heartbreaking and heart-opening at the same time.
—James Howe, author of The Misfits and Totally Joe

The devastating power of secrets and grief are perfectly captured in Matt's journey to finding the truth about his brother—and ultimately, himself.
—Jo Knowles, author of Jumping Off Swings and See You at Harry’s

PERSONAL EFFECTS is a smart, rugged, hugely insightful book that elevates an already soaring genre. E.M. Kokie glides along that fine line between comedy and tragedy to tell a sensational story.
—Chris Crutcher, a Margaret A. Edwards Award-winning author

Writing with grace and subtlety, Kokie depicts Matt's emotions as he uncovers the details of T.J's hidden life. Through raw moments and strikingly mature characterizations, Kokie explores loss, personal relationships, and the burden of preconceptions.
—Publishers Weekly

Editorial Reviews

Starred Review.

In an outstanding debut, Kokie tackles the tumultuous aftermath of a soldier's death, as seen through the eyes of a sibling left behind. Ever since 17-year-old Matt Foster's older brother, T.J., died in Iraq, Matt has been enraged-especially with anyone who criticizes the war or his brother's role in it-and he doesn't hesitate to express himself with his fists. Meanwhile, his authoritative and physically intimidating ex-military father seems determined to erase every sign of his deceased son's presence. When Matt gets his hands on some of T.J.'s possessions, he discovers that T.J. had a life he never knew about, complete with girlfriend and potential child. Risking his father's wrath, Matt borrows a car and takes an impromptu road trip, hoping to reconnect with his brother's memory. Writing with grace and subtlety, Kokie depicts Matt's emotions as he uncovers the details of T.J's hidden life. Through raw moments and strikingly mature characterizations, Kokie explores loss, personal relationships, and the burden of preconceptions. Ages 14-up. Agent: Chris Richman, Upstart Crow Literary.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Publishers Weekly

PERSONAL EFFECTS is one of the best novels I've read in a long time—it's complex, moving, and beautifully written. I want everyone I love to read this book.
—Jacqueline Woodson, National Book Award Finalist, Coretta Scott King Award winner, and Newbery Honor winner

With a pen dipped in adrenaline, E.M. Kokie tells a harrowing story of profound grief and powerful honesty. Read it immediately.
—Ellen Wittlinger, author of the Michael L. Printz Honor winner Hard Love

PERSONAL EFFECTS is a courageous book about the anger and pain of loss. But most of all, it is about different kinds of love.
—Francisco X. Stork, author of Marcelo in the Real World and The Last Summer of the Death Warriors

Timely, passionate, and political, PERSONAL EFFECTS is a story that needs to be told. Heartbreaking and heart-opening at the same time.
—James Howe, author of The Misfits and Totally Joe

The devastating power of secrets and grief are perfectly captured in Matt's journey to finding the truth about his brother—and ultimately, himself.
—Jo Knowles, author of Jumping Off Swings and See You at Harry’s

PERSONAL EFFECTS is a smart, rugged, hugely insightful book that elevates an already soaring genre. E.M. Kokie glides along that fine line between comedy and tragedy to tell a sensational story.
—Chris Crutcher, a Margaret A. Edwards Award-winning author

Writing with grace and subtlety, Kokie depicts Matt's emotions as he uncovers the details of T.J's hidden life. Through raw moments and strikingly mature characterizations, Kokie explores loss, personal relationships, and the burden of preconceptions.
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Matt tells his tale in an almost excruciatingly deliberate present-tense narration; Kokie grounds readers so thoroughly in Matt’s misery that they will be as itchy to escape the brutal emptiness of life with his father as he is. . . .A fine addition to the literature of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
—Kirkus Reviews

Kokie beautifully crafts a story about the troubled relationships between an emotionally stunted father and his two sons. Both T.J. and Matt are forced to deal with their own pain in secret. A strong choice for reluctant readers and lovers of realistic fiction alike.
—School Library Journal

Kokie’s well-crafted debut novel depicts a military family with admirable complexity while tracing one young man’s hard-fought coming of age.
—The Horn Book

Matt’s first-person, present-tense narrative, with its fast, contemporary dialogue, will grab readers right from the opening scene.
—Booklist

The book demonstrates that everybody deals with grief differently; Matt’s journey and healing process make this book exceptional. The ending is more than satisfying. (Highly Recommended)
—Library Media Connection

Well written and heartfelt, the novel provides much to discuss after the covers are closed. It tackles some tough subjects. Adroitly avoiding a didactic politicizing of the Iraq War, it concentrates instead on depicting the emotions that conflicting viewpoints engender to someone mourning a loved one who died in the war. On a deeper level, it also tackles the cost of hiding parts of your life to avoid hurting your loved ones. The dialogue is authentic to the characters and the plot moves the story forward at a pace that allows reflection, but keeps the reader interested. This title is highly recommended for teen readers.
—VOYA

This is a brave kid. This is a feeling kid. This is a kid with heart. The story is written with incredible sensitivity. A real beaut of a journey....haven't seen one like this in a long time.
—Barb Langridge, Children's Services at Howard County Central Library

From the Publisher

"Embrace the suck," is Matt Foster's older brother T.J.'s advice to him, and he's got a whole lot of suck to embrace. Not only did T.J. leave Matt with their vicious, alcoholic father--their bipolar mother died years ago--when he enlisted and then deployed to the Middle East, now he is dead. Their father resolutely refuses to talk about T.J., and he's hidden the small bag of stuff the "uniforms" brought the Fosters when they notified them of T.J'.s death. Under suspension for fighting--and threat of "so help me…" if he doesn't get his ass back in gear--Matt finds an unexpected opportunity when more uniforms drop off his brother's remaining personal effects: trunks containing photographs of a beautiful black woman and her family and often-steamy letters from "C." With help from his lifelong friend Shauna, he plots an escape to Madison, Wisc., where he hopes to connect with his brother's memory. Matt tells his tale in an almost excruciatingly deliberate present-tense narration; Kokie grounds readers so thoroughly in Matt's misery that they will be as itchy to escape the brutal emptiness of life with his father as he is. Realistically, though the inevitable revelation and resolution bring peace to Matt, they do not heal his father; readers will just have to hope he can make it through. A fine addition to the literature of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. (Historical fiction. 14 & up)

Kirkus Reviews

It’s spring 2007. Seven months ago T.J. died in Iraq, and his younger brother, Matt, is still grieving. With trouble at school and his dad insisting that he ”man up,” Matt struggles to control his anger and grief while searching for a way to connect with his big brother. Nick Podehl narrates this emotionally wrenching story in Matt’s voice, moving seamlessly between details of T.J.’s last leave and Matt’s search for something of T.J. to hold on to. Podehl emphasizes Matt’s urgency and confusion, as expressed in the author’s short sentences. In varying the speed of his narration, Podehl heightens the story’s tension, keeping the listener eager for Matt to find closure. N.E.M. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine

SEPTEMBER 2012 - AudioFile