[Review] Just a Normal Tuesday - Kim Turrisi

Summary: What begins as just a normal Tuesday becomes a day that will shatter sixteen-year-old Kai's life forever. All it takes is a letter, tucked into a pile of their family's mail. It's from Kai's older sister, Jen, who lives nearby. And it begins, “If you are reading this, I am already gone.” Jen has committed suicide. Dazed, Kai helps to plan Jen's funeral and tries to cope with their devastated parents, all the while searching for answers. How could Jen do this, and why? Kai is heartbroken and furious, and soon she's caught in a vicious downward spiral, self-medicating and lashing out at the people she loves. That's when her parents shock her: they're sending her to the Tree House, a summer camp for grieving teens. Kai is not a happy camper at first. But when she meets other kids who are grappling with loss, she begins to share her feelings, find a way forward, even laugh ... and fall in love. (Pub Date: May 2, 2017)


Review based on an ARC provided by Netgalley. I want to also thank the publisher for giving me this opportunity.

This story is very raw, and it's really about grieving. I guess a trigger warning is necessary. Even though the suicide isn't that much, it all felt more than real.

This is about Kai, who loses her sister and best friend, her soulmate, when she finds her dead body on what she was sure it would be a normal Tuesday. She doesn't take it well at all but tries to fake it so her family won't notice until it all crashes. As her parents notice they can't help her alone, she needs to go to a camp for those grieving and give it a last try.

I don't really like giving half the story of the book in the summary but this was a slow-paced story. I think it needed a lot more editing so the plot doesn't really take off when you're already at 50% in. And that's the book's biggest flaw. I didn't remember the summary anymore when I started, and as a result, I kept thinking "now the story begins" but it would never really. I would have made the camp appear much before and make the many good scenes we have before into flashbacks. I think that would be the easy way to fix it, especially since those scenes post suicide were mostly episodic, time-jumping every time and Kai does mention the period a lot during the camp. Of course, every author is free to choose a style but I'm not into slow beginnings.

On the other hand, when you exclude the lack of transitions between each phase in Kai's grief, this was a very well written first novel. You can feel each of the characters—as well as feel (a lot) for each of them—and it's just very sad.

Even before researching about this author I knew she was speaking from experience. I've only lost one close but not that close a person to suicide, so I couldn't be sure if that was really how one would feel. Still, it hurt inside me as if we could really read inside this existing person's mind. I can't begin to imagine how hard it must have been to put it all so explicitly on paper. So don't expect this to be your usual YA book on suicide, it's the real thing.

Also, I didn't know grief camps existed. The author says she wished she had attended one when it happened to her, and I do see how nice they seem to be. I'm glad she presented this to us. I was particularly glad about Kai's reaction to the idea. She's not into it but she really makes the effort. I'm glad she wasn't portrayed as this uncooperative irrational teenager we usually see in similar stories.

In sum, this book needed a better structure, and the parts not about the suicide read a little superficial but it didn't diminish its value. This was a beautiful story about coping after someone so, so close decides to leave you.

Rating: 3 out of 5.