Alex: With his friends no longer talking to him and his brother constantly in motion, Alex is prepared to get through junior year on his own. And he would, if his ten-year-old neighbor, Henry, didn’t keep showing up, looking for company. Even James seems intrigued by Henry, and by the strange cars that come and go from his house across the street. But what Alex cares most about is running, and when he’s encouraged to try out for cross-country, he’s surprised to find more than just a supportive teammate in his brother’s friend Nathen.
Thoughtful and moving, What They Always Tell Us is a powerful debut novel about the bond between two brothers – and the year that changes everything.
Comment: I think this book was on my ebook pile because of a positive opinion I've read in some site. For the life of me I can't imagine why I'd choose to read it since it's YA but I didn't pay attention when I've added to the TBR list...
Brothers Alex and James are one year apart and have a very different experience in high school. James is a senior very eager to leave for college and Alex is suddenly without friends, especially after the party debacle, where he drunk pine-sol. Now their relationship is more polite then close, and at school Alex is someone to keep away from or to pity. Things change a little when Alex shows interest in running and James, who likes sports too, sees something to bring them closer. They also get new neighbors, one of them Henry, a 10 year old who clearly needs someone to look up to. However, James is soon going to leave, is there any hope for their connection to go back to what it was when they were younger?
This isn't a big book and that helped me being motivated to keep reading when I realized it would be a YA story. At the same time, this isn't a book with the traditional teenager dramas and that actually made me interested to see where the author would go. I had not heard of the author before thus I didn't have high expectations on anything.
Let it be said this book alludes to some trigger situations, such as suicide.
When the story begins, we already know Alex is seeing a therapist and is doing well after an apparent impulsive decision to drink detergent at a party and how being helped very quickly saved him. We are never told word by word why Alex did this, only that he had what it seemed to be some sort of depression. The story is told by him and by James, in alternated chapters. The plot is mostly centered on their daily routines and thoughts and what each new day brings them.
In terms of plot, I would not say it's the most challenging one, even more so because the addition of the mother and son new neighbors provides a very thin new layer. I would say the author's style here was very direct, and the introspective or profound messages were delivered in seemingly very quick ways. I think it's still doable to infer what the brothers are feeling and I absolutely loved their parents, but I can see if some readers would label this as being too superficial, because we are left to ponder and to reach a personal conclusion; there doesn't seem to be a goal to this story.
The brothers' voices are easily distinctive but James seems to be, obviously, more self assured. I think that through their both POVs we get to see why they don't seem to be close now as they were before, how each has different interests and friends and how Alex had a different set of elements surrounding him which might explain his emotional state. His friends weren't really friendly and I think the author did a good job showcasing how insidious bullying can be. Sometimes it's not easy to recognize it for it, many bullied people just assume they see things wrong.
There is also a sweet element here, a hint of romance. Alex starts running and is noticed by Nathen, a boy who is part of the cross country team at school. He also happens to be friends with James but this doesn't stop them from becoming running buddies and, at some point, more than that. Nothing happens between them but some kissing, and I was a little disappointed with how slow things were but, to be fair, Alex was recovering, was at a good place, but all the things involved with admitting such a commitment would likely not be the best, considering Nathen would leave for college too, and how Alex was yet dealing with his past actions.
I can also understand why some things were not deepened as much as the themes would require, such as the depression, the suicide, the social relationships formed when one is vulnerable and unsure, etc. However, these things were present and I feel they were left too much to one's interpretation without enough clarification or even advice, considering the public target. I kind of wanted the themes to have more development...
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