Review: Personal Effects

“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.”

Loosing someone you love is hard. Loosing someone who has left behind secrets is harder. Why? Well, they left something behind. A part of them they never told you. If you had to chance to find out the secret would you?

What I enjoyed most about this book is the searching for the secret. The reading of letters. The searching through a room that has not been touched for over a year. The elation of finding what your sibling has been hiding this whole time. While reading this, lots of emotions go through me. I feel excited yet scared. I feel angry yet happy.

While this is going on, there is a love interest that is forming. I enjoyed watching this friendship flourished. Trusting each other with what you found, breaking all the rules and doing what you’ve always wanted to do. Really, this part of the book touched my heart. I so loved watching them argue yet sacrifice for one another.