Monday, 1/29/2024
The Night I Spent with Aubrey Fisher
by Christopher M. Tantillo.
Moderated by Erica Smith
A boy determined to die. A girl determined to save his life.
After the death of his little brother, Grayson's guilt spirals his life into chaos; it's all his fault. He wants to rewind that night back. To erase the pain he's caused.
So he's decided; in twenty-four hours, he'll kill himself.
Then mysterious and reckless Aubrey shows up with a proposition: a "literally insane" all-night adventure that will show him the beauty in the mundane.
Grayson doesn't know why the foster girl with the piercings, crimson locks, and fishnet leggings is helping, especially when he finds out she harbors dark secrets of her own. Yet as they spend his last night learning to let go of pain, Grayson may have a new choice to make.
But can he ever really be happy again?
Told in a heartfelt yet poignant style interspersed with quirky humor, The Night I Spent with Aubrey Fisher is a YA coming of age romance about two people who need to get lost in order to find each other.
After the death of his little brother, Grayson's guilt spirals his life into chaos; it's all his fault. He wants to rewind that night back. To erase the pain he's caused.
So he's decided; in twenty-four hours, he'll kill himself.
Then mysterious and reckless Aubrey shows up with a proposition: a "literally insane" all-night adventure that will show him the beauty in the mundane.
Grayson doesn't know why the foster girl with the piercings, crimson locks, and fishnet leggings is helping, especially when he finds out she harbors dark secrets of her own. Yet as they spend his last night learning to let go of pain, Grayson may have a new choice to make.
But can he ever really be happy again?
Told in a heartfelt yet poignant style interspersed with quirky humor, The Night I Spent with Aubrey Fisher is a YA coming of age romance about two people who need to get lost in order to find each other.
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ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading this book. I think it may be a difficult read for some of our students who have experienced trauma, but at the same time, I think it could be helpful.
ReplyDeleteThe depiction of what grief can do to a family and marriage was realistic and heart wrenching. As was Gray's overwhelming sense of grief. Initially I liked the the character of Aubrey, but eventually she seemed a bit too judgy, and too edgy.
I also think it was a beautifully written first book for Tantillo, he has a new one coming out in May, and I am interested in reading that. With that being said, I do think that there were a few places that it dragged on a bit. Overall, I think it would be best suited for 10-12 grade, just because of the content and triggers. I don't think I would use it in any of my classes, but I do think it may be helpful as a group counseling shared read...not sure if others would agree or not.
I didn't particularly enjoy my reading experience of this novel. However, there are some good things to be said about this story.
ReplyDeleteFirst, I enjoyed the realistic atmosphere that was created in the setting and through the characters. Most, but certainly not all of the dialogue felt natural, and the high school experience felt genuine. However, I do think that some of the dialogue and content could be a bit graphic for some of our students; there were some innuendos and other moments that felt more intense than a PG-13 rating. With that being said, I think some of our upper-level students could enjoy this novel; it could be an excellent piece to use for an analysis-based project, or a project that ties research about one of the novel's many themes. I do think this would be better suited for a more adult audience though.
I did not enjoy the way this novel was written, and therefore I could not finish it after pushing through. Maybe it is a personal preference, but I found Tantillo's writing style to be juvenile and underdeveloped; I would consider picking up another novel of his in the future though.