The Theory of Everything by JJ Johnson

Hardcover, 334 pages

Published October 1st 2012 by Peachtree Publishers 

 

Just because everyone else thinks you should be over it doesn't mean you are.

Last year, Sarah's best friend Jamie died in a freak accident. Back then, everyone was sad; now they're just ready for Sarah to get over it and move on.

But Sarah's not ready to move on. She can't stop reliving what happened, struggling with guilt, questioning the meaning of life, and missing her best friend. Her grades are plummeting, her relationships are falling apart, and her normal voice seems to have been replaced with a snark box. Life just seems random: no pattern, no meaning, no rules - and no reason to bother.

In a last-ditch effort to pull it together, Sarah befriends Jamie's twin brother Emmett, who may be the only other person who understands what she's lost. And when she gets a job working for the local eccentric who owns a Christmas tree farm, she finally begins to understand the threads that connect us all, the benefit of giving people a chance, and the power of love.

Sometimes authors have a hard time writing authentically when it comes to how they react and deal in certain situations and that drives me crazy. Maybe it is because I teach that age group and I know how they think and if it is so far off, I typically have to struggle to read the entire book (if I even finish it). This book, however, was a completely refreshing novel because I could totally hear Sarah in my students... and me too. Her sarcasm was hilarious and so real. I couldn't put it down. 

 

There were so many things that I loved about this book. The drawings and journal-like introductions to each chapter allow the reader to see another side of Sarah and how she is dealing with the chaos that has erupted in her life. This is a fantastic book that shows the inter workings of how to deal with life when it doesn't go according to plan. Great conversations will come from this book I am sure as I shop it out to my students. There are so many life lessons that come from this along with the hilarity and reality of Sarah! I can't wait to hand this one to a few of my kids!

 

Visit JJ here and see more about what she writes, what she does and who she is! 

Happy reading!