Recommendation Friday! #9

Hey guys! Another Friday has come and it’s my turn again to recommend a great read to you! I always love throwing a curve ball you’re way so this book is an adult novel. One I found a bit challenging to get into due to my love for YA but when I was done (I read it in about a week and a half) I was so happy I read it. It’s one of the few books that have brought me to tears.

I highly recommend Tell The Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt.

In this striking literary debut, Carol Rifka Brunt unfolds a moving story of love, grief, and renewal as two lonely people become the unlikeliest of friends and find that sometimes you don’t know you’ve lost someone until you’ve found them.

1987. There’s only one person who has ever truly understood fourteen-year-old June Elbus, and that’s her uncle, the renowned painter Finn Weiss. Shy at school and distant from her older sister, June can only be herself in Finn’s company; he is her godfather, confidant, and best friend. So when he dies, far too young, of a mysterious illness her mother can barely speak about, June’s world is turned upside down. But Finn’s death brings a surprise acquaintance into June’s life – someone who will help her to heal and to question what she thinks she knows about Finn, her family, and even her own heart.

At Finn’s funeral, June notices a strange man lingering just beyond the crowd. A few days later, she receives a package in the mail. Inside is a beautiful teapot she recognizes from Finn’s apartment and a note from Toby, the stranger, asking for an opportunity to meet. As the two begin to spend time together, June realizes she’s not the only one who misses Finn, and if she can bring herself to trust this unexpected friend, he just might be the one she needs the most.

An emotionally charged coming-of-age novel, Tell the Wolves I’m Home is a tender story of love lost and found, an unforgettable portrait of the way compassion can make us whole again.

Okay, so this sounds like a very “heavy” book. But I’m not 100% sure how I got lead to it, but I’m so happy that I did. This book left me speechless and in the biggest book hangover ever. I just couldn’t pick up another book until I fully consumed and wrapped my head around this book. I didn’t think I’d ever get myself out of reading YA for a while because there’s just so much to read but, this book helped me understand Adult books are just as and can be even better than YA at times.

This book was so beautifully written. It was just…beautiful. There was so much complexity, so many issues were touched upon with this book that just were heart wrenching. It was such an emotional book without getting melodramatic. And it was just such an honest book about family, and loss, and missed opportunities, being who you were meant to be, following your own decisions, AIDS, coming-of-age. It just touched upon so much and it was so great.

June Elbus is one of my favorite characters of all time. She’s one of those characters that grows right in front of you and it’s amazing. I feel like I keep saying the same thing over and over again about this book but I honestly can’t give you anymore insight into it, because it left me speechless and if I couldn’t have any words right after reading it, how the hell am I going to have the words to describe why you should read it? But June Elbus and this book will always be a 5/5 for me.