Sorry for Your Loss

Set in Chicago, this introspective story about grief within a large family focuses on high school junior Pup Flanagan, the overshadowed youngest of eight children. Now, almost three years after Pup’s brother Patrick died suddenly while at college, the Flanagans seem to have moved on, all except for Pup and his brother Luke, a law student. Luke has developed a drinking problem, and Pup has failed at romance and is in danger of failing Studio Art. As a last-ditch effort to save his grade, he tries photography at his teacher’s suggestion. With the help of a mentor, Albrihet, an advanced art student and Eritrean immigrant who is navigating problems within her own close-knit family, Pup finds a way to use his camera as a vehicle to express the impact of his loss. Well-delineated characters and Foley’s (Neighborhood Girls) subtle hand distinguish this moving novel, showing Pup’s gradual healing process as he gains enough courage and self-confidence to help his alcoholic brother and establish a meaningful relationship with Albrihet. Scenes of the Flanagans’ weekly family dinners, which include in-laws and cousins, are perhaps the most revealing, effectively capturing the family’s unspoken tensions, loyalty, and love. Ages 14–up. [em](June) [/em]