Dispatches from Parts Unknown: An Emotional Novel of Grief, Nostalgia, and Wrestling in the Twin Cities―an Odyssey Honor Winner

by Bryan Bliss

Julie knows it’s unusual that a professional wrestler runs a constant commentary on her life that only she can hear. But grief can be awfully funny sometimes. A novel about how to tread the line between moving on and holding on.

Ever since her dad died three years ago, Julie has been surviving more than thriving. And surviving is sneaking into her parents’ closet when her mom is out, since it’s the only place that still sometimes smells like her dad. It’s roaming around the Mall of America. It’s pulling out the box of her dad’s VHS tapes, recordings of his favorite vintage professional wrestling matches.

And it’s hearing the voice of the Masked Man in her head, running a commentary of her life.

It’s embarrassing, really. Sure, he was her dad’s favorite wrestler, but that doesn’t mean she wants him in her head. And does he really have to comment on everything?

As Julie finally starts to come out of the haze of grief just as her senior year is winding down, maybe she’ll finally figure out why that voice is there, and how to let it go.

Genres: Young Adult, Audiobook, Grief, Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Humor, Teen

288 pages, Hardcover

First published May 7, 2024

About the author

Bryan Bliss is the author of No Parking at the End Times, Meet Me Here, and We’ll Fly Away, which was longlisted for the 2018 National Book Award. He lives in Saint Paul, MN with his family.

You can visit him online at www.bryanbliss.com and on Facebook and Twitter.

Reviews

[Kristi · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a little silly but over all it was a good book on grief. I know nothing about wrestling so the glossary of terms at the beginning helped a lot.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book.

[Melissa Abelev · Rating 4 out of 5]

very well written without being sickly sweet or heart gutting

[Alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Julie is just surviving life. And it seems to help that her late dad's favorite wrestler is commentating along through what's happening in her life. As she goes through along what life has to offer, she may just understand why a wrestler is in her head.

This book was beautful and more! I cannot explain thoroughly how this book was so gentle and kind to someone who's grieving. I liked how it was taken lightly that I feel there were not a lot of triggering things in the book. The book was funny, and kind. It navigated feelings in a way that it was open to interpretation.

It does help that there was a glossary of wrestling entertainment terms in the beginning of the book. Given, I did watch World Wrestling Entertainment when I was still a kid, but all the terms just went over my head. And I truly loved the parallels of the fakeness of wrestling and the realness of life in this book. And the fact that the author shared his interest with a mix of dread on how readers will take it is somethwing so genius. It gives readers who are interested in it that they are seen, and there are readers that have no interest in it, that they might see wrestling entertainment in a different light.

Anyway, the characters are so lovely too. Julie is our main character, but you have to love the other characters because you get to see the subtle changes in Julie because of them. And the lovely thing about this is that, it's not only Julie that you see grow but the other characters are growing too. I swear, I cannot help but to see how lovely they are but not in a way that it was too overly sweet.

As much as wrestling is an in-your-face type of entertainment, this book has been so subtle, and honestly, so healing for me too. I mean, the cover is even so subtle too! So yeah, maybe you can say that I'm bias, but this is the first time I read anything from this author, but truly I just liked it so much. Also, this book made me look at Top Gun in a different light too.

If anything, there are times that confusion do set in because of the wrestling terms and the world of wrestling. But they do fall into place as the book settles in.

As mentioned, this book is amazing for me. I feel like this is one of those books that will not be forgettable because of the uniqueness of it. I also learned that this author has been around and this book made me interested in reading other books of his.

*I received an eARC of this book

[JL · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who writes largely about grief and also happens to be a lifelong wrestling fan, I felt like this book was made for me when I stumbled across it one day. Then I heard the dedication and immediately knew I was correct.
Dispatches From Parts Unknown is a heartwarming, but sometimes silly and cute, story about moving forward with life after loss.
While a lot of the narration center’s around the main character’s love of wrestling, you absolutely don’t have to have a working knowledge of wrestling to follow this story. All in all, it’s just about a girl trying to navigate life after losing her father.
The characters are written really well. They’re funny, hopeful, well-rounded people. I fell in love with them instantly. The overall writing style was also great.
This was very close to being a five star read for me. Everything was done very well and the wrestling references really elevated the experience for me as a wrestling fan. I decided to give this 4 stars, however (maybe 4.5?) because the dialogue from the Masked Man was sometimes a bit awkward. Since he’s a voice in her head, I think it’s great that his dialogue was more limited than a real character’s, but there were a lot of frequently repeated phrases and, let’s be real, you can only say “jabroni” so many times before it becomes less fun and more cringe.
I also listened to this on audiobook and I really liked the narrator, but when they read the voice of the Masked Man, it was very jarring and I kept having to turn the volume down during those parts.

[Mrs_R_Librarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is not often that you find a book about grief that will have you laughing out loud, but this one does.

Julie's father died suddenly 3 years ago and ever since then there is a retired pro wrestler (The Masked Man) in her head, narrating her life. Imagine that The Rock - not Dewayne Johnson - but his wrestling ego The Rock is narrating your life. That is who The Masked Man reminded me of. I highly recommend the audio version of this title to get the full effect.

I absolutely loved this book. You don't have to be a wrestling fan to enjoy it. There is even a glossary of wrestling terms in the front for those who need it. Also, it was nice to see a completely platonic male/female best-friend relationship in an YA book.

Content Warnings: language, grief, death of a parent discussed

[Casey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Definitely a unique entry into the YA collection--we needed a great choice for fans of pro wrestling! Julie is grappling with life-altering grief after the death of her father, and there's no timeline for when it will (or should) lessen. She's got a fantastic mom, an amazing best friend, and teachers who are legitimately trying to help her. This book maintains an incredible sense of humor throughout, with a wise-cracking wrestler voice in Julie's head, a Top Gun prom theme, lots of Orange Julius, and some crazy skater boys, which balances out the underlying sadness in the story. Excellent choice for teens looking for humor or wrestling!

[Allison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot say enough good things about this new YA book! What sounds like a dramatic novel about a girl grieving her dad and dealing with a serious mental health issue of hearing voices is actually a guffaw inducing, adorable story of friendship and healing. You will love the voice of the pro-wrestler in the protagonist’s head telling her that her past fashion choices, “looked badass! Bring it back!” and calling everyone a jabroni when they say anything mildly annoying. With 0% trite arguments and misunderstandings and no will they- won’t they tension, this is a story of friendship, unwavering support, acceptance, and healing. And did I mention it’s funny? I loved this book.

[Nate Deprey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most of the reviews I've read of this book focus on grief and while that is definitely an element of Dispatches from Parts Unknown you spend way too much time at Mall of America and evaluating the gay icon status of Top Gun to have this book wholly about grief. And how sad could anyone be when they love wrestling this much and their interior monologue calls every other person a "jabroni." Lastly, for anyone not Twin Cities inclined, Can Can Wonderland is a great place for a first date. Nice work Leg!

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly liked this book a lot more than I thought I would. I listened to the audiobook, and while I liked the narrator’s imitation of the wrestler in the main character’s head, I found their “normal” speech to be almost nasally and it was a bit distracting to me. I am a wrestling fan, so “jabroni” and “candy ass” being used tickled me, but some of the phrases did get overused after a while. The grief dealt with throughout the book was written and handled well, and made me almost a little teary at points. Glad I read this one.

[Nicole Aaberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book for young adults on grief and losing a parent. A teenager loves professional wrestling just as her father who she lost three years ago did as well. The voice in her head is her Dad's favorite Professional wrestler and commentates what is going on around her. She is more or less surviving the loss of her Dad than thriving. Her Mom is exploring a new relationship and Julie is finding that her new friend may be interested in her more than she realized. Will Julie figure out why the voice is still in her head after all of this still and how she can let it go.

[BiblioBrandie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just finished this book, and wow - it really hit me in all the feels! I laughed out loud one minute and found myself tearing up the next. The way it deals with grief is so real and relatable. I decided to go with the audiobook after hearing it was up for an Odyssey Award, and I'm so glad I did. Honestly, it should've won! The narrator absolutely nails it, especially when doing the voice for The Man - I was cracking up! Such a great read from start to finish. Now I'm having that book hangover feeling where I'm happy I experienced it but sad it's over. Recommend!

[Lexie C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you for NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read the ARC of this!

(3.5 stars) an enjoyable little YA that deals with grief and is also funny. I would definitely recommend this one, and you don’t have to be a fan of wrestling to enjoy it. I feel like I learned a lot about wrestling from this book too.
My only thing is I wish the wrestler voice in Julie’s head had more to say. Haha. Also the plot and characters were a little silly. Overall a nice little YA book.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I discovered Bryan Bliss when hearing him speak twice at Calvin University's Festival of Faith and Writing, and I'm so glad I did! To me, this book is for YA what Gary Schmidt's books are for the middle grade set -- so full of heart, respectful of their characters and readers, reflecting reality but offering hope. Can't wait to read more.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

I expected this book to be weirder based on the "hearing the voice of a professional wrestler" thing, but it was a pretty terrific book about grief and how we move through it, and if that sounds heavy, it was also pretty funny! *And* it had a great platonic guy-girl friendship which I'm a sucker for.

[Morgan Joyner · Rating 4 out of 5]

The blurb makes this sound a lot quirkier than it really is. The whole "professional wrestler imaginary friend" aspect doesn't figure much into the story; said imaginary friend delivers some slightly repetitive commentary, and that's about it. That said, it's a straightforward, wholesome coming-of-age about a WWE-loving teen dealing with the loss of her dad. And I really enjoyed it.

[Flowerchild8 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I must start with I listened to the audiobook. She did a fantastic job. Also can't say I'm as big a fan, but I've been to 2 WWE events so I get where shes coming from.
This book had me laughing, crying, reminiscing, and cheering. Jabroni has been added to my vocabulary thanks to the masked man's commentary! Fun experience

[Sara D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Professional wrestling and the grief of losing your dad- what a book. Pleasant, uplifting, funny, heartfelt. I felt a lot of what this book described, all except for having the voice of a professional wrestler inside my head, providing commentary. Cute. Meaningful. And Top Gun Prom sounds like a LOT of fun.😉

[Tara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really good audio, but the story was just too unrelatable for me. Julie deals with the loss of her dad by encouraging a "friendship" with a professional wrestler's voice in her head. Teens who enjoy wrestling will probably enjoy this story, but it's a very niche title.

[Ayla Chisholm · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book started off really strong for me, but fizzled out. I found some parts funny, and others borderline cringy. I’m not entirely the target audience so I’ll chalk it up to that. Overall fairly memorable, just didn’t really seem to go anywhere.

[Britt Buckenroth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really really enjoyed this novel about grief and finding ones way through. The characters are interesting and so so very likable. I was surprised how much I didnt mind all the professional wrestling references. It works for this story.

Highly recommend. Sweet sweet story.

[Melanie Zaharopoulos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining YA that made me reminisce fondly over trips to Minnesota and North Dakota. Nothing earthshattering, but a cute story.

[Lara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love is different than you would think. So is grief.

[Kristin Markert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Grief. Adolescence. Young Love. Professional Wrestling. Who knew this would be such a good combination for the YA novel? If the author writes more books with these characters, I'd read them.

[Emily Hopkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jabroni

[Kirk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just something I needed to listen to. About grief and an odd inner voice.

[Tiff · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely adored this book. It was so heartwarming and made me laugh out loud many times.

[Courtney Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

The word jabroni is in this book a bunch and that made me laugh.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I know very little about professional wrestling, but still enjoyed the story. And it's set in Minnesota!

[Blaise · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[Teddy · Rating 2 out of 5]

the wrestler interjections felt a lil heavy handed and confusing to me alas