What They Always Tell Us by Martin Wilson

[James]

JAMES AND ALEX have barely anything in common anymore—least of all their experiences in high school, where James is a popular senior and Alex is suddenly an outcast. But at home, there is Henry, the precocious 10-year-old across the street, who eagerly befriends them both. And when Alex takes up running, there is James’s friend Nathen, who unites the brothers in moving and unexpected ways.

Not a whole lot to the description...that's because not a whole lot actually happens in this book. The main event, the catalyst for the story happens before the book begins, the story is how that event affects the characters.

And, I was okay with that. I like a "slice of life" story, where I'm just getting a peek at a specific period of time in the characters lives (this happens to be a school year) without having a major event for the climax to the story.

The POV is split by chapter, rotating between Alex and James. I did enjoy the Alex chapters much more than the James chapters, as I didn't find James to be a very likable character for a good 80% of the book.

Having said I like slice of life stories, I did find the subplot with Henry, and more specifically with Henry's mom, to be a bit random and unnecessary.

And one thing I didn't like about the split POV, each chapter picked up where the last one left off, so while I was reading James whine about how he spent his days, I didn't know what Alex was doing those days. There were specific parts this bothered me, as I would've much rather known what Alex was up to during those times.

So, overall I liked the book. I didn't love it. I do realize that I'm not the intended audience for this book, and I'm getting a bit too old for teen angst, so I kept that in mind in writing this.

[PaperMoon]

Sounds an interesting read to me Jamie - I think I'll put in on my Amazon TBB list. Ta!