The Ethan I Was Before

The Ethan I Was Before
by Ali Standish

From the publisher:
"Ethan had been many things. He was always ready for adventure and always willing to accept a dare, especially from his best friend, Kacey. But that was before. Before the accident that took Kacey from him. Before his family moved from Boston to the small town of Palm Knot, Georgia.

Palm Knot may be tiny, but it’s the home of possibility and second chances. It’s also home to Coralee, a girl with a big personality and even bigger stories. Coralee may be just the friend Ethan needs, except Ethan isn’t the only one with secrets. Coralee’s are catching up with her, and what she’s hiding might be putting both their lives at risk. "

I didn't like this one as much as I expected to, and I'm not sure why. The writing was lovely and I cared about poor little Ethan, but there was just some disconnect for me. Maybe it is that I wasn't completely invested in the extreme grief of 2 of the characters. Life goes on, and children in particular are incredibly resilient. For most children I have seen, the loss of someone close sometimes doesn't even compute, and if it does there are days of intense grief which fade into moments of sadness. So at the beginning I felt badly for Ethan, but that faded into "Oh my gosh, quit doing stupid things!". And I don't even want to get started on Grandpa Ike. Be a man and take care of your family! There were also way too many things going on, so it was hard to get emotionally involved in all of those story lines. 
However, it was a good, clean story with lovely writing. 

Areas of concern:
*Loss of a close friend
*Dysfunctional family issues
*Stupid choices by the main character
*Heavy grieving

Suggested Ages:

Publisher's Weekly - Ages 8-12

School Library Journal - Grades 4-6