No One Here is Lonely Sarah Everett - HIGH

No One Here is Lonely Sarah Everett, 343 pages. Alfred A. Knopf, 2019. $17.99.

Language: R (100+ swears, 18 “f”); Mature Content: PG-13; Violence: G

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH

Eden and her best friend of 14 years, Lacey, have the whole summer ahead of them. But after Eden’s crush of many years dies just one week before graduation, everything begins to change for Eden. The summer bucket list that Eden and Lacey were supposed to do before heading to college is off because suddenly, and without no known reason, Lacey doesn’t want to be with Eden all the time. On the day of graduation, Eden finds out that Will was a cognitive donor with “In Good Company”, meaning that his personality is saved on a computer program and she can talk to him whenever she wants. Without Lacey by her side, Eden only feels like half a person, but as she starts to fall in love with this Will, she feels happy again and starts to do their bucket list with Will. 

I really enjoyed this book about truly finding yourself. The language felt high school typical, which sadly made this book R for language. The content was mature due to teens using alcohol and marijuana, but it is not seen as glamorous by Eden, which I liked. There are so many themes that teenagers can relate to: loneliness, losing friends, feeling different, death, family problems, figuring out who your real friends are, and most of all learning to love yourself. The author showed great ingenuity with her invention of being a cognitive donor. It felt very realistic, yet showed the reader the problem with being too connected to virtual reality. 

Reviewer: J. Rosskopf