Tell Me When You Feel Something by Vicki Grant - OPTIONAL

Tell Me When You Feel Something by Vicki Grant, 336 pages. Penguin Teen (Penguin Random House), 2021. $18.

Language: R (148 swears, 23 “f”); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG13

BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL

AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE

When Davida (17yo) realizes that Viv and Tim were only part of her life for a month and that she doesn’t really know them, she wants to walk away and go back to life before knowing them. But Viv’s in a coma and Tim is lying about something. Despite wanting no part of it, Davida is in the middle of it -- but no one can tell her what “it” is.

Through multiple points of view in the past and present as well as police interviews, Grant skillfully directs readers through stages of understanding. First is disorientation as readers get used to pivoting through time and points of view, second is deceit by giving just enough information to make unconscious assumptions, and third is the lightbulb where all the clues and overlooked details fall into place. The initial confusion was hard to accept, and it took me several tries of picking up and putting down the book to acclimate to how Grant chose to tell the story. Grant addresses serious topics, including feeling responsible for our dysfunctional families and the importance of support systems and values. The mature content rating is for drug use, underage drinking, innuendo, mention of genitalia, nudity, and sexual assault. The violence rating is for mention of suicide.

Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen