How To Live Without You

by Sarah Everett, Tamika Katon-Donegal (Read by)

Overview

In this heart-wrenching coming-of-age story about family, grief, and second chances, seventeen-year-old Emmy returns home for the summer to uncover the truth behind her sister Rose’s disappearance—only to learn that Rose had many secrets, ones that have Emmy questioning herself and the sister Emmy thought she knew.

When her sister Rose disappeared, seventeen-year-old Emmy lost a part of herself. Everyone else seems convinced she ran away and will reappear when she’s ready, but Emmy isn’t so sure. That doesn’t make sense for the Rose she knew: effervescent, caring, and strong-willed. So Emmy returns to their Ohio hometown for a summer, determined to uncover clues that can lead her back to Rose once and for all.

But what Emmy finds is a string of secrets and lies that she never thought possible, casting the person she thought she knew best in a whole new light. Reeling with confusion, Emmy decides to step into Rose’s life. She reconnects with their childhood best friend and follows in Rose’s last known footsteps with heart-wrenching consequences.

An honest and intimate look at sisterhood and the dark side of growing up, Sarah Everett’s latest novel is a stunning portrayal of how you can never truly know the ones you love.

Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9798200967667
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	05/17/2022
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 7.50(h) x 0.00(d)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Sarah Everett grew up in enchanted forests, desert islands, and inside a magical wardrobe. She speaks two Nigerian languages and a small amount of Afrikaans, and was also president of her high school's Japanese club (which was only slightly less nerdy than it sounds). She now lives in Alberta, Canada, where she moonlights as a graduate student and writes young-adult novels. She believes in chocolate, daydreaming, and good mistakes. When she's not writing, Sarah is probably nose-deep in a book, bemoaning her nonexistent sense of direction or engaging in some "car-aoke" while she tries to find her way home. Her first book was Everyone We've Been. Visit her on Twitter at @heysaraheverett.

Editorial Reviews

04/18/2022

Six years after their parents’ divorce forced two Black sisters to part ways—and three months after one of them goes missing—their once-deep bond sustains a search in Everett’s (Some Other Now) mental health–centered novel. Reserved Emmy, now 17, has spent the last several years living with the teens’ mother in San Francisco, while stubborn, wild-spirited Rose, two years older, stayed in Riverwood, Ohio, with their father, who lives with mild agoraphobia. Emmy can’t believe that her sister would run off without telling her, so she returns to Ohio for the summer, seeking to “draw back to me through that magnetic pull we share, that inexplicable bond of sisters who are also best friends.” As Emmy reconnects with hometown friends, hoping to find clues about Rose’s disappearance, she begins to learn that her sister is a much different person than Emmy has believed her to be. With the reluctant help of once-jovial childhood friend Levi, Emmy begins to look for clues Rose left behind on an Instagram account, slowly coming to terms with how separate their lives have been. Told in a delicately introspective first-person voice and including mentions of depression, suicide, and stigma, Everett’s novel traverses the many effects of untreated mental illness. An author’s note concludes. Ages 14–up. Agent: Suzie Townsend, New Leaf Literary & Media. (May)

Publishers Weekly

“Everett displays prowess in conveying immediate emotion…making this novel hard to put down. An excellent choice for fans of Nina LaCour, Katie Cotugno, and John Green.”
— Booklist (starred review)

“A compelling exploration of mental illness and family dynamics.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

“A riveting, thought-provoking read that examines the effects of mental health on familial bonds.”  — Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

Everett displays prowess in conveying immediate emotion…making this novel hard to put down. An excellent choice for fans of Nina LaCour, Katie Cotugno, and John Green.”

Booklist (starred review)

A compelling exploration of mental illness and family dynamics.

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

2022-02-09
Emmy attempts to find her missing older sister, Rose, by immersing herself in a series of complicated relationships that enigmatic Rose inhabited.

Emmy is a Black teen who had a tight bond with her sister even though, for the past 6 years following their parents’ divorce, they lived in different states: Emmy moved to San Francisco with her mother, while Rose stayed in Dayton with their father. Emmy is just beginning to question her family role of academically brilliant but socially stunted younger sibling when Rose goes missing. The search to figure out what happened helps Emmy gain a better perspective on their relationship. Alongside Emmy, readers witness Rose’s battle with depression as Emmy investigates the disappearance. The central characters experience stigma related to mental health but find different treatment modalities. Rose and Emily’s father’s social anxiety and mild case of agoraphobia begins to ease as he starts dating again. Their close childhood friend, Levi, manages his ADHD with cognitive behavioral therapy. Barriers to seeking treatment are evidenced in Rose’s journey. Through the characters’ varied experiences, readers acquire a mental health vocabulary that helps them engage more fully with the story. Ultimately, this thoughtful novel explores how two sisters’ identities were shaped by their foundational relationships. What emerges is a complex picture of mental illness and the stigma that can keep people silent.

A riveting, thought-provoking read that examines the effects of mental health on familial bonds. (Fiction. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews