Sometimes, it’s hard to understand our family members. Sometimes, they don’t get us either. Ultimatum, a YA novel by K.M. Walton, tells the story of two brothers who can’t relate to each other but must learn how as they face the death of their alcoholic father.

Premise

Oscar loves drawing and classical music. His mother was the only one in his family who understood him, but she died tragically in a car accident years ago. Oscar’s older brother Vance loves lacrosse and girls and got along great with their dad, who liked to party and listen to reggae music. However, after their mother’s death, Oscar and Vance watched helplessly as their father sank further and further into a trap of depression and alcoholism.  As their father dies from liver failure, they have no idea what do next or what to say to each other.

What I liked

I won a signed copy of Ultimatum from Jessica Lawson at her blog Falling Leaflets. (Jessica often gives away copies of excellent kid lit books on her site; check it out.) I like to write realistic fiction with components of family conflict, and Ultimatum was an excellent novel to study.

For starters, Walton does a fabulous job of describing emotion in raw, fresh language. When Oscar’s brother yells at him for sketching their dying father, Oscar thinks

“If I respond, I may crack and leak and puddle. If I don’t respond, he may lose his mind. My hands sweat. The walls suddenly crowd me. I want to run away.”

Walton uses wonderful metaphors to convey feeling. For example, as Oscar realizes he may never get to talk with his dad again, he thinks

“I’ll never be able to ask him these questions. That reality is incredibly jagged. The cut will never be clean; it will never heal properly.
There will always be a scar.”

Walton alternates first person POV between Vance and Oscar, giving readers insight into each boy’s personality and the complicated family history they share. This close perspective into the mind of each brother makes each one easier to sympathize with and adds intensity to the conflict.

The story switches between present time in a hospice room and flashbacks to important events in the lives of the boys. Overall, the tone is sad, but the novel ends hopefully. Most importantly, the emotions felt real and relatable. I watched my mother die when I was 25, and Walton does a great job of depicting the fear, grief, and anxiety felt by a young adult when a parent dies.

What I didn’t like

Not much. At first, it didn’t seem like the characters have an obvious goal that they are working toward; more often they just seem to react to the crises enfolding in front of them. Yet by the end of Ultimatum, it’s obvious that the goal is for them to learn how to love each other so that they can survive without their parents. And even though I couldn’t always sense “a goal”, I wanted to keep reading and turning the pages, just because the emotional journey for each character was compelling.

Recommendation

Ultimatum was a satisfying read, even though it was a little sad. If you like YA novels with family drama, such as Sarah Dessen’s The Truth About Forever or See You at Harry’s by Jo Knowles, you’ll probably like Ultimatum.

Notes on content

The boys’ father is an alcoholic, so there are several references to drinking and smoking pot. However, the consequences of substance abuse are also clearly described. There is a bit of bad language.

Have you read Ultimatum? What did you think? Can you share some other examples of YA with family drama?

Happy reading!

Is it possible to understand why someone would commit suicide? 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher is a best-selling young adult novel that explores this question. In March 2017, Netflix released a series based on the book that sparked a buzz on social media. Many teens have been mesmerized by the show, and many parents are concerned. I recently finished reading 13 Reasons Why, and here’s what you need to know.

Premise

A few days after Hannah Baker commits suicide, Clay Jensen finds a package of cassette tapes on his front porch.  Hannah recorded the tapes right before her death, and Hannah’s haunting voice explains what and who made her decide to kill herself. Only people who played “a role” in her suicide are on the tapes and will receive them. Clay listens somewhat unwillingly to Hannah’s monologue, wanting to learn his part and dreading what he might hear.

What I liked

I liked the unusual structure that Asher uses to tell Hannah’s story. Hannah’s voice fills Clay’s head; she feels present, but he’s painfully aware that she’s not. Also, it’s a great example of irony. Hannah gave up on life because people never listened to her or understood her. They chose to embrace rumors and gossip instead of getting to know her. Recording the tapes gives Hannah a way to tell her story without interruption or misconception. She finally has a voice, but by the time people hear and understand, it’s too late.

In a disturbing scene, students scoff at a suicide note left in a Peer Communications class at Hannah’s high school. In the author notes at the back of the book, Asher says the same thing happened at his own school, and part of his motivation to write the novel was to increase awareness of the stigma of suicide and to encourage more candid conversations about it.

13 Reasons highlights some important warning signs of suicide, including changing appearance, giving away personal belongings, and, what should be obvious, mentioning suicide.

13 Reasons forces readers to consider how their actions affect other people. Says Asher, “… even though Hannah admits that the decision to take her life was entirely her won, it’s also important to be aware of how we treat others.”

What I didn’t like

The two main characters of 13 Reasons Why are passive, and I had trouble engaging with the story. Clay listens to the tapes and reacts. He doesn’t take action, he just laments the tragedy.

Hannah is equally passive. Her tapes reveal that she was upset by rumors about her reputation, and she felt misunderstood and abandoned by people she thought were her friends. These are very realistic emotions, but we don’t see Hannah doing anything about them. She witnesses a rape but feels incapable of stopping it. She climbs into a hot tub with a boy she knows just wants sex, and she gives in to him. Hannah is less compelling than someone like Melinda, the protagonist from the YA novel Speak, who is a victim of rape and rumor who struggles to recover.

Book vs TV Series

I have not seen any of the Netflix episodes, but I have heard that the series is a suspenseful, violent drama. In the show, Hannah slits her wrists to kill herself, and this is graphically depicted. In the book, the actual suicide is never described, and readers only know that Hannah decides pills will be the best method. Also, apparently the rape scene is quite graphic in the show, but in the novel, the incident focuses more on Hannah’s feelings and reactions than on what is physically happening.

Seeing and hearing disturbing scenes affects me much more than anything I read. If I’m upset by a passage in a book, I can skim over it, but with a TV show or movie, the images are harder for me to escape or forget. For that reason, I will probably not watch the show.

As always, I recommend teens and their parents read the book before seeing the show. This is an important topic, and if the book or the show increase awareness about suicide and encourage honest dialogue about it, than 13 Reasons Why has accomplished something important.

My 15-year-old daughter read the book and agreed with my assessment of the characters and story. She isn’t interested in watching the show because she feels it glorifies suicide.  I didn’t ask her if she knows anyone who has mentioned suicide or what to do if someone does. Perhaps we need to address that.

If you have read 13 Reasons Why or seen the show, please share your thoughts. What other shows and/or books offer good insight into the issue of teen suicide?

Thanks for adding to the conversation!