Kevin Nicholas was 19 when he died. By all accounts he was a popular boy who had graduated high school with honors all while being the captain of the cross-country team. At the time of his death he was a freshman at the local community college. Everyone acknowledges this much was true. Beyond this point the stories began to differ depending on to whom you talk.
Each chapter contains the story from a different character’s view point. There was Morris, the non-existent; Mick, the fellow altar boy; Candy, the first girlfriend; Will, the high school friend; Marco, the cross country teammate; Nadira, the make-up artist at the mortuary; Jackson, the Facebook friend of a friend of a friend; Lydia, the younger sister, and finally, an unnamed friend from college. Now comes the fabulous twist. Each chapter was written by a different well-known author such as Ellen Hopkins, A.S. King, Rita Williams-Garcia as well as six others.
According to the editors, Marc Aronson and Charles R. Smith Jr., they asked Rita Williams-Garcia to begin the book and then the only instructions to the other authors was to somehow link to her story and to work with the theme initiation. Personally I think they did an amazing job tying it all together. Instead of seeming disjointed from being written by so many authors it comes across as a cohesive collection of people giving their side of the story.
Despite the title, this short book (143 pages) was as much about life as it was about death. Take the time to get to know Kevin and his friends. You will not be sorry.
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