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One for Sorrow
by Christopher Barzak
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About This Book
ISBN13: 9780553384369 
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Synopses & Reviews
Publisher Comments:
Part thriller, part ghost tale, part love story, One for Sorrow is a novel as timeless as The Catcher in the Rye and as hauntingly lyrical as The Lovely Bones. Christopher Barzak’s stunning debut tells of a teenage boy’s coming-of-age that begins with a shocking murder and ends with a reason to hope.
Adam McCormick had just turned fifteen when the body was found in the woods. It is the beginning of an autumn that will change his life forever. Jamie Marks was a boy a lot like Adam, a boy no one paid much attention to—a boy almost no one would truly miss. And for the first time, Adam feels he has a purpose. Now, more than ever, Jamie needs a friend.
But the longer Adam holds on to Jamie’s ghost, the longer he keeps his friend tethered to a world where he no longer belongs…and the weaker Adam’s own ties to the living become. Now, to find his way back, Adam must learn for himself what it truly means to be alive.
Review:
"'Death forges a supernatural bond between two lonely teenage boys in Barzak's well-intentioned and morbid first novel. Fifteen-year-old Adam McCormick is haunted by the earthbound ghost of his murdered classmate, Jamie Marks. Boy and ghost are drawn to one another by their shared outsider status at school, with the ghost providing support (and a surprising homoerotic romance subplot) for Adam as he survives a disastrous relationship with the sexually predatory Gracie (the classmate who discovered Jamie's body), a scary encounter with the ghost of a murderess and a troubled home life with his older brother and constantly arguing parents. Adam and Jamie's ghost eventually run away and find shelter in an abandoned church, where Adam is tempted to join Jamie, and Jamie delays moving to the next level in the afterlife. Barzak admirably defies convention by not having the two boys search for Jamie's killer, but the replacement plot — one of a bizarre coming-of-age — doesn't always meld well with the narrative's fantastical elements (closets, called dead space, are portals between worlds; ghosts burn memories to keep warm). The macabre tone won't work for readers looking for another Lovely Bones, but the novel's approach to familiar material is refreshing. (Sept.)' Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)
Review:
"When one of his high school classmates is killed, Adam McCormick finds himself spending most of his time with the dead. Though he was not close to Jamie before his murder, Adam bonds with the ghost from the first moment they fall together into Jamie's grave. Adam isn't the only one being haunted in Christopher Barzak's remarkable first novel. With rain falling through his transparent... Washington Post Book Review (read the entire Washington Post review)
Review:
"An uncommonly good book with brains, heart, and bravery to spare. Readers who don't find themselves in sympathy with Barzak's characters were never adolescents themselves."—Kelly Link, author of Magic for Beginners
"An honest and uncanny ride through the shadows between grief and acceptance. This is how real magic works." —Scott Westerfeld, author of Uglies and Extras
Review:
“Christopher Barzak's sympathy and humor, his awareness, his easeful vernacular storytelling, are extraordinary, and his mournful, unforgettable teenagers drive us deep into the land of the dead practically before we've even fastened our seatbelts.”Jonathan Lethem, author of Motherless Brooklyn
Synopsis:
Barzaks delicately wrought debut novel is a poignant coming-of-age tale with the emotional resonance of "The Lovely Bones" and the rough edges of "The Catcher in the Rye."
About the Author
Christopher Barzak was born and raised in rural Ohio, has lived in a southern California beach town, the capital of Michigan and the suburbs of Tokyo, Japan, where he taught English in rural junior high and elementary schools. His stories have appeared in many venues, including Lady Churchill’s Rosebud Wristlet, Trampoline, Interfictions, Nerve, Salon Fantastique and The Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror. Currently he lives in Youngstown, Ohio, where he teaches writing at Youngstown State University. One for Sorrow is his first novel.
What Our Readers Are Saying
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Average customer rating based on 1 comment:
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crowyhead, December 6, 2007 (view all comments by crowyhead)
One for Sorrow is a unique ghost story that goes in some unexpected directions. When Adam McCormick's classmate, Jamie, is killed, Adam finds himself obsessed with Jamie's death and the friendship that the two of them could have shared if they hadn't both been so hesitant. When Adam learns that Gracie, the girl who found Jamie's body, has been seeing Jamie's ghost, he purposefully seeks her out. What follows is a strange almost-love-triangle, as Adam is torn between his loyalty to Jamie and his love for unpredictable Gracie.
There's so much stuff going on in this novel that it occasionally feels a bit bogged down, but in the end it's a wonderful coming-of-age story. The rural Ohio setting feels very real, and the characters are quirkily interesting. I'm looking forward to seeing what Barzak does next.
Product Details
- ISBN:
- 9780553384369
- Author:
- Publisher:
- Bantam
- Author:
- Subject:
- Literary
- Subject:
- Coming of age
- Subject:
- Teenage boys
- Subject:
- Self-perception
- Publication Date:
- August 2007
- Binding:
- Paperback
- Language:
- English
- Pages:
- 308
- Dimensions:
- 8.30x5.28x.74 in. .54 lbs.
