The dead I know

I read this book in fits and starts - a couple pages a day for about a month. I could have torn through it in a day or two at my regular reading pace, like a starving person inhales a meal, but, in my opinion, it wouldn't have been as enjoyable.

I had time to sit with the characters - their lives so real they seemed to jump out from the pages. I had time to wrestle with the story - the nightmares, the sleepwalking, the constant brush with death, the thin line between reality and fiction.

Scot Gardener did a wonderful job of sketching the characters, anchoring them within the story, and filling in the empty spaces. Every page I turned I learned a bit more about them and, at the same time, I wanted more. I wanted to live in this world. Nothing was tied up in a neat little package and I love it for that.

Scot Gardener took a slice of real life, with all of its ups and downs, good intentions, well wishes, awkward fumbling, slightly off centre outcomes, and served it to us in the most wonderful way possible.

To anyone considering this book, please do yourself a favor and completely ignore the blurb. Go into The Dead I Know with no preconceptions, and just let it sweep you up and away. I can't believe how easy this read was. For the first time in my reading life, a book that dealt with monumentally heavy topics felt like it flew by. That might not make any sense now, but trust me when I say you'll see what I mean if you choose to add this to your reading list.

Aaron's past started as this vast and empty space. I was presented with a boy I knew nothing about. A troubled boy who others looked at with mistrust or disdain. Slowly, little pieces of him began to come to the surface. Gardner expertly led me into the gritty truth that surrounded Aaron's past, into the darkness that he tried so hard to keep suppressed, and finally I was able to see why our main character was so broken inside. I honestly believe that this was the perfect way to tell this story. Aaron felt real. He intrigued me. This book just wouldn't let me go.

I'm not sure what else to say here. This review is short, but my words have dried up. I've waited this long to write a review, simply because I couldn't figure out how to express how this made me feel. It was unlike anything I've read so far, and for that it garnered five stars without a second thought.