I Felt a Funeral, in My Brain by Will Walton
Published by Push on May 29th 2018
ISBN: 0545709563
Pages: 304
Goodreads

Sometimes trying to do too many things at once results in nothing being done well. This book, which chronicles the coming of age of a 17 year old boy named Avery, is a mishmash of themes that at times is hard to make heads or tails of. Written in  verse, which is interspersed with Avery’s poetry, the story swings back and forth between Avery’s alcoholic grandfather’s funeral, his mother’s drinking and road to recovery, his relationship with his best friend/boyfriend Luca, and his own foray into drinking. Adding to the disjointedness, we begin the story at his grandfather’s funeral, then his grandfather is alive and well for a while, then he’s in the hospital on life support. I believe this story would be difficult for an adolescent reader to follow; it’s hard to tell from page to page who is talking about whom, who is dying, who is struggling with alcohol. It left me feeling a little bewildered and unconnected to Avery, whose story is sad but in a distant, confusing sort of way.

Reviewed by Jennifer Lance, Oxford Hills Comprehensive H.S. Library, South Paris