BOOK REVIEW: What You Left Behind by Jessica Verdi

BLURB:

Jessica Verdi, the author of My Life After Now and The Summer I Wasn’t Me, returns with a heartbreaking and poignant novel of grief and guilt that reads like Nicholas Sparks for teens.

It’s all Ryden’s fault. If he hadn’t gotten Meg pregnant, she would have never stopped her chemo treatments and would still be alive. Instead he’s failing fatherhood one dirty diaper at a time. And it’s not like he’s had time to grieve while struggling to care for their infant daughter, start his senior year, and earn the soccer scholarship he needs to go to college. 

The one person who makes Ryden feel like his old self is Joni. She’s fun and energetic—and doesn’t know he has a baby. But the more time they spend together, the harder it becomes to keep his two worlds separate. Finding one of Meg’s journals only stirs up old emotions. Ryden’s convinced Meg left other notebooks for him to find, some message to help his new life make sense. But how is he going to have a future if he can’t let go of the past?

REVIEW BY: Arianna, age 12 years, 9 months

MAY CONTAIN SPOILER:

I recommend this book to people who like romance, drama and heart-breaking stories. I recommend this book for an older audience because it does have some inappropriate scenes and language for younger readers. 

I give this book 4 out of 5 stars and recommend it for ages 14 and up.