Personal Effects

( 3 )

Overview

After his older brother dies in Iraq, Matt makes a discovery that rocks his beliefs about strength, bravery, and honor in this page-turning debut.

Ever since his brother, T.J., was killed in Iraq, Matt feels like he’s been sleepwalking through life — failing classes, getting into fights, and avoiding his dad’s lectures about following in his brother’s footsteps. T.J.’s gone, but Matt can’t shake the feeling that if only he could get his hands on his brother’s stuff from Iraq, ...

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More About This Book

Overview

After his older brother dies in Iraq, Matt makes a discovery that rocks his beliefs about strength, bravery, and honor in this page-turning debut.

Ever since his brother, T.J., was killed in Iraq, Matt feels like he’s been sleepwalking through life — failing classes, getting into fights, and avoiding his dad’s lectures about following in his brother’s footsteps. T.J.’s gone, but Matt can’t shake the feeling that if only he could get his hands on his brother’s stuff from Iraq, he’d be able to make sense of his death. But as Matt searches for answers about T.J.’s death, he faces a shocking revelation about T.J.’s life that suggests he may not have known T.J. as well as he thought. What he learns challenges him to stand up to his father, honor his brother’s memory, and take charge of his own life. With compassion, humor, and a compelling narrative voice, E. M. Kokie explores grief, social mores, and self-discovery in a provocative first novel.

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Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly
Starred Review.

In an outstanding debut, Kokie tackles the tumultuous aftermath of a soldier's death, as seen through the eyes of a sibling left behind. Ever since 17-year-old Matt Foster's older brother, T.J., died in Iraq, Matt has been enraged-especially with anyone who criticizes the war or his brother's role in it-and he doesn't hesitate to express himself with his fists. Meanwhile, his authoritative and physically intimidating ex-military father seems determined to erase every sign of his deceased son's presence. When Matt gets his hands on some of T.J.'s possessions, he discovers that T.J. had a life he never knew about, complete with girlfriend and potential child. Risking his father's wrath, Matt borrows a car and takes an impromptu road trip, hoping to reconnect with his brother's memory. Writing with grace and subtlety, Kokie depicts Matt's emotions as he uncovers the details of T.J's hidden life. Through raw moments and strikingly mature characterizations, Kokie explores loss, personal relationships, and the burden of preconceptions. Ages 14-up. Agent: Chris Richman, Upstart Crow Literary.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

ALAN Review - Barbara A. Ward
Reeling from his older brother T.J.'s death during the Iraq war, seventeen-year-old Matt Foster happens upon passionate letters and photographs that offer clues to his brother's secret life. Matt becomes convinced that he must follow their lead to Wisconsin where he might make sense of T.J.'s death and meet a child possibly fathered by T.J. Borrowing a car from his best friend Shauna and putting their budding romantic relationship on hold, he leaves Pennsylvania looking for answers and to deliver an unopened letter from T.J. Once he reaches Madison, what he finds is not what he had imagined, and readers' hearts will ache for what might have been. This is an important story, another aspect of the consequences of war and of the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy that encouraged dishonesty. Told with grace and empathy by a skillful novice author, this title lingers in a reader's mind and steeps us in loss mingled with possibilities. Reviewer: Barbara A. Ward
VOYA - Steven Kral
Seventeen-year-old Matt's older brother, T.J., has always been his role model and the mold that Matt's father has been pushing him to fill. When T.J. is killed in Iraq, Matt spirals out of control, failing classes, getting into fights, and dealing with the effects of the loss on his father. When T.J.'s personal effects arrive, Matt hopes that they will shed some light on his brother's death and on his life. Going through the effects, Matt discovers a truth about T.J. that will change the way he views his brother, his family, and himself. Well written and heartfelt, the novel provides much to discuss after the covers are closed. It tackles some tough subjects. Adroitly avoiding a didactic politicizing of the Iraq War, it concentrates instead on depicting the emotions that conflicting viewpoints engender to someone mourning a loved one who died in the war. On a deeper level, it also tackles the cost of hiding parts of your life to avoid hurting your loved ones. The dialogue is authentic to the characters and the plot moves the story forward at a pace that allows reflection, but keeps the reader interested. This title is highly recommended for teen readers. Reviewer: Steven Kral
Kirkus Reviews
"Embrace the suck," is Matt Foster's older brother T.J.'s advice to him, and he's got a whole lot of suck to embrace. Not only did T.J. leave Matt with their vicious, alcoholic father--their bipolar mother died years ago--when he enlisted and then deployed to the Middle East, now he is dead. Their father resolutely refuses to talk about T.J., and he's hidden the small bag of stuff the "uniforms" brought the Fosters when they notified them of T.J'.s death. Under suspension for fighting--and threat of "so help me…" if he doesn't get his ass back in gear--Matt finds an unexpected opportunity when more uniforms drop off his brother's remaining personal effects: trunks containing photographs of a beautiful black woman and her family and often-steamy letters from "C." With help from his lifelong friend Shauna, he plots an escape to Madison, Wisc., where he hopes to connect with his brother's memory. Matt tells his tale in an almost excruciatingly deliberate present-tense narration; Kokie grounds readers so thoroughly in Matt's misery that they will be as itchy to escape the brutal emptiness of life with his father as he is. Realistically, though the inevitable revelation and resolution bring peace to Matt, they do not heal his father; readers will just have to hope he can make it through. A fine addition to the literature of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. (Historical fiction. 14 & up)
School Library Journal
Gr 10 Up—In this gripping debut novel that doesn't pull punches, Matt, 17, is still reeling from the death of his brother, T.J., who was killed while serving in Iraq. He's getting into fights at school, his grades are falling, and he's becoming distant with his friend and crush, Shauna. When three trunks of T.J.'s belongings arrive on his doorstep, Matt discovers his brother's long-time relationship with Celia Carson by reading through stacks of letters. At the bottom of the trunk, still sealed and addressed in T.J.'s handwriting, is the last letter his brother wrote to Celia, but never got to send. An impromptu road trip from Pennsylvania to hand deliver the letter sounds like a great escape from final exams and his volatile and violent father. However, in Wisconsin, Matt discovers a side to his brother he never knew: T.J. was gay and had a long-term relationship with Celia's brother. Could this be the incentive Matt needs to break away from his father's blind insistence that he pursue a future in the military? Kokie beautifully crafts a story about the troubled relationships between an emotionally stunted father and his two sons. Both T.J. and Matt are forced to deal with their own pain in secret. A strong choice for reluctant readers and lovers of realistic fiction alike.—Richelle Roth, Boone County Public Library, KY
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Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780763655273
  • Publisher: Candlewick Press
  • Publication date: 9/11/2012
  • Pages: 352
  • Sales rank: 137,831
  • Age range: 14 - 17 Years
  • Product dimensions: 9.00 (w) x 5.70 (h) x 1.20 (d)

Meet the Author

E. M. Kokie is an attorney, but has long had a strong interest in literature for teens. Personal Effects is her first novel. She lives in Madison, Wisconsin.

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Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4.5
( 3 )
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Sort by: Showing all of 3 Customer Reviews

  • Anonymous

    Posted May 22, 2013

    Lacy to gabe

    If and when you get this ill be at hello kitty result 3

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Posted September 22, 2012

    more from this reviewer

    This here is one book you can¿t possibly give any details about

    This here is one book you can’t possibly give any details about because anything at all would be a spoiler. Needless to say this is going to be one hard review to write.

    Matt has a lot going on. It’s like the understatement of the year. He lives with his scary father who keeps pushing him to enlist after graduation, his older brother T.J. was blown to bits in Iraq about 6 months prior, he’s crushing hard on his best friend, his grades are non-existent, and he is angry… really angry.

    A series of events occur that lead Matt to want to know more about his brother while he was a soldier on duty. When T.J.’s lockers are delivered to their home, Matt does everything possible to keep a piece of his brother with him while doing right by his memory.

    I was definitely impressed with the writing in the sense that you feel every bit of angst that is sent your way. It was incredibly real. It didn’t matter whether it was Matt or another character speaking at the time, you just knew exactly what that person was feeling and why, no questions asked. I honestly couldn’t put this book down. I had to know what was coming next. Let me tell you, this book is definitely NOT predictable. You won’t see anything coming and that too was impressive. Many props to the author. She pieced everything together in such a way that it unfolded seamlessly leaving you with a jaw dropping WHAT THE HECK just happened kind of look on your face one minute and a jaw dropping WHAT NOW look a minute after.

    THE ONLY problem I had with the book was the use of some language that just seemed out of character for Matt and it really felt like a slap in the face. I literally felt the slap. Weird, I know. The words were U.G.L.Y. I can understand his initial shock that led to these ugly words AND he later had a change of heart, however, he never voiced how wrong he was to use those words or how ashamed he felt using/thinking those words. I needed to feel that resentment. I needed the reader to know that it wasn’t cool at all to think that way. Eh… It’s only my opinion but as a mom who would like to recommend this read to her kid, I’d like a book this powerful and possibly influential to ensure that words like that are definitely not ok.

    Overall, this is a great read. I didn’t feel happy at the end of this book. I felt sad. The book doesn’t have a true happily ever after but it didn’t need to because like in real life some things are just a work in progress. Matt does walk away a stronger person with a plan to live happier and I couldn’t help but feel hope and love for this kid.

    A week later, I’m still trying to process all of the thoughts and emotions this great read has provoked.

    ARC provided by Candlewick Press via NetGalley.

    0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Posted September 12, 2012

    It'll break your heart--in a good way

    This book will break your heart. More than once. It will make you angry. It will make you smile. It will make your throat close up in the way throats do when you’re about to cry but have to hold it in, because you need to finish this chapter you just can’t wait so Do Not Cry. Personal Effects, E.M. Kokie’s debut YA is about Matt Foster: seventeen and angry. And not dealing well with the recent death of his older brother, T.J., in Iraq. “Not dealing well” doesn’t cover it. His father’s not dealing in a worse way, and taking it out on Matt. Nothing new there: dad is ex-military himself, raising his sons with his fists to be real men and real soldiers. Matt adored T.J. Younger by several years, T.J. was everything Matt strove to be—and was convinced he’d never live up to. And then Matt had nothing but the footlockers of T.J.’s personal effects, delivered by the Army. Disobeying his dad’s Not Dealing With It—and risking one of the worst beatings of his life—Matt sneaks into his brother’s old room and opens the footlockers. Among the clothes, CDs, and books, he finds packets of photographs and letters. Some are from him and their father. Most are from a woman named Celia. Matt knew nothing about her, but as he reads the letters and studies the photographs, he realizes just how important Celia was to his brother. On the bottom is one last letter. T.J. never got a chance to send it. So Matt, angry, lost, heartbroken – but not admitting it – decides Celia needs this letter. So what if he’s in Pennsylvania and she’s in Wisconsin? He needs to do this. It’s what he finds in Wisconsin that changes everything. Kokie gives us a troubled young man who nevertheless commands our attention and sympathy from the first page. I rooted for him almost immediately. Matt and his situation are immediate and gripping. His home, his school, his memories, his troubles—Kokie has the enviable talent of making the characters as real as the people sitting next to me on the bus. Traveling with Matt to the end of the last chapter is a journey worth taking. You will not quickly forget him. E.M. Kokie has given us a winner.

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