words and their meanings by kate bassett

He is a talented chef, on his way to a top culinary program, and a successful career, but struggling under the pressure of that future. Although he is primarily the love interest, in some ways Mateo is also a reflection of Anna as she could have been if Joe hadn’t died. Words and Their Meanings also comes with strong cast of secondary characters. Her younger sister Bea copes by hiding in unexpected and dangerous places, while her mother simply tries to hold it all together. Her parents have also divorced in the aftermath, as her father engages in his own inappropriate expressions of grief. Anna falls for Mateo fast and hard, but can’t help feeling guilty about embarking on a romance when Joe is dead, a circumstance for which she blames herself. Her grief is raw, vivid, and genuine, and beautifully counterpointed by her intense new feelings for Mateo. If there is any drawback to the novel, it is that it is difficult to be with Anna on this emotional rollercoaster. Being inside Anna’s head is chaotic and angsty, in a way that is both exhausting and terribly real. Words and Their Meanings is a first-person narrative that takes the reader deep into the unprocessed grief of an unhappy teenager carrying a heavy burden of guilt.

She also discovers a terrible secret Joe was keeping which forces her to question how well she knew him, even as she sets out to try to solve the mystery of his betrayal. First, she meets Mateo at her new job and strikes up a relationship. But two events really do turn out to be catalysts for change. Anna promised her parents that the “deadaversary” would be a turning point, but only because they have threatened to send her to a summer camp for troubled teens if she doesn’t start trying to act more normal. But Anna hasn’t told anyone about how Joe’s death is really her fault, so she has to go on coping as best she knows how by emulating 70s punk rocker Patti Smith, and doing nineteen minutes of “coffin yoga” every morning, one minute for every year of Joe’s life. It’s been one year since Joe’s death, and everyone, from her therapist, to her parents, thinks she should be getting over it by now. How maybe there are more ways to grieve than the stupid fives steps outlined in their colorful pamphlets.”Īnna, once an aspiring writer, lost her words the day her uncle died. They can’t fathom the way some people have no rhyme or reason to their mourning. “The shrinks all want to talk about coffin yoga. All quotes are based on an uncorrected text. Disclaimer: I received a free review copy of this book at ALA Annual 2014.

Words and their meanings by kate bassett