Stephanie Hemphill’s lyrical novel in poems, Things Left Unsaid, beautifully chronicles Sarah’s junior year in high school when she leaves behind her goody-goody image and tumbles into a complex and destructive friendship with Robin. When the novel opens in August, Sarah already feels anxious and unhappy about the school year ahead: she’s having problems with her SAT prep; good grades, activities, and extra-curriculars that she once excelled at no longer hold her interest; and her friendships are feeling strained and competitive. When she starts hanging out with chain-smoking, black-clad, angry-grrl Robin, and Sarah quickly slides into apathy, conflict, and rebellion. And then Robin pushes things too far and leaves Sarah to question everything about her life: what she thinks she wants, who she thinks she is, and what she would like her life to be.
Hemphill reveals Sarah’s struggle with herself in a tender, thought-provoking way. Sarah slowly realizes that she has always been someone else’s puppet: she’s been who her parents want her to be; she’s changed herself according to her girlfriends’ needs, jealousies, and expectations; and she never speaks up or stands up for herself and what she really wants and needs. But by standing on the edge of the abyss that is Robin’s suicide attempt, Sarah has to look closely at the difference between who she is inside and the Sarah the world sees, and she has to find the courage to bridge that gap. Hemphill doesn’t allow Sarah to be completely isolated as she climbs out of her depression, and while watching Sarah rebuild her life, relationships, and hope for the future, the reader recognizes and celebrates Sarah’s journey to find herself.
- Posted by Cori