Ezra awakens one morning to find his older sister Bea has left home. No warning, no note, just a random email address only he could find. How could she leave him alone with their abusive stepfather and neglectful mother, knowing they’ll somehow blame him?
As they begin to correspond via email, Ezra understands how wracked with guilt Bea is about leaving him behind but ultimately her self-preservation was at stake. And as she slowly reveals the real reason she left, it could awaken possibilities for both of them, or at least provide answers to questions they’ve had all their lives.
But as things further unravel at home for Ezra, he has to figure out whom he can trust to help him survive, and who is willing to take on his burdens. Bea, too, in an unfamiliar city, must depend upon strangers to help her see the possibilities life still holds.
This epistolary novel is told solely in emails between Ezra and Bea (and occasionally a few other characters), and it’s a sad, often all-too-real story of abuse and neglect and how children get caught in the struggles of those who are supposed to protect them. But while parts of the story hit a little closer to home for me than I expected, the structure of the story made it harder to connect emotionally with the characters.
Levithan and Niven are two of my favorite YA authors so I definitely had really high hopes for Take Me With You When You Go. I’m glad they called attention to such a sad but important subject.
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