Review Detail

ANNIE LEBLANC IS NOT DEAD YET is a unique and intriguing YA magical realism about grief/loss and friendship. Wilson lives in the town of Lennon, where once every ten years, someone who has died gets to come back for 30 days. She entered the contest but was shocked when she won. The person who she chose to bring back is Annie LeBlanc, her former best friend, who had ditched her when she went to a prestigious private school. Wilson is eagerly seeking closure and the friend she remembered before that time and her death.

Once Annie is back, Wilson has a lot of plans, but one of the biggest is a loophole that may keep Annie alive beyond the 30 days. As they spend time together, Wilson also begins to confront her feelings over their other best friend, Ryan, with whom her relationship had also been strained. This summer is one of healing, self-discovery, and renewed relationships.

What I loved: This was a particularly unique and interesting premise. The idea of being able to bring back someone who died is done in a novel way with 30 days to get closure and experience it once more. Annie does not remember what happened in between, which adds to the mystery of it all. Now that she is back, secrets and feelings will be coming to the front of every interaction, with implications for the future.

Wilson was an interesting character. She meant well and has been suffering in her own loneliness and confusion. Her two friends had basically abandoned her with Annie heading off to private school and no longer wanting to be around her uncool public school friends and Ryan hating her after what happened between them, even though they work together. Her choice seemed unlikely, but it allows her to revisit and get closure for the past while also sorting through her own emotions and taking some risks. The romance that builds was a nice added touch to this summer experience, but the story mostly focused on character development with a bit of a coming-of-age theme.

The story manages to remain quite hopeful throughout and ends on a positive note. Although the characters are dealing with grief and loss, the ability to get closure and light-heartedness of many of the interactions with Annie keep the book from getting too heavy. The grief is addressed, but there is a focus on healing.

What left me wanting more: There were some confusing things in the story that tripped me up a bit, and the ending adds another level of uncertainty. I had quite a few unanswered questions throughout, which does add to the mysterious air of it all. The middle of the story also felt a bit repetitive in places and was a bit easy to put down as a result.

Final verdict: Overall, ANNIE LEBLANC IS NOT DEAD YET is an intriguing magical realism that explores themes of coming-of-age, loss/grief, and friendship.