Kim promised her bff that she would come back to visit after she died. Knowing that she had a congenital heart defect, Kim actually spent a lot of time planning for how she would return to visit Emmy. But almost a year after Kim’s death, nothing has happened. Emmy waits, trying everything she can think of on all the anniversaries of major events in their lives, and puts her own life on hold. She hides under her bed, emotionally disconnected from everyone around her. Finally, Emmy sees a ghost, but it is not Kim; it is her recently deceased teacher.  Hoping that means Emmy will appear to her soon, Emmy tries to believe more, convinced it is her fault Kim has not appeared.

Emmy is crushed by her grief, and the cruelty of her peers makes it worse. Teens will easily identify with characters in the book and recognize as all too familiar the actions of many other characters.  This book feels disjointed; events are not in chronological sequence. The writing is often choppy, but feels realistic – grieving is not smooth and pretty. Fans of Gayle Forman and those looking for something to read after TFIOS should enjoy this.