Name: The Boy in the Black Suit
ISBN: 9781442459502

Jason Reynolds

Soon after his mother's death, Matt takes a job at a funeral home in his tough Brooklyn neighborhood and, while attending and assisting with funerals, begins to accept her death and his responsibilities as a man.

The Boy in the Black Suit

Jessica Geddis 

Wow. This book was very heartfelt. It deals with grief and love and everything in between. The ending was emotional - it made me shed a tear - and the botanic garden scene was probably one of my favourites (so cute!). The only critique I have is that it was a little boring at times.

jess

This was a really good story about a boy facing and learning how to cope with his mother's death through watching funerals. I can definitely emphasize with Matt about how watching other people's reactions to death can help someone feel better (I mean who's sitting here tearing through all these books about kids and grief lmao) and he was a really good strong character and I really enjoyed reading from his perspective. He definitely evolved so much over the course of the book. 

Matt's relationship with Lovey was really nice, actually, and it's not just The Romance that helps Matt get through, but what she does. She helps him see a new perspective, and it trickles down to Mr. Ray, the funeral director. I also felt for him and his father. 

It's a very relatable book for me, personally, and I'm guessing a lot of other people, looking at the reviews. It was a difficult read at parts but it wasn't too dark. I can't say I enjoyed it, because of the subject matter, but it was definitely a good read.

Laura

The interesting thing about The Boy in the Black Suit is that, even though it's a funeral home book, it's the one least about funeral home matters. Sure, there are bits about being a pallbearer, snippets from actual funerals, and the like, but unlike The Dead I Know, for instance, Matt doesn't go on calls to pick up dead bodies or have to dress them for their funerals. It's like funeral lite in that respect. 

Still, that doesn't mean that I don't really like this book. Matt is such a great main character to follow around. He's a kid that was certainly after my own heart, with his cooking and honesty and all that. Also, Reynolds has a keen understanding of what it's like to be a teenage boy. Admittedly, I've never been a teenage boy, but the things Matt does and his reactions just strike me as being very realistic. One of my favorite examples of this is when he goes over Lovey's house for Thanksgiving expecting a date and she takes him to the homeless shelter instead. He doesn't immediately warm up to the idea and yes, he is even a little upset that she didn't tell him they were going there in the first place. The Right Thing to Do would be to be happy at the idea of giving back on Thanksgiving, but honestly, what teenage boy would be excited about the idea of spending his Thanksgiving at a soup kitchen, especially when he was under the impression he would be on a one-on-one date with a pretty girl? Sure, Matt warmed up to the idea, but everyone probably would, too.

Also, like most teenagers, Matt is aware of what other people think of him, which is another great touch. I see a lot of authors who get praised for being able to get inside the mind of a high schooler, but Reynolds is one of the most successful at it.

The writing is pretty wonderful too. It's written in this New York black patois, which really puts Matt's voice in my head. The book has this conversational tone that makes me feel like I'm having a conversation with Matt and I love that. It makes me feel closer to him as a character without the author telling us a ton of exposition.

Continue reading this review on my blog here: https://bookwormbasics.blogspot.com/2...

Caitlin Hooker

Matt wears a black suit every day. No, not because his mom died - although she did, and it sucks. But he wears the suit for his gig at the local funeral home, which pays way better than the Cluck Bucket, and he needs the income since his dad can't handle the bills (or anything, really) on his own. So while Dad's snagging bottles of whiskey, Matt's snagging fifteen bucks an hour. Not bad. But everything else? Not good. Then Matt meets Lovey. Crazy name, and she's been through more crazy stuff than he can imagine. Yet Lovey never cries. She's tough. Really tough. Tough in the way Matt wishes he could be. Which is maybe why he's drawn to her, and definitely why he can't seem to shake her. Because there's nothing more hopeful than finding a person who understands your loneliness - and who can maybe even help take it away.

The Boy in the Black Suit

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