Gone, Gone, Gone by Hannah Moskowitz

 

Gone, Gone, Gone

by Hannah Moskowitz

In the wake of the post-9/11 sniper shootings, fragile love finds a stronghold in this intense, romantic novel from the author of Break and Invincible Summer.

It's a year after 9/11. Sniper shootings throughout the D.C. area have everyone on edge and trying to make sense of these random acts of violence. Meanwhile, Craig and Lio are just trying to make sense of their lives.

Craig's crushing on quiet, distant Lio, and preoccupied with what it meant when Lio kissed him...and if he'll do it again...and if kissing Lio will help him finally get over his ex-boyfriend, Cody.

Lio feels most alive when he's with Craig. He forgets about his broken family, his dead brother, and the messed up world. But being with Craig means being vulnerable...and Lio will have to decide whether love is worth the risk.

This intense, romantic novel from the author of Break and Invincible Summer is a poignant look at what it is to feel needed, connected, and alive.

"I wake to a quiet world.
There's this stillness so strong that I can feel it in the hairs on the backs of my arms, and I can right away tell that this quiet is the sound of a million things and fourteen bodies not here and one boy breathing alone."

This was a beautiful story. It was lyrical and captured all of the emotion and confusion of the aftermath of 9/11 and the D.C. sniper shootings.
Craig brings animals home and cares for them. It's his way of coping with events that have happened in his past. He wants to fix them, make them better. He also wants to fix Lio, his quiet friend who barely says a word most days.

Their friendship was sweet and I loved seeing each of them them through the other's eyes.

"I cry, like, all the time," I say.
He nods. "I know." A smile plays with his mouth. "It's okay. Sometimes I get cancer."

I really connected with Lio. He is quiet but sure of himself...usually. Mostly he just feels talked out and doesn't want to be seen as the cancer boy anymore.
The thing I loved most about Lio is that he was fully capable of fixing himself. I think it's too common in books these days (especially YA) to find a character that has to rely on another person to fix them. It creates a power imbalance and an unequal relationship, IMO.

"I don't want to die, but I wish waking up every morning didn't feel like such a fuck-you every single time."

This was a very beautiful book. I was constantly making notes because some of the passages were just so beautiful that I had to read them over and over.
I'd recommend it to anyone who likes YA romance.

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