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Saturday, June 5, 2010

Adios Nirvana by Conrad Wesselhoeft

Adios Nirvana follows a teenage boy and his pathway through the grief of losing his twin brother.  Jonathan carries a lot of guilt concerning his brother's, Telemachus (or Edward) death.  He almost flunks out of high school and lives on Red Bull and No-Doz.  During this painful period in his life, his mom, Mimi, tries to start a wedding chapel in their home.  Jonathan mainly depends on his Thicks who are his and Telly's life long friends.  They do typical teenage boy things but show a large amount of insight into the fact that Jonathan is having a hard time moving past Telly's death.  Since he is failing out of school, the principal and his mentor come up with a plan for him to pass.  He must meet with David, a retired soldier who is dying and write his life story.  At first Jonathan does not want to do this but eventually he meets with David and along the way finds that there is always hope.  You just have to keep trying.  This was a heartwarming book.  It's slow at points but it was definitely worth the read.  I enjoyed the ending. I won't give that away here but it was pretty riveting.  I felt definite sympathy for the main character.  I can't imagine losing a sibling, much less a twin.