From School Library Journal
Gr 9 Up-Sarah, 15, is trying to deal with the death of her longtime best friend. She divides her life into Before Jamie Died (BJD) and Since Jamie Died (SJD). She is overwhelmed with guilt because she was operating the moving wall when it malfunctioned and crushed her friend. Now she avoids the gym as much as possible, but she has to go to her locker to pick up some supplies. As she's leaving, a deer crashes through the windows. It brings back the day Jamie died and takes her back into the orbit of Jamie's family, especially her twin brother, Emmett, who seems to be the only person who understands what she is feeling. An incident with her dog brings her to the attention of Roy Showalter, the man who cleaned up the deer and who runs a Christmas tree farm. Sarah begins working for him at the farm and at his Christmas stand. Through the hard work with Roy, she allows herself to move on and make new friends and learns that people can only help if you open up and let them. The doodle-illustrated pages with Sarah's theories about everything look like something a teenage girl would put in her journal and add to the story. These, along with Sarah's nearly constant snarkiness, make this a story with which most teens can identify, even if they have not lost a close friend. Add to collections where books by Sarah Dessen, Maureen Johnson, and Deb Caletti are popular.-Suanne B. Roush, Osceola High School, Seminole, FL α(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Six months after her best friend, Jamie, died in a tragic accident, Sarah is struggling to overcome her grief and guilt. Sarcasm has become her main mode of communication, and it is straining her relationships with her family, boyfriend, and friends. Then another accident takes place in the gym where Jamie died, setting into motion a series of events that help Sarah begin to address her grief. Although the subject matter of the book is emotionally wrought, the novel is leavened with laugh-out-loud passages, and the characters are well drawn. Sarah is a relatable teenage girl trying to find her way, and her loving, engaged parents are desperately seeking a way to reach their daughter. Throughout the novel, Johnson artfully weaves the theme of how to best accept life’s randomness. The open-ended conclusion nicely encapsulates Sarah’s progress through grief, and the opportunities that lay before her. A beautifully multilayered book that explores some of life’s big questions in a thoughtful and amusing way. Grades 9-12. --Eve Gaus
Review
“Sarah’s snappy yet pithy observations will appeal to teens working on their own theories about life.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Readers will easily relate to Sarah’s use of cynicism as a defense mechanism—her sharp-witted voice sets the tone for a story that’s truly tragicomic.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review
“One element that was different for me was incorporation of illustrations—chapters begin and are decorated by Sarah’s doodles and drawings and charts, all of which are incisive and piercing social critiques. I thought they added a wonderful layer to Sarah’s personality and to the novel. Overall, Johnson’s sophomore effort was extremely strong, an enjoyable read, despite the heavy subject matter. . . . I will certainly pick up her next work.” —By Anonymous Writer
“The doodle-illustrated pages with Sarah’s theories about everything . . . along with Sarah’s nearly constant snarkiness, make this a story with which most teens can identify, even if they have not lost a close friend.” —School Library Journal
“Johnson deftly blends humor and grief in this story . . . The Theory of Everything keeps readers guessing—and laughing—and crying—to the last page.” —Blogging for YA
“Johnson delicately unravels the accidental and peculiar death of Jamie while introducing us to a complex and completely hilarious character in Sarah. This snarky and endearing girl ropes you into her heart quickly with her combination of Zoloft-infused wit and wisdom. . . . Johnson successfully illustrates the struggles of a teen dealing with depression while still battling the harsh criticism of her peers. The characters in Johnson’s novel are rich with small town flavor and it is easy to see why she revisited the same setting in her second novel . . .” —The Pirate Tree
“It’s a powerful story with a snarky main character that will leave you in stitches and tears.” —Satisfaction for Insatiable Readers
“Where The Theory of Everything [stands out is] in how deliberate the voice was in accurately capturing everything Sarah was feeling . . . As a result, Sarah felt more real and current to me than perhaps any other character I’ve read this year, her story leaping off the page to lodge a place in my head and heart.” —Blogging for YA blog
About the Author
J. J. Johnson is the author of the acclaimed YA novels This Girl Is Different and The Theory of Everything. She graduated from Binghamton University and earned a master’s in education, with a concentration in adolescent risk and prevention, from Harvard University. Johnson has been a youth counselor and an internship coordinator for programs such as The Learning Web and Youth Advocacy. She lives with her family in Durham, North Carolina.
