Jennifer Gilmore is the author is the author of If Only and We Were Never Here as well as three novels for adults: The Mothers, Something Red, and Golden Country (a New York Times Notable Book, a finalist for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, and a finalist for the National Jewish Book Award). She teaches writing and literature at Harvard University. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and son. Visit her at www.jennifergilmore.net.
We Were Never Here
Paperback
(Reprint)
$9.99
- ISBN-13: 9780062393616
- Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
- Publication date: 06/26/2018
- Edition description: Reprint
- Pages: 336
- Sales rank: 180,340
- Product dimensions: 5.20(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.40(d)
- Age Range: 14 - 17 Years
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In this exquisitely written and emotionally charged young adult debut, Jennifer Gilmore explores how sometimes the wounds you can’t see are the most painful.
Did you know your entire life can change in an instant?
For sixteen-year-old Lizzie Stoller that moment is when she collapses out of the blue. The next thing she knows, she’s in a hospital with an illness she’s never heard of.
But that isn’t the only life-changing moment for Lizzie. The other is when Connor and his dog, Verlaine, walk into her hospital room. Lizzie has never connected with anyone the way she does with the handsome teenage volunteer. However, the more time she spends with him and the deeper in love she falls, the more she realizes that Connor has secrets and a deep pain of his own . . . and that while being with him has the power to make Lizzie forget about her illness, being with her might tear Connor apart.
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This moving, lyrical, life affirming story is perfect for John Green fans.Adele Griffin
This poignant, sharply observed novel of invisible illness also reminds us of the redemptive power of love and community.Courtney Sheinmel
A powerful, graceful, and poignantly beautiful story. I cannot overstate how much I loved this book.Deb Caletti
Heartwarming, heartbreaking, tender, and true. We Were Never Here is, quite simply, a book to love.Publishers Weekly
★ 03/21/2016One minute, counselor-in-training Lizzie Stoller is teaching archery to a group of campers. The next, she is incapacitated by pain. Thus begins Lizzie’s ordeal, fighting a life-threatening disease. In her first YA novel, adult author Gilmore (The Mothers) movingly expresses a teen’s changing perspective, highlighting a series of turning points during a few months of Lizzie’s 16th year. During her illness, eventually diagnosed as ulcerative colitis, Lizzie’s separation from the world leaves her lonely and afraid. When she finally arrives home from the hospital exhausted and vulnerable, she feels disconnected from her old life and friends. More real to her are cherished moments she spent with Connor, a hospital volunteer who experienced a trauma of his own. Lizzie can’t let go of her memories of their intimate conversations, but Connor’s instability may prevent them from having a relationship. Reading this dramatic romance is both a painful and mesmerizing experience. The reward comes in Lizzie’s recognition of her own strength and resilience as her focus shifts from what she can’t do to what she can still accomplish. Ages 14–up. Agent: Jennifer Joel, ICM. (June)
VOYA, August 2016 (Vol. 39, No. 3) - Samantha Godbey
Soon after sixteen-year-old Lizzie doubles over in pain, she is stuck in a hospital bed. The pain is unbearable, her hair is falling out, and she is desperate to go home. Then, a beautiful boy and dog walk into her room. She is skeptical, but the dog wins her over, and Lizzie and Connor connect as well. Lizzie eventually discovers that Connor is struggling with a life-changing event of his own. While Lizzie’s condition can be treated such that she can return to her home and high school, he cannot easily be cured, putting into question whether their relationship can survive outside the hospital. Gilmore deftly represents the feelings of an average teenager whose life changes suddenly, and Lizzie and Connor’s romance is charming. Lizzie sees Connor as out of her league, but he finds her beautiful even in her sickness and literally sweeps her off her feet. Lizzie is diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, a condition that will be unfamiliar to most readers. Her colon is removed, and she must wear an ileostomy bag for several months. The author makes clear the embarrassment of being sick in general and the specifics of dealing with this particular illness and medical apparatus. Gilmore handles the physical side of Lizzie and Connor’s relationship with tact, demonstrating that people can still be intimate with this condition. A realistic and affirming story of a girl’s illness and subsequent growth, this novel is highly recommended for all teen collections. Reviewer: Samantha Godbey; Ages 15 to 18.School Library Journal
05/01/2016Gr 10 Up—After 16-year-old Lizzie collapses at summer camp, she gets diagnosed with ulcerative colitis. Days of testing ultimately lead to a life-changing surgery. While in the hospital, she meets and connects with the cute volunteer Connor and his therapy dog Verlaine. The more time she spends with Connor, the deeper in love with him she falls, even as she learns that he's hiding secrets from her. Meanwhile, Lizzie is dealing with the challenges of her new reality as she comes to terms with her illness. This young adult debut explores how invisible scars are often the hardest to heal. Readers will root for Connor and Lizzie even as past tragedy and circumstances tear them apart. Drugs, sex, and a tragic car accident make this more appealing for mature teens. VERDICT A powerful, poignant story for fans of Deb Caletti and Gayle Forman.—Sarah Polace, Cuyahoga Public Library System, OH
Kirkus Reviews
2016-03-16After 16-year-old Lizzie doubles over at summer camp, she enters the hospital and a "horror movie" of pain, tests, and vulnerability. After 13 days of tedium and poignant uncertainty, Lizzie learns she's suffering from ulcerative colitis, an inflamed colon, and will need to have her colon removed—and, afterward, to wear an ostomy bag. Her best distraction is Connor, a handsome hospital volunteer with a therapy dog and a secret. But once home, Lizzie suspects Connor has more secrets than she knows. Lizzie details her hospitalization and recovery with snark, self-reflection, and the occasional poetic phrase as the ordeal transforms her personality from "werewolf back to human," even "Wonder Woman," alienating her from her old friends. Lizzie's illness and search for a "girl group" of quirky friends are set to her eclectic taste in music; she'll have readers building playlists with songs ranging from Pink to the Beatles. Her persistent fear of her ostomy bag's coming undone both symbolizes her frustrating on-and-off romance with the endlessly evasive Connor and sympathetically addresses the self-consciousness of sex and socializing when bowel functions are often considered embarrassing; her friends' support will reassure readers who deal with similar issues. Though capricious, the ending leaves Lizzie—and readers—on an optimistic note. Lizzie and Connor are white. The romance is so-so, but the dual portrayal of friendship and adjustment to a rarely discussed condition is sensitive and insightful. (Romance. 14-18)