The Boy in the Black Suit

I have had this book on my kindle app for years and wow what can I say I am so glad that I have finally found time to read this beautiful gem of a book, It was written so beautiful and I love that with this book it had so much depth and that you were able to relate to all of the characters that were in the book. Now when it comes to Matthew, I felt sorry for him because he had to deal with so much going on an early age, he had to grow up really fast he wasn't able to grief like a normal child are nobody in his situation was supposed to. Because thanks to his father he left him in a situation that he didn't need to be in they both need to grief together but thanks to Matthew father selfish ways he didn't know how to grief on his own either, so he turned to drinking. Which led to Mr. Ray stepping in and becoming a father figure while Matthew father is getting the help that he needs. But while Matthew was going on his own journey allow, I think that by him working at the Funeral home with Mr. Ray was his own therapy in a way because he got to see that he was not alone when it comes to loosing somebody that they love very close. He says that people handle death very death from others so to him this was his therapy because it allows him to coop with his problems of what was going on his is life. But I am glad that he did have his friend Chris in his life because between Mr. Ray and Chris, they kept him going. I like the fact that Matthew told Chris to treat him like he normal don't treat him any different and I think with that with that message it helps Matthew and Chris, Because Now Chris relationship with Matthew got to be a beautiful friendship that Matthew needed because he became short of alive again. Now when it comes to Mr. Ray he was a great positive role model that Matthew needed in his life because to me he was somebody that Matthew didn't know he needed in his life but Mr. Ray had taught him a lot of life lesson in his life. Now on to Renee a.k.a Lovely she was made Matthew feel alive and what so crazy is that what they both didn't know was that they needed each other because they have been through a whole lot in their lives and they got to share it with somebody that understand where they was coming from

Good reading material

Recommend for teenagers who have experienced death of a loved one and the process of grief. This book demonstrates the importance of putting high value on enjoying life to its fullest.

Excellent storyline and very well written!

My all time favorite book! I bought it for someone else and they loved it too!

I guess that I really connected with this book because of my grief. No one knows what it’s like to lose a parent, or in my case both, until it happens to them. It’s been 2 years and I still cry when I’m alone because I don’t like to do so in front of others. Until you feel that pain, you can’t possibly say that you understand it. Matt is a character that I truly love and respect. Despite his grief, he manages to take care of himself and his dad. He still has moments when he can’t shake the pain of his mother’s death but he deals the best way that he can. Meeting Lovey was the best thing that could happen to him. When you find that person who has been through worse hell than you have, and they seem to be doing just fine, you want to get to that point. Though, making yourself tough to hide the pain is just like a walking straight through the doors of depression. It’s a process, you can’t bottle that up and keep it inside. Lovey shows Matt that it’s all smoke and mirrors when dealing with hard stuff in life. You can grieve, but just don’t let it take over your life. She was so good for him and I found their connection beautiful. This is a wonderfully written book. I think that young adults everywhere should read this book, and just grasp the realness flowing through the pages. It shows you that, no matter what you go through in life, you can rise up and be a great person. Don’t take that dark path into nothingness when there’s more to life than you can possibly imagine. I highly recommend this book!

I am a Reynolds fan, so I love all his works. I like TBBS, but as a teacher it is more of a book club book or an independent reading book. For me, it doesn't work well as a whole class novel where I am teaching Lit strategies/skills. Reynolds said in a podcast once that authors write to write, they write for the reader not for the teachers to extract this and that (not his exact words). I completely understand that. If your kid is looking for a book that examines how teens deal with grief and finding themselves within it, this is a quick and easy read for that!

What an interesting story about life after loss.

I'm trying to decide what I liked best about this novel. There are three contenders. First, the great, realistic voice. Second, the characters and descriptions. I liked not only the main character Matt, but also Mr Ray, Chris and Lovey, and the realness of the neighborhood Matt lives in. Matt's mom came wonderfully alive in Matt's memory and in the things she wrote down. Finally, like the main character, I've lost my mother too, and this book really touched me. It's a quiet book, and it managed to be about realistically coping with grief and loneliness, but still not be gut wrenchingly sad, but rather uplifting.

Good book for grandson

Perfeito como todo livro do autor. É meu segundo livro dele e agora preciso ler todos os livros do mesmo.

Jason Reynolds has unbelievable skill. I was in a bit of a reading slump when I started this book but I knew within the first page or two how powerful this would be. If you’re in the headspace where you can read a book about grief and learning to find moments of joy again, I’d highly recommend this to you.

Matthew's mother dies. His father copes by drinking himself into oblivion and gets hit by a car resulting in an extended hospital and rehab stay. Matt's neighbour, Mr. Ray, takes him under his wing giving him a job at his funeral home. Matthew fins comfort in attending the funerals watching how the person closest to the deceased reacts at the funeral. Matthew meets Love at her grandmother's funeral and they discover they have many things in common as they explore a new relationship. The story is well-developed as we see how Matthew copes with his grief. Young people will relate to his feelings. Sometimes he feels way older because of what he has experienced and sometimes he feels like such a kid because he doesn't know what to do and doesn't have someone to ask for advice. Jason Reynolds does an excellent job of describing the relationships in this book. From Matt's relationship with his parents, and with Mr. Ray we are able to see the struggle Matt faces growing up. Matt's interactions with his buddy Chris reveal a pretty typical teenager and his relationship with Love, his girlfriend, shows a really great guy! The relationships are not cliché, as Reynolds interweaves events from several characters. Jason Reynolds is going to be around for a long time!