Review: What to Say Next by Julie Buxbaum

What to Say Next by Julie Buxbaum

Published: July 11, 2017

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Format: audiobook via Overdrive

Rating: 4/5

Synopsis

Two struggling teenagers find an unexpected connection just when they need it most.

Sometimes a new perspective is all that is needed to make sense of the world.

KIT: I don’t know why I decide not to sit with Annie and Violet at lunch. It feels like no one here gets what I’m going through. How could they? I don’t even understand.

DAVID: In the 622 days I’ve attended Mapleview High, Kit Lowell is the first person to sit at my lunch table. I mean, I’ve never once sat with someone until now. “So your dad is dead,” I say to Kit, because this is a fact I’ve recently learned about her.

When an unlikely friendship is sparked between relatively popular Kit Lowell and socially isolated David Drucker, everyone is surprised, most of all Kit and David. Kit appreciates David’s blunt honesty—in fact, she finds it bizarrely refreshing. David welcomes Kit’s attention and her inquisitive nature. When she asks for his help figuring out the how and why of her dad’s tragic car accident, David is all in. But neither of them can predict what they’ll find. Can their friendship survive the truth?

My Thoughts

Kit is one of the popular girls in school but ever since her father past away she sees everything around her differently. She notices that her “friends” aren’t good people and frankly they are just shallow and are wearing on her nerves. So one day she decides to sit next to David and that one simple move changes her life.

David who has autism mainly stays to himself so when Kit sits next to him at lunch he doesn’t understand what's going on. He is someone who says what's on his mind and doesn’t see anything wrong with that. He has a notebook that he makes daily notes on it has all his secrets feelings and what he thinks about everyone and everything. David is sweet and naïve and that is what makes him so endearing. And I think that is why Kit likes him. She doesn’t have to pretend to be anyone but herself. He doesn’t care what she wears or judges her he simply likes her company. David listens to her and is a great friend to her.

I liked how they are different but deep down each has their own issues they are dealing with. There are so many things that shouldn’t make them work but those differences are the things that make them work at the same time. You can't help but root for them. This is funny but definitely heartbreaking also. This is one read that while was a tad sad it was enjoyable at the same time.