Bringing Up The Bones [Turtleback]

Lara M. Zeises (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 30, 2004

Bridget Edelstein is taking a year off before she goes to college, to try to recover from the the recent death of Benji, her longtime best friend-turned-reluctant boyfriend. Rather than accept support from her friends or family, Bridget turns to Jasper, a wonderful guy willing to nurse her broken soul–when she lets him. As she comes to terms with life without Benji, and the truth about their relationship, Bridget learns that being able to love deeply and truly is essential, even if the one you love doesn’t feel the same. More importantly, she discovers that happiness pinned to another person is only an illusion–now it’s time to find happiness on her own.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"Benji never really wanted to be my boyfriend, just my best friend, but I loved him from the first time I saw him and I didn't know how to stop." And now that Benji is dead, the victim of a senseless car accident, 18-year-old Bridget still can't stop loving him. She defers her first year of college, takes a dull waitressing job at an all-night diner, and sinks into her own special brand of misery, nicknamed The Hole (where "time does not exist" and "bathing is usually optional"). Her therapist, friends, and family all try to console her, but Bridget's depression is unrelenting. Then Jasper comes into her life. Jasper, who brings her sunflowers and notices important things like cool shoes, just might be Bridget's ticket out of The Hole. Yet, something still doesn't feel right. Slowly, Bridget realizes that the one person she never really tried to understand was Bridget: "I've molded myself ... into the kind of person Benji might be persuaded to love because I was too scared to figure out who I really was." It's time for Bridget to become friends with herself, by herself--without Jasper, and maybe, finally, without Benji.

[Lara M. Zeises' Bringing Up the Bones was an honor book for] the Delacorte Press Prize for a First Young Adult Novel for this lovingly crafted ode to the restorative power of the grieving process. Teen devotees of other literary four-hankie reads like A Time for Dancing by Davida Wills Hurwin, and Girlhearts by Norma Fox Mazer will also enjoy crying over Bridget's loss in Bringing Up the Bones. (Ages 14 and older) --Jennifer Hubert --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

In her first novel, Zeises dishes out a heavy slice of realism, suggesting that happily-ever-after endings don't come easily and some questions can never be answered. Bridget, the 18-year-old narrator, is still reeling from the shock of her ex-boyfriend's sudden death. Her studio apartment, where she's been living since graduating from high school, doubles as a kind of shrine to the departed Benji, who might or might not have loved her back. But when Bridget meets Jasper, a college student, she finds herself caught in a perverse romantic triangle with Jasper competing against her dead ex for her affection. While the protagonist reflects on her relationships with the opposite sex, she realizes that in trying so hard to please others, she has lost sight of who she herself really is. The author avoids pat resolutions and instead focuses on her heroine's small and large revelations. Girls suffering from broken hearts will relate to Bridget's changing perceptions and may even find themselves fortified in the process. Ages 14-up.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Turtleback
• Publisher: Demco Media (October 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0606308393
• ISBN-13: 978-0606308397
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.2 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Lara M. Zeises is the author of three novels for young adults. Her first, Bringing Up the Bones (2002), was named an honor book for the 2001 Delacorte Press Prize Competition. Her second, Contents Under Pressure (2004), began as her thesis project at Emerson College, where in 2001 she earned her MFA in creative writing. It has been named to the 2006 International Reading Association's Young Adult Choices list (among others) and was voted the 2006 Delaware Blue Hen Teen Book Award winner. Lara's third novel, Anyone But You (2005), was a Teen People Top 10 Pick. An excerpt from that project helped earn Lara a 2005 Emerging Artist Fellowship in Literature-Fiction from the Delaware Division of the Arts.

In addition to writing, Lara teaches part-time at the University of Delaware, where she received her BA in English-Journalism. She also facilitates creative writing workshops for both teens and adults.

You can learn more about her by visiting her website or her blog at zeisgeist.livejournal.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing, October 10, 2004

By 

Caitie A-R (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bringing up the Bones (Mass Market Paperback)

I absolutely loved this book, from the first page to the last. When I bought this book, I was expectingfor it to be a heart-wrenching story of loss, only to read it and discover it to be more about the empowerment of finding yourself. I would reccomend this book to anyone who is questioning who they are, as well as anyone who has lost a loved one.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars interesting, June 28, 2004

By 

Metalgnome "Kathleen" (hmmm?) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bringing up the Bones (Mass Market Paperback)

i liked this book from the very begining.
this story is about 18 year old bridget edelson who is taking a year off before college to try and recover from the death of her ex-boyfriend benji.rather than accepting the family and friends she turns to jasper. and even though she meets him at a party and has sex with him that night doesnt mean he isnt a wonderful guy willing to nurse her soul. and when she gets over benjis deathshe learns that to love another with all your being even if the other person doesnt love you as much still doesnt mean you havnt loved.
overall i loved this book and i recomend it to all teens.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent 'recovery' story, February 7, 2003

By 

K. Newman "krazykmcd" (London, UK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bringing up the Bones (Hardcover)

Bridget Edelstein has just lost a lifelong friend - Benji - to a fatal car accident. For the previous 9 months they had been boyfriend / girlfriend, if reluctantly on Benji's behalf. A few days before he died, Benji wrote a 'Dear Jane' letter. It was all over. And now Benji has gone and died, so that is all it will ever be. Over.

Zeises tells a story of grief, rage and getting on with life after a great loss very well. Her characters, including the lead character, are completely human, warts and all, acting and reacting from an emotional base. Bridget's confusion, anger, grief and love are expressed very well, as indeed are her perceptions of the motivations of others, as they touch her own life. There is a great deal of room for the reader to bring their own experiences into their perception of the situation between Bridget and Benji, Bridget and new boyfriend Jasper, Bridget and Benji's family and where they are in the process of overcoming such a loss. Again, the reader can bring in their own psychological analysis of other characters motivations if you can remove Bridget's perceptions from them, viewed as they are through her eyes.

Serious issues are dealt with in this book, and realistically. Bridget is by no means perfect, and neither are any other characters - perhaps with the exception of Jasper! I liked this as a truly human story, and one that should touch the hearts of every reader, even as you might want shout at Bridget at some of the thoughts she has and decisions she takes.