Grief in the Fourth DimensionReview posted December 2, 2024
Tantor Media, 2024. 8 hours, 46 minutes.
Review written November 26, 2024, from a library eaudiobook.
Starred Review
Grief in the Fourth Dimension features two dead teens in a white room. Kenny Zhou died months ago when his heart gave out unexpectedly, and Caroline Davison died in a car accident on a rainy day when she was in a hurry and the road was wet - and she got hit by a drunk driver.
Kenny doesn't know how long he's been in the room, but it responds to his wishes and thoughts. Furniture has appeared to make him comfortable and there's a big-screen TV on the wall that shows him his parents and friends mourning at his funeral. Occasionally notes fall from the ceiling, responding to his thoughts.
And then Caroline shows up. It takes her a bit to realize she's dead. But she quickly goes about making the room more comfortable. Although they went to the same high school, they never talked to each other. Now the TV begins showing her family and friends, too.
Kenny's parents are worried that business in their restaurant has slumped after their son's death. Caroline's mother is looking for justice for the person who hit her daughter. Kenny's best friend Iris hatches a scheme to do a memorial and fundraiser for his parents' restaurant, and Caroline's boyfriend and brother start spending time with each other. And Caroline and Kenny prove to have some things to work through themselves.
But then the two begin to discover limited ways they can reach out, to let their family and friends know they are watching - but with mixed results. They want to help them heal and move on and be happy.
And then it becomes clear that their deaths are much more closely entwined than either one realized, and the stakes become much higher. Can Caroline and Kenny help their loved ones make things right?
I've got to give a disclaimer: I don't believe for a second that the afterlife will be like this for anyone. But it turns out to be a really fun way to tell a story about grief and about how many people are affected by one life. I was completely pulled into this novel from the start and able to grasp more nuances of the situations involved by looking at them from the eyes of Kenny and Caroline.
Oh, and while Caroline does miss her boyfriend, it was oddly refreshing to read a YA novel where kissing isn't mentioned even once, let alone a novel about recently dead teens whose biggest regret isn't that they wanted more sex. (Yes, I've read more than one novel like that. Not this one!)
A book about death that ends up being about life and about relationships.