The Boy in the Black Suit by Jason Reynolds Review

WARNING: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS BELOW

“...death isn't bad. It's not. It's just that life is so good. So damn good that you just wanna hold on to it, and everybody in it. But we can't. But what we can do, is appreciate it more. Y'know, smell the flowers.”- The Boy in the Black Suit, Jason Reynolds

Just when seventeen-year-old Matt thinks he can’t handle one more piece of terrible news, he meets a girl who’s dealt with a lot more—and who just might be able to clue him in on how to rise up when life keeps knocking him down—in this wry, gritty novel from the author of When I Was the Greatest.

Matt wears a black suit every day. No, not because his mom died—although she did, and it sucks. But he wears the suit for his gig at the local funeral home, which pays way better than the Cluck Bucket, and he needs the income since his dad can’t handle the bills (or anything, really) on his own. So while Dad’s snagging bottles of whiskey, Matt’s snagging fifteen bucks an hour. Not bad. But everything else? Not good. Then Matt meets Lovey. She’s got a crazy name, and she’s been through more crazy than he can imagine. Yet Lovey never cries. She’s tough. Really tough. Tough in the way Matt wishes he could be. Which is maybe why he’s drawn to her, and definitely why he can’t seem to shake her. Because there’s nothing more hopeful than finding a person who understands your loneliness—and who can maybe even help take it away.

First of all: Happy Friday the Thirteenth! Let's celebrate with another funeral home book, this time another reread from last year, The Boy in the Black Suit.

The interesting thing about The Boy in the Black Suit is that, even though it's a funeral home book, it's the one least about funeral home matters. Sure, there are bits about being a pallbearer, snippets from actual funerals, and the like, but unlike The Dead I Know, for instance, Matt doesn't go on calls to pick up dead bodies or have to dress them for their funerals. It's like funeral lite in that respect. 

Still, that doesn't mean that I don't really like this book. Matt is such a great main character to follow around. He's a kid that was certainly after my own heart, with his cooking and honesty and all that. Also, Reynolds has a keen understanding of what it's like to be a teenage boy. Admittedly, I've never been a teenage boy, but the things Matt does and his reactions just strike me as being very realistic. One of my favorite examples of this is when he goes over Lovey's house for Thanksgiving expecting a date and she takes him to the homeless shelter instead. He doesn't immediately warm up to the idea and yes, he is even a little upset that she didn't tell him they were going there in the first place. The Right Thing to Do would be to be happy at the idea of giving back on Thanksgiving, but honestly, what teenage boy would be excited about the idea of spending his Thanksgiving at a soup kitchen, especially when he was under the impression he would be on a one-on-one date with a pretty girl? Sure, Matt warmed up to the idea, but everyone probably would, too.

Also, like most teenagers, Matt is aware of what other people think of him, which is another great touch. I see a lot of authors who get praised for being able to get inside the mind of a high schooler, but Reynolds is one of the most successful at it.

The writing is pretty wonderful too. It's written in this New York black patois, which really puts Matt's voice in my head. The book has this conversational tone that makes me feel like I'm having a conversation with Matt and I love that. It makes me feel closer to him as a character without the author telling us a ton of exposition.

If I had to choose some points of criticism, it would be that in some parts it feels a bit juvenile or shallow, like in some of the parts where Matt is grieving his mother. I also wish the book didn't time skip so much, and a couple of the things that happened felt a bit contrived. That seems like a lot of stuff wrong with the book, but honestly, reading it is so much fun that it's easy to ignore that and just enjoy the story.

I also really wish there were more funerals in the book. Those were my favorite parts to read. Also, I kind of wish there was more about the funeral home itself, given that I know very little about the inner workings of inner city funeral homes. Being from New England Suburbia I'm used to the white vaguely-Colonial funeral homes with black trim and WASP-y sounding names written in somber font on the sign in front. I would be interested to know how Willie ran his home.

When I reread this my new rating actually went up from my old rating. This is definitely an 8.5 out of 10 now. I would recommend this book for someone who's maybe a little more squeamish so doesn't want to jump in with The Dead I Know, but someone who wants a little book with a lot of heart, which is corny but the best way to describe it. While I do prefer the former, this one is a close second.

8.5 out of 10 (old rating: 8 out of 10)