Name: Bria's review of The Past and Other Things That Should Stay Buried by Shaun David Hutchinson
Item: The Past and Other Things That Should Stay Buried
Rating: 3
Author: Bria

Shaun David Hutchinson

“A fearless and brutal look at friendships...you will laugh, rage, and mourn its loss when it’s over.” —Justina Ireland, New York Times bestselling author of Dread Nation “Simultaneously hilarious and moving, weird and wonderful.” —Jeff Zentner, Morris Award–winning author of The Serpent King Six Feet Under meets Pushing Daisies in this quirky, heartfelt story about two teens who are granted extra time to resolve what was left unfinished after one of them suddenly dies. A good friend will bury your body, a best friend will dig you back up. Dino doesn’t mind spending time with the dead. His parents own a funeral home, and death is literally the family business. He’s just not used to them talking back. Until Dino’s ex-best friend July dies suddenly—and then comes back to life. Except not exactly. Somehow July is not quite alive, and not quite dead. As Dino and July attempt to figure out what’s happening, they must also confront why and how their friendship ended so badly, and what they have left to understand about themselves, each other, and all those grand mysteries of life. Critically acclaimed author Shaun Hutchinson delivers another wholly unique novel blending the real and surreal while reminding all of us what it is to love someone through and around our faults.

The Past and Other Things That Should Stay Buried

Carla Gallo

**Hypable’s Most Anticipated Queer YA Books of 2019**Book Riot’s 25 YA Book to Add to Your Winter TBR and Most Anticipated 2019 LGBTQ Reads**BookBub’s Best Teen Books Coming Out in 2019** “A fearless and brutal look at friendships...you will laugh, rage, and mourn its loss when it’s over.” —Justina Ireland, New York Times bestselling author of Dread Nation “Simultaneously hilarious and moving, weird and wonderful.” —Jeff Zentner, Morris Award–winning author of The Serpent King Six Feet Under meets Pushing Daisies in this quirky, heartfelt story about two teens who are granted extra time to resolve what was left unfinished after one of them suddenly dies. A good friend will bury your body, a best friend will dig you back up. Dino doesn’t mind spending time with the dead. His parents own a funeral home, and death is literally the family business. He’s just not used to them talking back. Until Dino’s ex-best friend July dies suddenly—and then comes back to life. Except not exactly. Somehow July is not quite alive, and not quite dead. As Dino and July attempt to figure out what’s happening, they must also confront why and how their friendship ended so badly, and what they have left to understand about themselves, each other, and all those grand mysteries of life. Critically acclaimed author Shaun Hutchinson delivers another wholly unique novel blending the real and surreal while reminding all of us what it is to love someone through and around our faults.

Bria

** spoiler alert **
           These characters suck so much. I didn't think Dino was until later but unfortunately he does too

Jamieson

“The president tried to take credit for it, calling it “the greatest miracle in the history of miracles. There’s never been a bigger miracle than this one,” but everyone knows by now that he’s full of shit.” 


So if you don't know, Shaun David Hutchinson is one of my favourite authors of all time and I have read everything he's written! I was so excited to dive into this, which released in Feb but I didn't have time to get to yet. I ended up having so much fun reading this! I didn't like it as much as We Are the Ants (my ultimate fave) but it probably sits alongside At The Edge of the Universe as my second fave Hutchinson book!

This book is about .. lots of things. It follows Dino, who's ex-best friend June has recently died. While preparing her body for burial (Dino's family own a mortuary), June suddenly rises from the dead and the two are suddenly forced to confront the truths behind their ruined friendship. 

Like most Hutchinson books, this had such a whacky premise and I LOVED it. The book focusses a lot on how people remember and think about people who have died in their head after they've died, and how that's not necessarily how they were in life, and I think the zombie-esque plot of this book was such a funny and interesting way to explore that. 

This was also hilarious! And super gross! June is undead but she isn't alive .. and so there's a lot of err, gross body stuff. Like June decaying from the inside, and having no organs, and her skin ripping off. And it's so gross but also kind of funny. And I guess a realistic way to look at what would happen if your week dead friend suddenly rose from the grave. 


  A good friend will bury your body, a best friend will dig you back up.



As this book opens, we start to learn more about Dino, June and why they're no longer friends. This includes some things to do with Dino's new boyfriend, Rafi. (Who is A LITERAL ANGEL I WOULD DIE FOR !!!! and also trans !!). 

One thing I really liked about this was the focus on friendship. This focusses on friendship in a way none of Hutchinson's other books have and I really liked it. Dino and June definitely have a complicated relationship and there is a lot of animosity and unresolved feelings to work through. But I really related to a lot of aspects of their relationship - including the jealousy over your friends getting new partners (and leaving you behind), and also the question of what to do with a friend who suddenly doesn't seem so friendly when you come out to them. This book spent a lot of time exploring what the cost is of keeping people around who don't bring out the best in you and I think it did so in a really clever and fun way. Hutchinson is really great with people and relationships in his writing and it shone here. 

Dino and June are both really complicated characters and honestly - I kinda didn't like either of them. But I also don't think I needed to. Ultimately, they are both really just lost teens still finding themselves and this book is about how thats normal! and okay! and we get less shitty as we get surer of ourselves !!

I do think though this could have been longer because we could have had more to explore their relationship. A lot of the end felt rushed to me, and like big decisions were made in one discussion. That said, I still really liked the end of this and thought it had more closure than some of his other works. 

I also loved the general discussions and themes in this book. I cannot cover them all but: family dynamics were great as always. Discussions around queer relationships were GREAT as always. The inclusion of a lot of queer community in this was nice and I loved Rafi's entire crew.


  "Love is gradual and sneaky. It grows like weeds between the cracks of a hundred average moments." 


But the reason's I didn't rate this higher: I also thought the middle of this was kind of boring and dragged a little bit. I also thought some of it was a little repetitive where it wasn't needed, and then too brief where we could have had more. I also would have really liked more at the end to give more closure to the story! 

Despite that, this is a whacky book that has a lot of hidden meaning and thoughtfulness between all the weird. Shaun David Hutchinson is so underrated! I will continue to love and support him because I think he is writing some of the most unique, authentic and engaging YA in the market right now, with so many relevant and important discussions about being gay and the queer community, amongst other things. If you're looking for a zombie book with more depth than pure zombies, or a book that focusses on the intricacies of friendship, or a book that deals with grief in a unique way, I definitely recommend.

Julija M

4.5*

tiny spoilers ahead

Dino DeLuca's parents own a funeral home and he helps them out with the work so he's used to being around dead people and corpses but when his ex-best friend July dies,things change. He starts doing her make-up for the funeral but a very unusual thing happens: she suddenly bolts up,screaming. His dead ex-best friend. Dino is shocked by that and July doesn't seem to be at all,but over a couple of days they'll try to figure out what's going on together and try to fix their friendship.
It was a weird concept for me at first,reading about a teenager just rising from the dead,but the dialogues and the writing are so well done and I quickly got into the story. I found July a bit unlikeable and annoying but I grew to kind of like her at the end because she turned out to be very nice and caring. I thought she cared for Dino and loved him but didn't show it in the right way .What I really hated about her were the jokes she made . She doesn't seem to want to learn about what she's doing wrong and try to fix it ( like when she was at Rafi's party she just changed the subject when everyone was trying to teach her ). I was surprised to read why she pushed Anya into the pool at the party because she didn't act like she'd do that.
Rafi: absolutely loved him. Even more than the main character,Dino. Rafi is just the nicest guy out there, cares about everything and everyone and is trying to better the world. He's a writer ,and according to July,a mighty good one. He's also a Hufflepuff (Hufflepuff pride!) and his dog's (shelter dog) name is Dobby. Come on. I thought he and Dino were such an adorable couple and was dying when Dino first broke up with him. I definitely needed more parts of just them two together.

Also,the cover is super cool! I love how it's a slurpee to represent Dino and July's slurpee nights from the past but also has dirt and a skeleton to represent the 'present'.
Overall,a great concept and I loved the story. I just hoped for maybe a more clearer ending and also an explanation to how in the hell July was functioning with no organs.

Tânia Borges

3.5 stars.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: death, corpses, funerals, dark humor, graphic descriptions of dead/decomposing bodies and the processes they go through while in the morgue/getting them ready for the funeral.

Fun, light and easy to read, but nothing extraordinary. Overall, a good choice if you're looking for a quick read or something to read in-between other books. Lots of dark humor and heavy stuff, though, just a warning. If you get triggered by that kind of thing (especially if you've lost someone recently, it probably won't be easy to imagine the dead body of a loved one going through all that stuff), or if it's simply not your cup of tea, I would recommend to stay clear of this one. But that's just my opinion; it's obviously your choice.

Anastaciya

Nah, not for me, sadly. I bet there was some smart message here, but I got way too distracted with all the back and forth annoying each other...

Rebeca 

3.75 stars 

This was good, not his best. I just didn't feel any true connection to the characters or anything

Ben Nathan

This book was GREAT! So very smart and emotional. I loved the characters and how they used a trope that's (pardon the pun) beaten to death and made it fresh. I recommend this very highly. It will be on my Lodestar award short list next year.

Carla Gallo &
The Past and Other Things That Should Stay Buried by Shaun David Hutchinson

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The Past and Other Things That Should Stay Buried by Shaun David Hutchinson