by Michelle Falkoff
Release Date: May 29th 2018
2018 HarperTeen
Kindle Edition; 320 Pages
ISBN: 978-0062680235
ASIN: B072BFJ5JK
Genre: Fiction / YA / Contemporary
Source: Review copy from publisher
4 / 5 Stars
Summary
Patrick “Pack” Walsh may not know exactly where he’s going in life, but he’s happy where he is. He’s got a girlfriend who gets him. His single dad is his best friend. After graduation, he has a desk job lined up at the local crossfit gym, maybe he’ll even work his way up to trainer. He can’t see himself ever leaving the small town of Brooksby, MA. And he’s fine with that.
Then, on his eighteenth birthday, a letter from Pack’s mother changes everything.
Pack hits the road, searching for a mother he’s never known and a family he had no idea existed until now. His journey unearths questions about both of his parents that he never saw coming. And by the end of the summer, Pack has a whole different understanding of his past—and most importantly, where he wants his future to lead.
My Thoughts
Questions I Have to Ask You is quite different from what I was expecting, but that was quite fine with me as I enjoyed the exploration of Pack's personal demons and how he developed as a character quite a bit. When I first picked this one up I thought it was going to be solely about Pack's search for his mother, but surprisingly, it became more a search for who he wants to be and how he got to be the way he currently is, questioning everything and anything around him, and I quite enjoyed the journey he took to get from point A to point B.
When I first met Pack, while I liked him, he was quite annoying as well. He was very set in his ways, even at eighteen years old, with everything in his life planned out in front of him, including his girlfriend's life, and it was quite easy to tell that his girlfriend wasn't quite buying into his plan, thank goodness. I would have thought less of her if she did. Having spent a lot of his younger years being teased because he was fat, he decided to change his life by following an extremely strict Paleo diet and fitness regime, something his girlfriend also followed. However, the pendulum swings both ways, and while he had no control with his eating habits early in his life, his control of his eating habits is pretty much borderline obsessive. Trust me, I get the lifestyle as I follow a pretty strict Keto diet myself due to my gluten intolerance, but I don't allow my life to be ruled by my eating habits and will indulge once in a while without worrying if I'll develop eating issues. I also think we should be very careful about using the diet as an excuse however, and looking at the real reason why Pack was so obsessed with his diet, as the Paleo diet really has nothing to do with his issues, it's just something he chose to use to help give himself some control and focus. Pack is so uptight about reverting to old habits that he's wound up so tight he's forgotten to have fun and let loose once in a while and this is affecting his relationships; in fact, the only real relationship he has is with his girlfriend and even there, he wants to be in control of everything. So, naturally, everything starts to fall apart for him and he has to learn to deal with life's curveballs. And this is where I actually began to like Pack so much better as he grows and develops and tries new things, and realizes there is more to life than clearly set paths from which one can never. As he begins to understand the lure of learning and curiosity, his character becomes so much more interesting, which made me want to learn more about him and where he was heading.
While the letter from his mother set Pack on this learning curve, it was not really central to the plot; it was just a means of helping Pack realize what he may be missing from life and what he may want to do with his life, which I found interesting. I felt pretty connected to the characters and thought they were all interesting in their own way. I really liked Maddie and thought she was quite intriguing, with a clear view on how things were and what she wanted; she didn't really let people push her around and was looking forward to leaving town and exploring the world as a university student. I remember how that felt and I was so glad she didn't cave into Pack's wishes and needs. On a different note, I'm not quite sure why the author skirted around the issue of actually using the word autistic with regards to Matt's sister though, but it was previous obvious. Is there something wrong with actually labeling a character as autistic? I feel like it made it look less authentic the way it was done, as if there was something wrong with it. I don't know, but it kind of left a bad taste in my mouth.
Verdict
Questions I Want to Ask You is a tale about relationships, growing up, self-discovery, and friendship. It's about realizing you are more than you thought, but you also have a lot of things to learn about yourself as you navigate the world outside of high school. And while we never stop learning and growing, I've always felt that I learned the most about who I was and who I wanted to be while I was at university, and while the lessons were sometimes painful to learn, they were definitely necessary. This novel shows some of that learning curve for Pack as he navigates the world after high school, learning more about himself, and learning to open himself up to possibilities he never imagined for himself. Written with an interesting sub-story about his mother, this novel is sure to please anyone interested in a tale about friendship and growing up.
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