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OLDER FICTION
Sheinmel, Courtney

The Survival List

310 pp. | HarperCollins/Tegen | September, 2019 | Trade ISBN 978-0-06-265500-4 $17.99 | Ebook ISBN 978-0-06-265502-8
(2) YA Sloane is devastated when her idolized older sister, Talley, dies by suicide at age twenty-two. In Talley's pocket, Sloane finds a list headed with the letters TSL, with entries such as "Crescent Street," "Lucy and Ethel," and "A large gentleman's sunset." She guesses that the list might be a puzzle from her games-loving sister, so she fixates on deciphering each clue. Her quest takes her from Minnesota to northern California, where she reunites with an estranged aunt and enlists the help of a boy her age. As the grieving teen uncovers the meaning behind each item, she learns more about her sister's life in the months before she died--and discovers a devastating family secret. Sheinmel treats the topics of suicide and depression with nuance and compassion, beautifully conveying Sloane's feelings of guilt for not being able to save Talley while gently, realistically refuting them. (As Sloane explains, "Someone who dies by suicide is probably someone suffering from a mental illness. It's a medical condition, a potentially fatal one.") The riddles-based plot is absorbing and includes some twists; the fact that not every question is answered is realistic, if somewhat unsatisfying. Most rewarding, however, is the measure of closure the protagonist finds as a result of her search, honoring her sister's life while finding her own path through her grief.
Reviewer: Rachel L. Smith | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2020

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