Grief in the Fourth Dimension
by Jennifer YuGenres: Young Adult Fiction / Science Fiction
Length: 8:46
Narrator: Tim Lounibos, Raechel Wong
Published on July 16, 2024
Pages: 368
Format: Audiobook Source: Library
Jennifer Yu’s Grief in the Fourth Dimension is a moving and unique speculative YA novel about the afterlife and the unexpected connections that can be made in death.
In life, high school classmates Caroline Davison and Kenny Zhou existed in separate universes—Caroline in one of softball practices and family dinners; Kenny in one of NASA photo books and late-night shifts at his parents’ Chinese restaurant.
But after their deaths, they find themselves thrown together as roommates in a mysterious white room—one that seems to exist outside of time and space, shows them their loved ones’ lives on a large hi-def TV, and grants their wishes with a sardonic sense of humor.
As Caroline and Kenny watch life continue to unfold back on Earth, they realize they can influence events through radio signals, psychic mediums, and electromagnetic interference. In their efforts to console their families, they also start to understand the tragic depth of how their lives and deaths were connected and how to help their families—and themselves—heal from the losses.
Kenny finds himself in an all white room with a TV. The TV is showing his funeral. As he watches he absently wishes he had a chair. One appears. So starts this amazing story about two teenagers from the same town dealing with the aftermaths of their deaths.
They didn’t know each other in life. They don’t know the rules of the room. It seems to grant them whatever they wish for as far as furnishings. If they want something they can’t have a note appears explaining why or maybe they just get an error code.
Each of the families and their friend groups are coping in different ways. Kenny’s immigrant parents are on the verge of losing their once popular restaurant. Caroline’s perfect family is falling apart because her mother wants punishment for the driver who hit Caroline more than anything else. Kenny and Caroline sympathize and argue with each other about what the people they left behind should be doing. There may be ways for them to reach out but what ways would be effective? Would people even understand?
This book is a wonderful exploration of grief. Like grief, every time you think you have a handle on this story it shifts and moves in ways you didn’t expect. I didn’t know anything about this book going into it. I think that’s the best way to approach it. Let it surprise you. I hadn’t heard of it before. I just saw it as an available YA sci-fi book on my Libby app and borrowed it. This is an audiobook that will stick with me. There were a few times when I had to stop listening for a while and just sit with what had just happened in the story to let it sink in. I love it when that happens. This is going to be one of my top books of the year!
