The Boy in the Black Suit

Recently, Jason Reynolds name has popped up frequently in the YA reading world.  Earlier this year I finally cracked the pages of All American Boys, an illustration of modern day police brutality.  So I was excited to read his other works, and The Boy in the Black Suit didn’t disappoint.  

The story follows Matthew, whose mother just died from cancer.  He’s just trying to cope and keep himself from shattering into a million pieces.  His father has check-out mentally, so the best thing Matt can think of is to get a job to help with some of the bills.  Enter Mr. Ray.  He offers Matt a job at his funeral home after school.  Matt thinks this is the worst idea (but better than cleaning vomit off the floor of the local fast food joint) but decides to take the job.  He starts wearing his black suit so he can sit inconspicuously and watch the funerals as a way to help him cope with his grief.  That’s where he meets Love, a girl with grit and strength beyond what he’s capable of.  As he gets closer to Love he realizes that some events in life can’t be controlled, but you need to be able to play with the hand you’re dealt. 

The ending seems a little abrupt, but I think the author was just trying to illustrate that life isn’t always going to be neatly tied up.  Bad things will happen.  But that doesn’t mean you stop living.  We don’t know the outcome of Matthew’s grief journey; all we know is that he’s started down a healthy path with people who care about him to support him.  And that’s all we can really expect. I think Mr. Ray says it best:  “I realized that it’s not that death is 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.”