Dispatches from Parts Unknown by Bryan Bliss (review)

Reviewed by: Dispatches from Parts Unknown by Bryan Bliss April Spisak Bliss, Bryan Dispatches from Parts Unknown. Greenwillow, 2024 288p Trade ed. ISBN 9780062962270 19. 99 E-book ed. ISBN 9780062962294 10. 99 Reviewed from digital galleys R Gr. 8-12 Okay, Julie knows that it's odd having the Masked Man, her dad's favorite professional wrestler, offer sardonic commentary in her own head. She doesn't really care if it's normal or not, though, as his presence has been a comforting lifeline over the past three years since her dad died. The Masked Man isn't subtle or polite (there are an awful lot of candy asses and jabronis in Minnesota apparently), but he's always on her side, and he is a solid connection to her dad, with whom Julie shared an obsession with wrestling. Now in her senior year and nudged by a couple of reliable friends, Julie is tentatively ready to take steps toward doing teen things like dating, thinking about post-graduation plans, and going to prom. Bliss ably balances humor, poignancy, and raw grief, emphasizing that mourning looks like all sorts of things, and if a wrestler is going to be part of Julie's journey, then so be it, at least until she might not need him anymore. While Julie's mom is her core person, they must each individually face the hard-won acceptance of the fact that their grief will never disappear, and that they can also still embrace joy where it can be found. Ultimately, the book refuses to tidy up the messiness of grief and instead makes room for the truth that one might never actually be the same kind of okay after losing a loved one, but that this transformation into a different sort of okay is valid and meaningful. The addition of a wrestling glossary is both helpful and amusing. Copyright © 2024 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois