When Haru Was Here by Dustin Thao is a heart-wrenching about love and loss. The book follows 19-year-old Eric Ly as he navigates through his grief.
After the death of his best friend Daniel, Eric starts to become out of touch with reality, choosing to make up stories in his head as a way to cope. He then reunites with Haru, a boy he met while on a trip to Japan. Eric now has someone to talk to, the only problem is nobody else can see him. Real or not Haru becomes Eric’s lifeline. As the two of them spend more and more time together Haru’s presence starts becoming more sporadic, seemingly disappearing from time to time. As Eric starts losing the one thing keeping his life together he starts making questionable choices forcing him to face the thing that’s been haunting him. Perhaps the death of Daniel isn’t the only thing making him feel alone.
When Haru Was Here is a devastating book that pulls the reader in as the story delves into the different stages of grief.
By Teen Reviewer, Chandara