Not Nothing
by: Gayle Forman
August 27, 2024 Aladdin
288 pages
As a writer, I often worry I’ll be remembered for the worst thing I’ve ever written. I don’t even know what thing is – doesn’t everyone alternate between thinking they’re writing gold and garbage at all times? – but the very idea of this nebulous awful piece of writing sometimes keeps me from putting new words on the page. I know this is normal, that all artists grapple with feelings of inferiority – but in the age of social media, this ever present bogey man looms large. Gone are the days when a debut is allowed to develop over a career of books that each builds on skills attained over the course of a lifetime. One bombed book, and there might not be a chance to traditionally publishing a second. Not to mention, the onus of marketing through those venues that seemed geared towards bringing out the worst in people. Which is why I absolutely devoured Gayle Forman’s Not Nothing, a book that invites us to instead seek the best in each other.
Not Nothing is two stories in one. It is the tale of Alex, who is sent by his social worker to perform community service in a senior living home. The reader is aware Alex has done something terrible – but Forman wisely does not reveal to us the nature of Alex’s crimes until we have already come to know him as a kind, caring, human who simply requires an invitation to his better self. It is also the tale of Josey, the 107 year old man that does the inviting. Having not spoken in years, Josey sees something in Alex that prompts him to open up and share his experiences during WWII, including how he was saved from the concentration camps by his Polish fiance. Pretty soon, all the residents are sharing stories with Alex, and he goes from being a suspect extra cleaner to beloved confidant.
This utopia lasts right up to the moment everyone finds out why Alex is performing community service in the first place. I won’t sugar coat it – what he has done is truly terrible. However, he is also not guilty of everything he is accused of. The way Forman manages to show us the dangers of assigning motivations to others without speaking to them, and how to reexamine our own contributions to the worst moments of our lives, without ever blaming the victim or condoning Alex’s actions, is incredibly clever. We are so quick to write people off these days. To ascribe the worst possible motivations. To assume everything is about us rather than what the other person is going through. Not Nothing invites us to reshape that thinking, much like the characters in the novel invite Alex to rise to the occasion of his life.
Not going to lie. I cried a little.
Moving on from that embarrassing admission, as this is a MG, I will point out some stuff for parents reading this review. One of Alex’s fellow volunteers and first friends has two moms. Queer parents seeking more representation for their kids of books with families that look like theirs, will find that here. There is also some very real homophobia, mental health struggles in a parent, cancer in a parent, and antisemitism. If you’re child doesn’t understand what those terms are, they might not be ready to dive in, or they might need to ask you some questions along the way. Not Nothing is a great story for kids who don’t want any romance (although Josey does tell the story of falling in love with his fiance).
Somehow, a 107 year old narrator felt very relatable. Even for kids. That is most certainly Not Nothing. In fact, it is something worth picking up and reading.
Note: BookishlyJewish received a copy of this book from the publisher.