Heather Duffy Stone

Twins Noelle and Nadio and Noelle’s best friend Keeley have been inseparable ever since they were children. But the summer before their junior year of high school, Keeley goes off to England, Noelle starts working at the ice cream parlor with new friend Jessica, and Nadio starts running at night. When Keeley returns, nothing is the same. Class issues arise, and Noelle withdraws from their trio and throws herself into her relationship with the older, more intense, and more experienced Parker.

Unbeknownst to Noelle, Nadio and Keeley form a deep, romantic bond—but something’s still off. Keeley is holding something back. All these secrets that the three former friends are keeping from one another build and build until it all threatens to explode and ruin them forever.

THIS IS WHAT I WANT TO TELL YOU was a so-so attempt at expressing the significance of a particular period in life for three friends. What it fails to do in terms of catching one’s attention, it makes up for in the blunt and often brutal writing style.

The most striking part of this book is the style in which it was written. It’s rather simple and blunt, and therefore evokes pain, secrets, and other appropriately dark qualities. The way it was written reminded me of Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson, with both of their abilities to convey difficult, gut-wrenching yet quietly overpowering feelings of adolescent loneliness.

That being said, the writing style was also what I liked least. It just seemed like too much at too many points in the story. From the very beginning of Nadio and Noelle’s narrations we get the sense that something monumental, something life-changing, has occurred to the three main characters—and yet the book never follows through on this potential. Instead, it wallows in the same feelings of teen-angst direness for most of the novel. These characters never get a break from their misery, and thus we readers don’t either, which can be immensely overwhelming and unsatisfying.

THIS IS WHAT I WANT TO TELL YOU is a difficult but potentially rewarding read. If you like your teen angst novels dark and mired in shoals of hopelessness, this could be for you.… (meer)

Navigating precarious relationships is the name of this book’s game. Family, friends and romantic interactions are all showcased with a dynamic realism. The most forceful portrayal being Noelle’s relationships with everyone she encounters. At the tender age of sixteen she runs the gambit of emotions from blind euphoria to obsession, rage, betrayal and depression — ultimately culminating in an act of self-realization that will shock and sadden the reader.

On the other hand there is the more muted tone of her brother Nadio and best friend Keeley. The two and their love story play and underlying roll in the story but one that ultimately spurns the culmination of events in Noelle’s life. So for that one moment they too become as dynamic as she.

I found myself wishing that more of the twin dynamic was explored and that we got to see the inner workings of Noelle’s relationship with Nadio. Seeing how that played into Noelle’s decision making process (or didn’t as it were) as she navigated her relationships may have added more emotion to Nadio’s story. It certainly would have lent more power to her discovery of the blooming romance between he and her best friend. It would have made that betrayal more tragic in the readers eyes.

As is the case with much young adult fiction the parent as friend factor played into the story here. While in many cases this element of a story doesn’t quite jibe it really worked well here. A father that had abandoned his family and a mother who compensated for that by being “cool, hip and understanding” and allowing the teens more freedom went a long way in facilitating Noelle’s ultimate decent.

The events leading to Keeley’s personality shift during her time in Oxford seemed to hang out there in nowhere. They neither drove the overall story nor had great influence on anything but the small underlying story of she and Nadio. While it did effect her growing relationship with him, the fact that this novel appeared to be more of a story about Noelle made the admission and recognition of what transpired seem slightly out of place.

Having said that, the recognition of those events was handled tenderly and with great respect and dignity. Exactly as one would expect a conversation of this nature between two young adults to go. Given this fact it is important to point out that this was an exceptionally well written story. It was not difficult for the reader to visualize characters, locations and events in any way. At times a reader may even find themselves feeling and living certain parts through the eyes of the character they most relate to.

In the end, this was not a light and fluffy read nor is it intensely dark and brooding. It had a great deal of angst and certainly its share of emotional upheaval but all was befitting a struggling teen. I would encourage adults and youngsters both to read This is What I Want To Tell You.… (meer)

There have always been the three Noelle, Nadia, and Kelley. Although, everything changes when Kelley leaves for a summer to go to England. Shortly after departure Noelle and Nadia find themselves drifting apart, and when Kelley returns she finds that not only has the scenery changes but so have the people. This is what I want to tell you, is told in alternating characters throughout the book. With the assistance of letters that Nadia is writing to his MIA father that has never been a part of his or Noelle's lives. Shortly after returning home things between Nadia and Kelley change, and Noelle finds herself sinking further into solitude. It is not easy to growing apart from friends. Ms. Stone created a very realistic world for Noelle, Nadia, and Kelley that many readers can relate. This is what I want to tell you is quick paced and a very entertaining story.… (meer)