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Dear Zoe
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Plot Summary of Dear Zoe
""Tess" is a fifteen-year old struggling with split families, school, sex and drugs, and the unexpected death of her baby sister, Zoe.

Zoe's death throws Tess's family into a state of utter confusion: her step-father now works late, her mother sleeps all the time, and her little sister, Em, is left alone. Meanwhile, Tess falls into a state of unrelenting guilt; she feels as if she is responsible for Zoe's death. As a result, Tess decides to move in with her biological father for a while, to find the space she needs to grieve and find acceptance. At her father's house, she discovers pot, her neighbor/boyfriend, Jimmy Freeze, and sex.

Ultimately, Tess realizes that she needs to move back home with her mother and step-father; she finds a purpose in being there emotionally for Em. And, Tess finds a certain comfort when the entire family decides to go to counseling and learns to grieve together."

Kate Hemingway, Resident Scholar

Review Analysis of Dear Zoe
Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book? - thoughtful
Time/era of story - present (2000-2010)
Internal struggle/realization? Yes
Struggle over - actions leading to death of someone
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Coping with loss of loved one(s) Yes
Loss of... - brother/sisters

Main Character
Gender - Female
Profession/status: - student
Age: - a teen
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
Ethnicity/Nationality - White (American)
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor

Main Adversary
Identity: - Female
Age: - a teen
Profession/status: - student
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 3 (some)
United States Yes

Style
Person - mostly 1st
Sex in book? Yes
What kind of sex: - vague references - descript of kissing - touching of anatomy
Unusual Style: - written like a journal/diary/letters
Amount of dialog - little dialog
Most similar books to Dear Zoe
The Law of Similars by Chris Bohjalian
Sandcastles by Luanne Rice
Like the Red Panda by Andrea Seigel
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
Accidental Happiness by Jean Reynolds Page


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Philip Beard Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:
  
Kate Hemingway  

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