Book
The fragments that remain / Mackenzie Angeconeb.
"First-year college student Andy can't afford to slow down. Study, volunteer, work, make new friends, fall in love -- whatever it takes to keep her from obsessing over her brother Ally's death, which was ruled suicide by overdose. Navigating a new life chapter without her "honorary twin," Andy writes letters to him as she strives to embrace her bisexuality and her Indigenous identity. Once she discovers Ally's hidden poems, Andy pours over them to make sense of her brother's life -- and his death. Back in senior year, Ally dreamed of being a poet. His parents encouraged him to write as a hobby, but they always expected him to inherit the family-owned bookshop with his sister. Ally wrote to cope with his emptiness, until he turned to drugs to fill the void. Reaching for her brother through unanswered words, Andy must reckon with living a once-shared life alone"-- Provided by publisher.
Record details
- ISBN: 9781770867796 (hardcover)
- Physical Description: 258 pages ; 21 cm
- Publisher: Ferndale, WA : DCB, an imprint of Cormorant Books, [2025]
- Copyright: ©2025
Search for related items by subject
| Genre: | Young adult fiction. Epistolary fiction. Novels. |
Available copies
- 1 of 1 copy available at Tsuga Consortium.
Holds
- 0 current holds with 1 total copy.
Show Only Available Copies
| Location | Call Number / Copy Notes | Barcode | Shelving Location | Status | Due Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lakeshore Branch | YA Angec | 31681010410173 | YADULT | Available | - |
- Orca Book Publishers
A year after her brother Allyâs death was ruled suicide by overdose, Andy starts university without her âhonorary twin,â writing him letters as she strives to embrace her bisexuality and her Indigenous identity. When Andy discovers Allyâs hidden poems, she tries to piece together these remaining fragments of her brother. - Orca Book Publishers
Dearest Departed, I do not know when I decided I was going to write. I am not a writer. You are. You were.
Honorary twins Ally and Andy, born at the start and end of the same year, have always shared everything â until Ally dies, his passing ruled a suicide by overdose. A year later, Andy starts her first year at college without her other half, writing letters to Ally as she makes new friends who know nothing about him, falls in love for the first time, and strives to embrace her bisexuality and her Indigenous identity. When Andy discovers the poems Ally hid in their room, she pieces together these remaining fragments to make sense of her brotherâs life â and his death.
A story told through letters and poems, The Fragments that Remain is a heart-wrenching and hopeful debut novel from Mackenzie Angeconeb.
- A year after her brother dies of drug overdose, eighteen-year-old Andy writes letters to him as she struggles with university life. When she finds his hidden poems, she tries to piece together these fragments of his side of the story.
- Andyâs letters charts her turbulent emotional journey with her newfound independence and bisexuality, demonstrating how grief impacts our mental health, our perception of self, and the way we maintain and form relationships.
- A mix of prose and poetry will appeal to young adults aged 16â20, as the protagonist, a first-year college student, is just starting a new life chapter.
- Debut novel from Mackenzie Angeconeb, an Anishinaabekwe author and educator, whose lyrical and heart-wrenching writing is inspired by Ellen Hopkins and Richard Van Camp.
- Youth substance abuse, particularly in Indigenous communities, is a pressing problem with devastating consequences. In Canada, 60% of illicit drug users are between the ages of 15 and 24 (AddictionHelp.com). As evidenced by data from the Cedar Project, when compared with all Canadians the same age, young Indigenous people who used drugs were 12.9 times more likely to die, as they are continually affected by historical and present-day injustices and barriers to care. In United States, 15% of high school students reported having ever used select illicit or injection drugs (CDC). Injecting drug rates are also 3 times higher among Indigenous adolescents compared to non-Indigenous adolescents (CDC). The Fragments that Remain offers compassionate and nuanced insights into those impacted, showing the perspectives of the drug user and those who love them.
