(#partner @fsgbooks) • The Unpassing by Chia-Chia Lin follows a Tawainese immigrant family living in Alaska. Early in the book, the youngest of four children, Ruby, dies of meningitis. Gavin, the books narrator and the family’s second oldest child, also contracts meningitis and survives. The book is a portrait of a family struggling with grief, with isolation, and with just living. After Ruby’s death, the father is sued for a bad septic job that poisons a customer’s son. The family, but especially the parents, really struggle and sometimes just fail at keeping it together.

This book is a slow burn. Told from a child’s perspective, things felt a bit choppy to me at times, and not everything that happened was fully explained. But, I think that’s just truer to what a child would actually observe.

The siblings try to move past Ruby’s death by befriending neighbors, exploring the woods, and just doing kid things. But the grief and dysfunction in the family has a hold on everyone - the oldest child, Pei Pei, acts out. Natty, The now-youngest brother, doesn’t understand why Ruby isn’t coming back. The dad is frustratingly passive, and the mom blames the dad for all their struggles and longs to return to Taiwan.

This book is definitely more character driven than plot driven, although the plot isn’t completely stagnant. The dread is palpable as the family comes apart at the seams. It doesn’t feel like everything is going to be okay, which is refreshing somehow. The setting of an isolated home in Alaska in what was supposed to be a neighborhood that didn’t get built adds to the gloom. It was painful to watch the family in their struggles.

I really liked this book. It would be a great choice for API month. I’d recommend this if you like darker stories of families that are character driven.