When Evan’s father committed suicide, it left his life in a tragic puzzle that seemed hopeless to piece together.

The Namesake tells the painfully raw story of a gifted high schooler who just suffered the loss of his father in a way that has left a terrible emotional scar. After learning that his dad hanged himself, Evan’s life transforms into a hollow shell filled only with intangible feelings of grief, sorrow and carelessness. His pristine grades and talent as an artist at his Catholic high school seem to mean nothing anymore.

Evan feels a total disconnect with his father, and because his father was often quiet and reserved when he was alive, Evan craves answers: Why did he commit suicide? What elements of his life led up to his decision? What was he hiding from Evan? Author Steven Parlato effectively creates that heavy sense of desperation within Evan: he knows he cannot attain closure unless he digs deep and discovers his father’s past.

Several months after the suicide, Evan’s grandmother gives him a locked trunk and a key that belonged to his father when he was young. Within the trunk, Evan hopes to find some answers to his questions. After finding his dad’s journal from his teenage years, Evan begins unlocking many shocking secrets that piece together the reasoning behind his dad’s suicide.

As the novel unfolds, an emotional rollercoaster begins. The narrator’s quirky yet obviously scarred personality takes shape, and readers are instantly able to crawl into Evan’s skin and experience the emotions with him.

The secrets he learns about his father are not only shocking — many of them prove to be what some humans consider the most dreadful nightmares a person can experience. It was easy to follow the festering emotions of Evan, and Parlato succeeded in illustrating the growing connection Evan developed with his father throughout the novel.

Although his discoverings became increasingly distressing, Evan knew it was good for him simply to know what was occurring behind the sad eyes of his dad when he was alive.

Parlato made the story approachable by mitigating the intense content with Evan’s soothing, often humorous perspectives during his quest for putting his father’s life together. No matter what Evan had discovered about his dad, he approached it in a mature, understanding manner.

With the help of his best friend Alexis and the growing relationship with his mother and grandparents, Evan embraces this journey of painful enlightenment of not only his dad’s life, but his life as well.

As the book progresses, readers become quickly attached to the characters, making it difficult to put the book down. Parlato created unique, memorable personalities within each of the characters that made it simple to connect with them all. Just as one part of the plot came to a close, another shocking truth came into light that made the novel an unforgettable page-turner.

Grade: 4.5 stars

By Steven Parlato

285 pp. Merit Press. $17.95