Coman is the Newbery award winning author of What Jamie Saw.

While I was impressed with her previous work, Tell Me Everything is one to be skipped, before you chuck it against the wall.

It is a disjointed, poorly written, rambling, non sensical tale of a young woman who lost her mother when she rescued a young man on a mountain.

From begging - end this book was frustrating.

The author tried to dump platitudes of religion, finding meaning in pain....but truly, nothing rang true at all.

I think I'll call this one the worst read of 2012.

Reviewed by Mechele R. Dillard for TeensReadToo.com

Twelve-year-old Roz Jacoby is mourning the loss of her mother, Ellie, who fell off the side of their secluded mountain as she tried to help a boy, lost in the freezing weather. Now, Roz lives with her uncle, Mike, and is enrolled in public school for the first time, where she spends the day spinning fantastic yarns centered around the death of her mother, such as making Ellie one of the astronauts lost on the space shuttle Challenger for a class presentation about heroes. Every day is a battle for Roz, as she attempts to adapt to her new life off the mountain, without her mother.

Coman is a Newbery Honor-winning author (WHAT JAMIE SAW, Hand Print, 1991), and TELL ME EVERYTHING is a poignant tale of a young girl struggling to understand the harshness of life juxtaposed with the awe and wonder of true faith. But the tale seems a little short on actual tale: The storyline never really gels. There are a lot of interesting, important revelations, but these series of events do not develop into a clear, compelling picture of Roz's life until close to the end, and many readers may lose interest and put the book down long before then.

Abandoning TELL ME EVERYTHING, however, would be a mistake. Roz is lost and searching, floating through a sea of confusion about her mother's death, her uncle's indifference to everything, and her own struggles to form personal ideas and beliefs -- struggles with which most readers, in their respective situations, will likely identify.

Coman's story may not be cohesive at first glance, and it is not an easy read, but it is worth the time of the reader to hang in, connect the pieces, and understand what Roz finally realizes: "You find something out, and then you go on" (p. 138). ( )

After her mother dies in a rescue mission on a snowy mountain, twelve-year-old Roz wonders if talking to God, and to the boy for whom her mother died, can help her understand what happened. ( )

Roz is now living with her uncle following the death of her mother in a climbing accident. Roz is withdrawn from reality. One of her connections with the world, which keeps her mainly sane, are the 'phone calls to Nate, the boy her mother died trying to save. Roz's Uncle Mike tries to help her, but Roz's only way to make sense of her mother's death involves finding Nate, whose 'phone number is now unlisted. Eventually Roz finds the answers and some peace.