Book Review: The Momentous Expiration of Tremmy Sinclair by Michael F. Stewart

Synopsis

Seventeen years old. Rich. Hot. Captain of the Drone War team. Head prefect of a surreally elite boarding school. Tremmy is dying.

His illness strips everything from him­—­including the support of his teachers and friends who once nurtured his bright future. Worst of all, his best friend’s meteoric rise has come at the expense of Tremmy’s spectacular fall. Far from going out with the bang he’d hoped for, Tremmy faces betrayal.

But his illness has the power to expose the best as well as the worst of his school, his friends, and himself. Tremmy sets out to prove that the community he loves has to overcome its fear of death in order to truly begin to live. And Tremmy receive the momentous end he so fervently desires.

Review

Sometimes you come across prose that takes you completely out of yourself. You begin to see the world anew and question everything you thought was true.

High school. I vividly recall my years in high school and the picture is as bleak as Tremmy's.  Michael created one of the realistic characters I have encountered. Rich with human complexity, so much so I began to feel like I knew him.

More importantly, I saw myself. I saw my so-called friends. I saw death in its rawest form.

This is by far my favorite book of 2021!

If you are seeking an authentic, noir, coming-of-age story with interludes of fear, death, and general teenage angst, The Momentous Expiration of Tremmy Sinclair is for you.