Ann Dee Ellis’ debut novel “This Is What I Did:” is intense, horrific, mildly humorous and definitely a page turner. In 157 pages, Ellis’ moves back and forth through Logan’s (the narrator) memories and his present experiences. From the dust jacket, Ellis states that “Logan came from not knowing how to be. Not knowing what to do. Not knowing how to talk about it in a world where everyone else seems to know what’s going on. How do they know what’s going on? How do they know how to be? In the end, I figured out you just have to do whatever you can do.”
Logan is no longer best friends with Zylar. Logan no longer lives in Mullholland. Logan no longer rides his bike by his crush, Cami’s house. Logan no longer plays with his twin brothers. Logan no longer talks. Logan no longer does anything.
Written more like a screenplay and interspersed with images of handwritten notes and tiny silhouetted images, Ellis’ presents a boy who has witnessed something so horrific that he can no longer function and does not know how to function. Logan’s journey of discovering how to deal with a situation that has forever changed his life. Will he move forward? Will he find his voice again?
I started and finished this book yesterday. I could not put it down. I needed to find out what happened to Logan and Zylar and Ellis’ story keeps the reader engaged. A great read and one worth picking up.
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