Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    The Past and Other Things That Should Stay Buried
    The Past and Other Things That Should Stay Buried
    The Past and Other Things That Should Stay Buried
    Audiobook6 hours

    The Past and Other Things That Should Stay Buried

    Written by Shaun David Hutchinson

    Narrated by Candace Thaxton and Timothy Andrés Pabon

    3.5/5

    ()

    Switch to ebook

    About this audiobook

    “A fearless and brutal look at friendships...you will laugh, rage, and mourn its loss when it’s over.” —Justina Ireland, New York Times bestselling author of Dread Nation

    “Simultaneously hilarious and moving, weird and wonderful.” —Jeff Zentner, Morris Award–winning author of The Serpent King

    Six Feet Under meets Pushing Daisies in this quirky, heartfelt story about two teens who are granted extra time to resolve what was left unfinished after one of them suddenly dies.

    A good friend will bury your body, a best friend will dig you back up.

    Dino doesn’t mind spending time with the dead. His parents own a funeral home, and death is literally the family business. He’s just not used to them talking back. Until Dino’s ex-best friend July dies suddenly—and then comes back to life. Except not exactly. Somehow July is not quite alive, and not quite dead.

    As Dino and July attempt to figure out what’s happening, they must also confront why and how their friendship ended so badly, and what they have left to understand about themselves, each other, and all those grand mysteries of life.

    Critically acclaimed author Shaun Hutchinson delivers another wholly unique novel blending the real and surreal while reminding all of us what it is to love someone through and around our faults.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateFeb 19, 2019
    ISBN9781508268260
    Author

    Shaun David Hutchinson

    Shaun David Hutchinson is the author of numerous books for young adults, including The Past and Other Things That Should Stay Buried, The Apocalypse of Elena Mendoza, At the Edge of the Universe, and We Are the Ants. He also edited the anthologies Violent Ends and Feral Youth and wrote the memoir Brave Face, which chronicles his struggles with depression and coming out during his teenage years. He lives in Seattle, where he enjoys drinking coffee, yelling at the TV, and eating cake. Visit him at ShaunDavidHutchinson.com or on Twitter @ShaunieDarko.

    More audiobooks from Shaun David Hutchinson

    Related to The Past and Other Things That Should Stay Buried

    Related audiobooks

    YA Science Fiction For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      DANCING Doing The Dishes

      Aug 17, 2022

      DANCING Doing The Dishes
      3 min read

    • Article

      Five Poems

      Sep 1, 2018

      Maybe California’s just plain easier,with the commonnessof outbuildings. Raw-looking cedar or sheetmetal walls and a runnelof sun getting in through the roof seams.Position the heavy bag, tighten the eyebolt,twenty-five right hooks. Or pull upa chair

      3 min read

    • Article

      The Man In The Photograph

      Aug 24, 2021

      The Man In The Photograph
      6 min read

    • Article

      The Man I Should Have Married

      Dec 29, 2019

      The Man I Should Have Married
      11 min read

    • Article

      Where the HEART IS

      Dec 20, 2022

      Where the HEART IS
      4 min read

    • Article

      The Idiots

      Feb 26, 2021

      The Idiots
      18 min read

    • Article

      Uncontrollable, Irrelevant

      Dec 6, 2022

      My sister called me the other day. She wanted to let me know that I had once more been merciless and cruel in my relations with our parents. “They say there’s a lot of anger in you,” she said. “It makes them mad. It hurts their feelings. They think y

      14 min read

    • Article

      Lil Spin

      May 17, 2019

      Lil Spin
      8 min read

    • Article

      5 Minute Philosopher

      Jun 15, 2022

      Where is your happy place? Disneyland. My husband and I got engaged there, on the teacups – too cute, I know. It’s become our thing. We’ve been to all the Disney parks in the world! We have no kids, so we get to soak up the super-cute atmosphere an

      2 min read

    • Article

      Hidden SECRET

      May 30, 2023

      Hidden SECRET
      9 min read

    • Article

      A Wild Goose Chase

      Apr 23, 2020

      A Wild Goose Chase
      3 min read

    • Article

      Late Night Adventure

      Dec 28, 2022

      Late Night Adventure
      2 min read

    • Article

      Hidden SECRETS

      Sep 15, 2021

      Hidden SECRETS
      9 min read

    • Article

      SPEAKING My Language

      May 10, 2022

      SPEAKING My Language
      6 min read

    • Article

      My Best Friend

      Oct 1, 2020

      My Best Friend
      6 min read

    • Article

      The Missing Limousine

      Sep 28, 2021

      The Missing Limousine
      21 min read

    • Article

      Love Sounds

      Oct 10, 2022

      My daughter’s getting married. She is thirty-two and beautiful. I remember—it seems like just the other day—when she was sprawled and breathless. There she was, flat on her back, covered by pink panda pajamas, the odor of sleep drenched in her pillow

      13 min read

    • Article

      15 Of My Favourite Things

      Nov 15, 2022

      15 Of My Favourite Things
      3 min read

    • Article

      Editor’s Letter

      May 26, 2023

      Rainbow glitter! Beaming, sweaty faces! Cher on the loudspeaker! Drag queens! Drag KINGS! DYKES ON BIKES!! I am in Sydney at my very first Pride. After coming out to my not-exactly-thrilled parents, I’ve taken the logical next step and boarded a plan

      2 min read

    • Article

      No More People Pleasing

      Oct 19, 2023

      No More People Pleasing
      8 min read

    • Article

      A Gentle STIRRING

      Mar 13, 2024

      A Gentle STIRRING
      6 min read

    • Article

      Two Poems

      Nov 1, 2021

      I have an endless appetite for starfruit,for biting my teeth into the universe and spitting outthe space junk, for licking the rings of my favorite planetsand never slicing my tongue. There’s a story I shareabout my birth where angels circle my dead

      2 min read

    • Article

      THE PRINCE of All Stars

      Sep 3, 2020

      THE PRINCE of All Stars
      9 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for The Past and Other Things That Should Stay Buried

    3.5/5

    249 ratings9 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      I really loved the sense of humor and the character personalities. This book reminded me a little bit of a favorite book of mine, “Undead Girl Gang”

      2 people found this helpful

    • 4/5
      This book got better as it went along and it ended really well. The characters were realistically flawed and it was easy to relate to their plights. The characters were diverse, the plot was original, and the writing was witty and well composed.
    • 4/5
      3.5 stars for me. Both protagonists are annoying so maybe this one should’ve been second person to save us their thoughts. Also I think second person would’ve been better for me to visualize the characters. I didn’t know July was plump until it talked about how she was to be Hairspray.
    • 4/5
      I liked the book. Quick read and am interesting story line. Definitely a feel good read. It was easily predictable, but I liked the character development enough to excuse it. I would recommend and probably read again.
    • 3/5
      Interesting ideas.... It's a slow roll of a story really.
      Basically a guy hasn't spoken to his best friend for about a year when she suddenly dies of an aneurysm at 17. Only she's not fully dead.... Even though there's been an autopsy?

      Basically they spend the book arguing until they finally make up and she does for real.
    • 1/5
      DNF at 68 pages. Hutchinson's characterisation of high school teens is just... not for me. This is my second attempt at one of his books and, about the same number of pages in as the last book, I'm calling it. Both of these main characters are obnoxious and whiney, but in different ways. The undead girl is hopelessly cruel and impatient making me want to throttle her and just EXPLAIN what she means instead of becoming automatically on the defensive and back-talking to her friend trying to help her. It's immediately obvious to me why these two are no longer friends and I put the blame almost solely on her. These are the types of teens I loathe. I'm just too old for this.
    • 3/5
      teen fiction w/undead ex-best friend and LGBTQA interest (main character is gay; his boyfriend is trans), touches on mental health/depression/suicide.
      The conversation about having control over one's own feelings (as opposed to being able to control other peoples' feelings) could've been handled a little more sensitively, considering that one of the minor characters had an eating disorder and another, unnamed minor character was clinically depressed and suicidal--there can be chemical imbalances and other reasons why a person cannot just "get over" their mental health issues. I don't think the author meant it that way, I've just become more aware of how we talk about these things lately.
    • 3/5
      Dino works in the family business, that is, a funeral home so he doesn't mind being around dead bodies.But this body prep is special: it's his best friend, July, who died suddenly of a brain aneurysm. Imagine his shock then when July suddenly wakes up! She's not alive but she's not dead and she's not a zombie, either (no brain-eating in this book). In this limbo state July and Dino argue, cry, drive around, hide out, go to a (weird) party and generally try to figure out their relationship and what is going on. July's decomposing body makes for some colorful scenes (not for the squeamish) and unintended humor. There are some important 'lessons' about loving yourself and allowing yourself to be loved but this reader could never get beyond July's narcissistic actions and words. Others may quibble about the suspension of belief needed to continue reading this story; July's casual lying and cruelty were far more disturbing than any weird nondead stuff.
    • 4/5
      Two great young characters in Dino and July, and told in their two separate points of view. This is a story about friendship, but also about bereavement. It's a humorous told book, yet touching in all the right ways.