The Ethan I Was Before
Written by Ali Standish
Narrated by Kirby Heyborne
4.5/5
()
About this audiobook
“Readers will be riveted.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
The Ethan I Was Before is an award-winning story of love and loss, wonder and adventure, and ultimately of hope.
Lost in the Sun meets The Thing About Jellyfish in Ali Standish’s breathtaking debut. A poignant middle grade novel of friendship and forgiveness, this is a classic in the making.
Ethan had been many things. He was always ready for adventure and always willing to accept a dare, especially from his best friend, Kacey. But that was before. Before the accident that took Kacey from him. Before his family moved from Boston to the small town of Palm Knot, Georgia.
Palm Knot may be tiny, but it’s the home of possibility and second chances. It’s also home to Coralee, a girl with a big personality and even bigger stories. Coralee may be just the friend Ethan needs, except Ethan isn’t the only one with secrets. Coralee’s are catching up with her, and what she’s hiding might be putting both their lives at risk.
Okra Pick (Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance) * Indie Introduce Pick * Indie Next Pick * Goodreads Choice Award Semifinalist * Carnegie Medal Longlist Title * Southern Book Prize Longlist Title * A Bank Street Best Book of the Year * A Children's Book Review Best Book of the Year * Georgia Children's Book Award Nominee * Recipient of the North Carolina Young People's Literature Award
Ali Standish
Ali Standish is the award-winning author of books for the young and young at heart, including the Carnegie-nominated The Ethan I Was Before, August Isle, Bad Bella, The Climbers, How to Disappear Completely, The Mending Summer, and Yonder. Her books are Junior Library Guild Selections, have received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Kirkus Reviews, ALA Booklist, and School Library Journal, have been named as Indie Next titles, and have been nominated for Goodreads Choice Awards. During her years living in a tumbledown Victorian cottage in the UK, she obtained a master’s degree in children’s literature from the University of Cambridge. She now resides in North Carolina with her husband and son. You can visit her online at alistandish.com.
More audiobooks from Ali Standish
How to Disappear Completely Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mending Summer Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsYonder Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related to The Ethan I Was Before
Related audiobooks
Glitter Gets Everywhere Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5August Isle Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Every Single Second Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Be a Girl in the World Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5One Time Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Denis Ever After Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Absolutely Almost Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Finding Orion Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Honeybees and Frenemies Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Year We Fell From Space (Scholastic Gold) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My Jasper June Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Out of Place Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Many Points of Me Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Upstander Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Illegal: A Disappeared Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Riverland Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The School for Whatnots Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Peach Pie Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Where We Used to Roam Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Icebreaker Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Astonishing Maybe Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5All He Knew Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Where the Watermelons Grow Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Worse Than Weird Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Just Like That Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Everywhere Blue Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dream, Annie, Dream Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Love, Ish Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fifty-Four Things Wrong with Gwendolyn Rogers Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Treasure Tracks Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5
Children's Social Themes For You
Bridge to Terabithia Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dragonet Prophecy: Wings of Fire, Book 1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Winnie-the-Pooh Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5New Kid Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The School for Good and Evil: Now a Netflix Originals Movie Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Smart Cookie Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The One and Only Bob Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Bad Case of Stripes Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pax Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The One and Only Ivan Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Out of My Mind Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ghost Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Harold & The Purple Crayon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Adventures of Captain Underpants: Color Edition (Captain Underpants #1): Captain Underpants, Book 1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Between the Lines Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wish Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Happiness Trap: How to Stop Struggling and Start Living Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Skull: A Tyrolean Folktale Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Darkstalker: Wings of Fire: Legends, Book 1 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Unwanteds Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Melissa (previously published as GEORGE) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Lost Year: A Survival Story of the Ukrainian Famine (National Book Award Finalist) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Good Egg Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Unteachables Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The School for Good and Evil #2: A World without Princes: Now a Netflix Originals Movie Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Captive Kingdom Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Days With Frog and Toad Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Chrysanthemum Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for The Ethan I Was Before
32 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ethan and Coralee are two characters I can’t stop thinking about. Their story is so sad and yet hopeful that I wanted them to make it beyond the hurts from their pasts. Ethan’s family has moved in with his grandfather in a small seaside town in Georgia so that Ethan can have a fresh start. Ethan is feeling guilty because of an accident that happened to his best friend. He meets outspoken fun Coralee at school and feels like this friendship is helping him, but Coralee has secrets and tells stories that people say aren’t true. I loved this story with its adventure, and struggles, big and small, that many kids have to deal with. Interwoven in this main story are side stories and characters that come alive too. I can recommend this to older kids and adults.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Excellent, heartwarming, young adult novel about a young boy dealing with losing his best friend. A must read.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Ethan's best friend Kasey was in a tragic accident and it was all Ethan's fault. In that moment, Ethan was changed forever. Can Ethan move on? Can Ethan ever get his care-free life back?Wow. Words cannot describe how much I enjoyed this book. I could not put it down. The characters were real, flawed, and struggling to deal with their own demons. When Ethan meets the many colorful characters in his new town, I love how Ethan learns from them and learns how to forgive himself. This is a must-read book for grades four and up. Do not let this one sit on your TBR pile for long!