THROUGH QUICK And QUINN by Erica Mimran Sherlock – Contemporary Fiction, Friendships & Relationships, Grief & Loss

Through Quick and Quinn, Erica Mimran Sherlock’s young adult novel, follows two intertwined journeys of grief, healing, and questioning the status quo.

The titular characters Quick and Quinn both experienced family tragedies at a young age but deal with the aftermath in very different ways. After Quick’s family moves to a new town in an attempt to get away from so many memories of what they had lost, Quick and Quinn start attending the same school. Shortly thereafter, in their junior year, everything changes.

While working together on a class assignment, Quick and Quinn find they share an interest in research. Their friendship slowly grows beyond their shared hobby and becomes the missing piece of each other’s healing journey.

With graduation creeping ever closer, Quick and Quinn have many tough decisions ahead of them.

They struggle to mend the wounds still present within themselves and their families and fear their friendship might not last. Much as Quick and Quinn hope to stay in each other’s lives, the natural course of adulthood threatens to turn adolescent relationships into mere fond memories.

The characters of Quick and Quinn come alive through their shared but distinct experiences with grief and tragedy.

Everyone deals with grief and trauma differently, with Quick retreating to the internet for his “digs” and Quinn drawing towards meditation and crystals. The supporting characters throughout Through Quick and Quinn are understated but support the narrative’s focus on the two protagonists.

Young readers will relate to Quick and Quinn’s feeling of not belonging as they start high school, as well as how one teacher can make all the difference.

The emotional focus of the story is very effective. Quick and Quinn are well fleshed-out and their interactions are complex and meaningful as their internal journeys through grief and healing grow organically from their similar pasts. This demonstrates how important their relationship truly is.

Erica Mimran Sherlock’s Through Quick and Quinn is a debut young adult novel about growing up and growing out of grief, and how life-changing the power of love can be.