The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester by Maya MacGregor: an addictive, diverse YA mystery

Sam Sylvester’s not overly optimistic about their recent move to the small town of Astoria, Oregon after a traumatic experience in their last home in the rural Midwest.

Yet Sam’s life seems to be on the upswing after meeting several new friends and a potential love interest in Shep, the pretty neighbor. However, Sam can’t seem to let go of what might have been, and is drawn to investigate the death of a teenage boy in 1980s Astoria. Sam’s convinced he was murdered–especially since Sam’s investigation seems to resurrect some ghosts in the town.

Threatening notes and figures hidden in shadows begin to disrupt Sam’s life. Yet Sam continues to search for the truth. When Sam discovers that they may be closer to a killer than previously known, Sam has a difficult decision to make. Would they risk their new life for a half-lived one?

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The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester: My Thoughts

Well… where do I start? What do I say about this book coherently without just screaming? This is one of those books that I thought I’d like, but I didn’t expect to like it this much. As Lady Gaga once said, “Talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, showstopping”… etc. You get the drift.

Range of Representation: Sexuality, Gender, Autism & Mental Health

One of the things that drew me to this book in the first place, and that made me love it so much, is the vast range of representation that it has.

The main character Sam is non-binary (using they/them pronouns), autistic, and on the ace spectrum; Sam’s dad is Black, aro-ace, and adopted Sam as a single father; and most of Sam’s friends in school are under the LGBTQ+ umbrella. Shep, Sam’s friend-turned-love interest, is latinx and bisexual while others are BIPOC and/or LGBTQ+. The staff at Sam’s new school try to be as inclusive and supportive as possible too, which was lovely to see.

It’s such a colourful book in terms of diversity and it makes the story so much more interesting when the characters aren’t all just cis, white, hetero (I can’t remember the last time I actually read a book like that because they’re so plain and boring!). It felt relatable to me in various ways, as someone who is also queer, somewhere on the ace spectrum, and has lots of feelings about gender identity – and I hope it feels that way to other readers too, whether they’re LGBTQ+, autistic, etc.

I’d be very interested to recommend this book to some of my autistic friends. I’d love to have a discussion with them about the autistic representation as I can’t judge this myself as a non-autistic person, but other reviews I’ve seen have said the rep is great! (Considering the author themself is autistic, I trust that Sam’s story has been told from a place of real-life experience, and it really felt that way when I read it.)

The Story & the Mystery

This book is, first and foremost, a mystery. Sam Sylvester’s special interest is collecting research about people who passed away before they reached the age of 19. As Sam is approaching that age, and has experienced a considerable amount of trauma in the years previous to them moving to a new town where the story is set, they fear that the same will happen to them: that they won’t live past the age of 19.

This is exacerbated by the fact that when Sam and their dad move to Astoria, they unknowingly move into the house where Billy, one of the kids Sam has been researching, died thirty years ago. And not only that, but Sam realises Billy must have died in Sam’s bedroom. Not exactly a good thing to add to their already rough mental health.

Billy’s death has always been considered a tragic accident, but Sam isn’t so sure. Throughout the book, Sam and their new friend Shep decide to take matters into their own hands and investigate Billy’s death, trying to get to the bottom of why everything seems so wrong – and why Sam keeps getting strange visions, hearing sounds, and smelling scents that they think could be related to Billy. What really happened to Billy Clement, and why do so many people connected to Billy seem so quick to dismiss his death as an accident?

I’m not going to spoil anything at all, because it has to be read that way, without knowing anything. All I’ll say is that I love how the mystery played out, and so many times I thought I had it sussed and could predict what was going to happen, only for it to take a left-turn and go down a road I least expected. It had me gripped, and I read the second half of the book in just a couple of days. If you love a mystery story full of red herrings and where absolutely anyone could be a plausible suspect, you should read this.

The Other Characters

Another thing I love about a book is when it has great side characters that really contribute to the plot, and this definitely does – from Sam’s supportive dad and loyal friends, to the inclusive or mysterious teachers who become important in their own right later on down the line.

The relationship between Sam and their dad Junius is so great, and I love the dynamic they have. They care for each other so much, and they know they’ve both been through some tough times, so they’re very protective of each other. Junius deserves the whole world. I became so attached to his character and their relationship that when things happened to him that I was definitely not expecting, I actually gasped (which doesn’t happen very often – generally, I’m not a very emotive reader!).

Then there are Sam’s friends, who they meet at Rainbow Island, the school’s LGBTQ+ club run by a really great teacher called Mr Quach. (Mr Quach is assigned to Sam as their case manager who will work with them on their IEP, and he becomes quite an important character later on.)

Sam’s friends, particularly Shep, Sky, Ronnie, and Aidan (who actually starts out as a not-very-nice popular kid who goes through some excellent character growth), all do their bit to help Sam fit into their new life in Astoria. Later on, they’re instrumental in helping Sam with their investigation into Billy’s death. They’re all behind Sam every step of the way, never once deserting them, backing down when they learn about Sam’s previous trauma, or deciding not to get involved.

By now, it’s a known thing that I love a book with really great friendships (which I also talked about in my book review of Sara Barnard’s Something Certain, Maybe), and the loyalty and diversity of the friendship group in this one was great!

Final Thoughts

This is the first time in a while that I’ve finished a book and then immediately wanted to pick it up and read it again the next day. It’s sitting next to me now as I write this, and the temptation to read it again is strong. I’ll be thinking about it for days, and I’ll definitely be telling everyone to pick up a copy. (Just please note the content warnings below, because there are quite a few.)

Content warnings: transphobia and misgendering, homophobia, biphobia/bi-erasure, ableism, racism, alcoholism, death/grief, murder, poisoning, anaphylactic allergy reactions

About the Author

Maya MacGregor is an author, singer, and artist based in Glasgow, Scotland. Their pronouns are they/them. A fluent Gaelic speaker, Maya is active in many community activities in Gaelic music as well as writing contemporary YA and adult fiction (as Emmie Mears and M. Evan MacGriogair). They have a degree in history and are passionate about writing the stories for teens they wish had existed when they were younger, filling them with the type of people who have always populated their world.

The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester is Maya’s first YA novel, and they are working on another they hope to share soon. Like Sam, Maya is autistic. Also like Sam, they spent much of their life learning to mask autistic behaviours. Some of Maya’s special interests are:

• Gaelic (which you can now learn on Duolingo!)
• Dragon Age (especially Dragon Age: Inquisition!)
• Gaelic poetry and song (particularly puirt-a-beul!)

Visit them at mayamacgregor.com, or follow them on Twitter or Instagram.