I <3 Jenny Valentine
One of the books on the shortlist for the Morris Award was ME, THE MISSING, AND THE DEAD by Jenny Valentine. I read it yesterday morning while sipping coffee and enjoying being back home after a long road trip. WOW...
The ME in this case is Lucas Swain, a teenager whose father has disappeared. Lucas desperately wants to locate the whereabouts of his journalist Dad, but there has not been a word from him in a long time (he is the MISSING in the title). While waiting for a cab one night, Lucas sees a cremation urn sitting on a shelf in the cab headquarters. He feels an immediate connection to this forgotten container and through a series of events, comes to possess the remains of one Violet Park (and now here is THE DEAD). Somehow the person who was Violet, the man who was Lucas' father: these two mysterious figures will lead Lucas somewhere he could never have discovered on his own. Funny, a tad creepy at times, bittersweet, strange: this is a story that defies description. Part mystery, part coming of age, part coming to acceptance, and wholly absorbing, this debut novel is a wonderful read and a perfect way to have spent a rainy Sunday morning.
The ME in this case is Lucas Swain, a teenager whose father has disappeared. Lucas desperately wants to locate the whereabouts of his journalist Dad, but there has not been a word from him in a long time (he is the MISSING in the title). While waiting for a cab one night, Lucas sees a cremation urn sitting on a shelf in the cab headquarters. He feels an immediate connection to this forgotten container and through a series of events, comes to possess the remains of one Violet Park (and now here is THE DEAD). Somehow the person who was Violet, the man who was Lucas' father: these two mysterious figures will lead Lucas somewhere he could never have discovered on his own. Funny, a tad creepy at times, bittersweet, strange: this is a story that defies description. Part mystery, part coming of age, part coming to acceptance, and wholly absorbing, this debut novel is a wonderful read and a perfect way to have spent a rainy Sunday morning.