Evidence of Things Not Seen

xxpish - Tommy Smythe has gone missing. No one knows where he went, and nobody’s sure if he does either. His bike was found by the pull-out. You see, Tommy was, is, a science “geek” so to speak. He believes in wormholes and parallel universes and is really interested in quantum physics. For all anyone knows, he could’ve gone through a wormhole. Told from 21 unique perspectives that are all centered around the pull-out and connected to Tommy’s disappearance, Lindsey Lane’s debut gives you insight on the lives of people all sharing something in common, while having completely different stories. My thoughts: This book was very intriguing. It’s about the disappearance of Tommy, but the story isn’t actually really that focused on Tommy. It’s really cool, taking a look at all these characters lives and getting to know them a little bit. It basically is a book of short stories that are all related to Tommy and the pull-out, and that’s what made me want to pick it up and read it. I’m glad I did. There were a couple of chapters that were definitely for a more mature audience. I thought this book was a thought-provoking, fresh and different read that broadens your horizons to other people’s lives and shows you that nobody has it perfect. A nice added touch were the journal entries from Tommy’s journal in every chapter. They really made you think, and put a nice little bow on the gift. All in all, I would recommend this book for anyone in the mid/upper YA category who wants a quirky and intelligent read.

September 29, 2014
In her first novel for teens, Lane, author of the picture book Snuggle Mountain, offers a gripping and genre-bending mosaic centered around the sudden disappearance of physics-obsessed high school junior Tommy Smythe. Lane presents the first-person narratives of characters being interviewed by the small Texas town's sheriff about Tommy and third-person vignettes that read like character studies. Chatty Kimmie Jo is exploring her Mexican identity; Marshall attempts a romantic relationship with the new girl in town, who has a troubled past; Alvin is inspired by Tommy to conceive of a life away from his abusive father and thankless employment at a salvage yard; Maricela, a migrant worker, wishes for a more stable life; while many others consider their futures. Ponderings from Tommy's notebook about quantum physics appear throughoutâspecifically, questions of parallel dimensions and infinite possibilitiesâblurring the boundaries between observable reality and the unseen. Each character has some connection, even if tangential, to Tommy, whose disappearance speaks to the inscrutability of time, the universe, and the construction of individual truths. Ages 12âup. Agent: Erin Murphy, Erin Murphy Literary Agency.

July 15, 2014
When a high school boy obsessed with quantum physics suddenly disappears, friends and neighbors reveal details of their lives as they speculate on his whereabouts.When Tommy Smythe's abandoned motorbike is found by the side of the road in a clearing known as the Stillwell pullout, the local sheriff begins his investigation by questioning residents of the small Texas town. The first-person interviews are interspersed with third-person stories of others who had nominally come into contact with Tommy or the pullout, as well as excerpts from Tommy's journal, in which he wrote his musings about parallel universes. Tommy's disappearance serves as an unsubtle metaphor for the alienation and frustration found in the lives of the people around him, who also sometimes wish they could vanish or escape to another dimension. Among these are Kimmie Jo, who is tired of not having her Mexican heritage recognized; Alvin, who wants to break free from his abusive father; Jake, who doesn't know if he's brave enough to leave the family farm for college; and Tara, who is trying to forgive her dead father for the secret double life that led to his murder. While the novel's concept and structure are thought-provoking, the prose is often repetitive and mundane.Still, readers interested in physics or drawn to character-driven stories may find something here to like, even though Tommy and his fate remain ciphers. (Fiction. 14-18)

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July 1, 2014

Gr 9 Up-Tommy Smythe is brilliant, awkward with people, and missing. His classmates haven't seen him, his father can't find him, and no one knows where he could have gone. As the days tick by with no sign of him, Tommy's fascination with theoretical physics and science leads some to wonder if Tommy has managed to do the impossible-to step through a portal or pass into another dimension. The story unfolds through interviews with witnesses, scraps of scribbled notes from Tommy himself, and private moments between seemingly unrelated people. Tommy's disappearance is at the forefront of some stories, at the back of others. Chapters are arranged by lead-characters or items, some more hard-hitting than others, but the picture of a small border town caught up in a mystery and bound by its secrets is an intriguing one that Lane does well. Some chapters do deal with more adult subject matter (drug use, teen pregnancy, racism, prostitution) and adult language is prevalent throughout, but isn't gratuitous. Give to fans of Holly Goldberg Sloan's I'll be There (Little, Brown, 2012) and Todd Strasser's Give a Boy a Gun (S. & S., 2002).-Clair Segal, Horace Mann School, New York City

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