Me, the Missing, and the Dead

Starred review from April 21, 2008
It's difficult to pinpoint just what makes this British debut so quietly disturbing yet so compulsively readable. Valentine simultaneously attempts a detective caper, a commentary on euthanasia and a youth's pithy send up of an unfair world—and succeeds. Despite its oddball plot, in which 15-year-old Lucas inadvertently stumbles upon an abandoned urn of ashes in a cab depot and, in an uncanny twist of fate, unearths the truth about his father, who disappeared five years earlier, the novel raises serious questions about death even as it exposes the entrails of a broken family. Even with the heavy subject matter, Valentine gives humor free reign, as Lucas mouths off in cheeky British twang about his annoying sister, his lack of friends and his sense that he is the only one still holding a torch for his father. Ages 14–up. A memorable new voice.

One night 15-year-old Lucas Swain decides to take a cab home. In the cab station, Lucas notices a cremation urn, which he learns was abandoned several years earlier. Although he tries to forget about the urn, it continues to haunt him--until he finally decides to find out about the person, Violet Park, whose remains no one wants. Lucas feels a mysterious connection to Violet, one he can't explain. John Keating's narration is delightful as the hapless youngster slowly uncovers facts about Violet's life. At the same time, Lucas discovers the solution to a mystery that has plagued his own life. Although author Jenny Valentine relies heavily on improbable coincidence, the story works, thanks to Keating's credible adult characterizations and ingenuous treatment of Lucas. S.J.H. (c) AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine