2012 Puddly Awards
 
 
Follow us on TwitterFollow us on FacebookFollow us on TumblrSubscribe to RSS


Recently Viewed clear list


Interviews | January 24, 2012

Jill Owens: IMG Ben Marcus: The Powells.com Interview



Ben MarcusBen Marcus's books The Age of Wire and String and Notable American Women were considered "experimental" fiction because of his unconventional use of... Continue »
  1. $18.17 Sale Hardcover add to wish list

    The Flame Alphabet

    Ben Marcus 9780307379375

spacer
Free Shipping!

Ships free on qualified orders.
$8.50
Used Hardcover
Ships in 1 to 3 days
Add to Wishlist
Qty Store Section
1 Burnside Children's Young Adult- General

More copies of this ISBN

eBook editions

Me, the Missing, and the Dead

by Jenny Valentine

Me, the Missing, and the Dead Cover

 

Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

Me: Lucas Swain—I'm nearly sixteen years old and live in London. I was fairly normal until the night I found Violet. Then everything changed.

The Missing: Dad. He disappeared five years ago. Nobody knows what happened to him, and nobody cares except me. It's enough to drive you crazy.

The Dead: That's Violet . . . in the urn. Speaking of crazy—I know she's trying to tell me something, and I think it's about my father. . . .

A dead lady may not be much to go on, but my dad's out there somewhere, and it's up to me to find out where.

Review:

"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. A first novel with a voice that sings." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

About the Author

Jenny Valentine worked in a food shop for fifteen years, where she met many extraordinary people and sold more organic bread than there are words in her first book. She studied English literature at Goldsmith's College, which almost made her stop reading but not quite. Her debut novel, Me, the Missing, and the Dead, won the prestigious Guardian Children's Fiction Prize in the UK under the title Finding Violet Park. Jenny is married to a singer/songwriter and has two children. She lives in Hay on Wye, England.

Product Details

ISBN:
9780060850685
Author:
Valentine, Jenny
Publisher:
Harper Teen
Author:
by Jenny Valentine
Subject:
Mysteries, Espionage, & Detective Stories
Subject:
Death
Subject:
Missing persons
Subject:
Social Issues - Adolescence
Subject:
Social Issues - Self-Esteem & Self-Reliance
Subject:
Situations / Adolescence
Subject:
London (england)
Subject:
Children s Young Adult-Social Issue Fiction-Adolescence
Subject:
Children s Young Adult-Social Issue Fiction
Copyright:
Edition Description:
Hardcover
Publication Date:
20080431
Binding:
HARDCOVER
Grade Level:
from 9
Language:
English
Pages:
208
Dimensions:
7.48x5.78x.80 in. .61 lbs.
Age Level:
from 14

Other books you might like

  1. $10.95 Used Hardcover add to wish list

    Bird

    Rita Murphy 9780385730181
  2. $4.50 Used Trade Paper add to wish list
  3. $5.50 Used Trade Paper add to wish list

    47

    Walter Mosley 9780316016353
  4. $7.50 Used Hardcover add to wish list

    Pendragon #09: Raven Rise

    D J Machale 9781416914181
  5. $7.98 Google eBooks add to wish list

    Suite Scarlett

    Maureen Johnson 9780545232005
  6. $9.99 Google eBooks add to wish list

Related Aisles

Me, the Missing, and the Dead Used Hardcover
0 stars - 0 reviews
$8.50 In Stock
Product details 208 pages Harperteen - English 9780060850685 Reviews:
"Publishers Weekly Review" by , "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. A first novel with a voice that sings." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review) (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)
spacer
spacer
  • back to top
Follow us on...


Powell's City of Books is an independent bookstore in Portland, Oregon, that fills a whole city block with more than a million new, used, and out of print books. Shop those shelves — plus literally millions more books, DVDs, and eBooks — here at Powells.com.