Printz Award-winning author Meg Rosoff's latest novel is a gorgeous and unforgettable page-turner about the relationship between parents and children, love and loss.
Mila has an exceptional talent for reading a room—sensing hidden facts and unspoken emotions from clues that others overlook. So when her father’s best friend, Matthew, goes missing from his upstate New York home, Mila and her beloved father travel from London to find him. She collects information about Matthew from his belongings, from his wife and baby, from the dog he left behind and from the ghosts of his past—slowly piecing together the story everyone else has missed. But just when she’s closest to solving the mystery, a shocking betrayal calls into question her trust in the one person she thought she could read best.
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful.
Fresh and compelling coming-of-age novel
By Zarina @ Page to Stage reviews
Mila and her father have travelled all the way from England to the USA to visit one of her father's best friends who they both haven't seen in years. However, when the friend goes missing before they even arrive the two of them set out on a roadtrip in an attempt to find him. On their journey they meet an eclectic range of individuals, from a friendly waitress in a roadside diner to a teenaged boy in a cabin in the woods - and their mission to find one missing man turns into an eye-opening adventure for Mila.I read Meg Rosoff's arguably most famous novel 'How I Live Now' several years ago and I was really taken in by this unique story and Rosoff's style of writing. In fact, I loved the novel so much that I picked it as the book I gave out on World Book Night 2013, which was my personal attempt to get more people to read it. So I was very excited when a few weeks ago I found out that the author had just released a new young adult novel and I thought the blurb sounded really interesting too.First off I should say that this really feels like a Rosoff novel. The sentence structure is short and to the point and while the book looks small, there's a lot of story packed within the pages. Once again there are no quotation marks which I assume to mean that none of the words that are attributed to the characters can actually be taken at face value as they're all retold by the protagonist Mila herself.The incredibly clever Mila is a delight to read about and I particularly loved discovering the US, its people and their customs through her British eyes. She's witty, wise and her astonishing perception of the world around her made for a fascinating view on and unique approach to some very serious adult themes.The one thing that did feel implausible to me throughout the novel was that Mila is supposed to be only 12-years-old. Her remarkable intelligence aside, she consistently acted and was treated as someone at least five years her senior. With her father heavily leaning on her for support she often came across as the adult in situations she shouldn't have been put in the first place.Her relationship with her (former) best friend Cat also felt a little out of the field and while frequently touched upon, didn't seem to serve a purpose in its own right and was left unresolved at the end. This was a shame, because a girl her own age could've been exactly what the novel needed to bring the character closer to herself, but Cat too acted much older than she really is, which added to the confusion from a reader's perspective.These two issues aside I did find 'Picture Me Gone' an interesting and compelling coming-of-age novel. Rosoff's witty writing style suited Mila very well and made this a fresh contemporary story, recommendable for teenagers on the verge of adulthood.3.5 stars
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful.
Picture Me Here
By Jamieson Wolf
Mila has an unusual way of seeing things.She can read a room the way others read body language. She can look at every day ordinary objects and learn about the people that inhabit them. She can also read people in the same way, knowing that what they’re saying and what they actually mean often aren’t the same thing.When her father’s best friend goes missing right before Mila and Gil are supposed to visit, they make the trip from London to America anyways to look for Matthew. However, the situation is jarring for Mila, everything is out of place.His beloved dog, Honey, has been left at home. So have his wife and new child. What’s going on? No one would just walk away from all that. There is more going on than meets the eye, but no one looks at the world quite like Mila and she’s determined to find answers.Mila is also worried about her friend Cat. Her parents are going through a divorce and they are tearing her world apart. Can Mila make sure that Cat is all right even as they go to another country?Everyone involved in Matthew’s disappearance is hiding something. However, when the betrayal happens, it turns Mila’s world inside out and leaving her questioning everything she thinks she knows...Every novel by Meg Rosoff is different. We’ve been treated to a post apocalyptic tale, a story about Fate, a historical novel and magical realism. Rosoff again changes track and gives us Picture Me Gone which is a combination of a mystery entwined around a coming of age story.Rosoff’s strength lies in the characters and worlds she creates. Mila will pull you into her story from page one. It helps that there are no quotation marks around dialogue, so that it’s as if you’re reading Mila’s diary or thoughts.Mila is also a phenomenal character, both sympathetic and intelligent. Her story is instantly readable because her voice is so real. It as if you’re merely reading words that are already inside you so true is Rosoff’s tone and pitch.Rosoff also doesn’t pull any punches. Her novels always deal with life’s tougher subject without sugar coating them, particularly unusual in young adult fiction. She doesn’t talk down to her audience but instead forces us to look at the world through her characters with unflinching beauty.It also deals with coming of age and parallels. Gil is not abandoning Matthew and Mila won’t abandon Cat. Learning about the story between Cat and Mila just deepens her character and our understanding of her.This is a novel that deals with relationships, people we love, secrets, lies and betrayals. It is also a novel of what truth is and the strength of the human heart-and Meg Rosoff handles all these things and more with grace, beauty and aplomb.I can’t wait to read it again.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful.
Once
By Once Upon a Twilight
Londoner, Mila, takes a trip with her father, Gil, to New York where they are supposed to meet with Gil's long time best friend, Matthew. The only problem is that Matthew has gone missing. Leaving behind a wife, a baby, and his dog without a single note or trace. So, Mila and Gil set out to find him. Their advantage is that Mila is highly perceptive of all small, unnoticed details that surround her. When she is close to putting all of the pieces together she clicks the last one into place and it completely sets her off. How could she have missed the signs of the one person she thought she could read best?I really, really liked Mila and often times found myself forgetting she was even 12. She sounds much older. I love how aware she is and how peculiar she is about details. Makes me wish I was like that!I did not expect to enjoy this book as much as I did. The "plot" didn't really interest me that much but I found myself liking the writing style Rosoff brings so it was easier for me to like the book in its entirety. Picture Me Gone is a fun and light read and holds enough mystery to keep your attention. - Bianca
