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Me, the Missing, and the Dead
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When a series of chance events leaves him in possession of an urn with ashes, sixteen-year-old Londoner, Lucas Swain, becomes convinced that its occupant, Violet Park, is communicating with him, initiating a voyage of self-discovery that forces him to finally confront the events surrounding his father's
… More »When a series of chance events leaves him in possession of an urn with ashes, sixteen-year-old Londoner, Lucas Swain, becomes convinced that its occupant, Violet Park, is communicating with him, initiating a voyage of self-discovery that forces him to finally confront the events surrounding his father's sudden disappearance.
« LessSwain, Lucas - (Male) Father has been missing for five years; dead woman named, Violet is trying to help him find his father
The Horn Book
(Middle School, High School) You might not want to invite the titular trio over for dinner, but they do make intriguing company. "Me" stands for London teen Lucas Swain, who pays homage to his absentee father (a.k.a. the missing) by wearing the clothes he left behind when he disappeared five years earlier. The third member of the group, Violet, has already been cremated when Lucas first meets her in a taxi office, the urn containing her ashes having been ditched in the back seat of a cab around the time of his father's exit. Thus, Valentine sets in motion a dark comedy in which the two most vivid characters appear mainly in the mind of another. Lucas never knew "the old lady in the box," as the cab company boss calls Violet, but he somehow feels her calling out to him. As he repeatedly stumbles upon evidence that she and his father were connected, he also shapes a new portrait of his father that is less flattering than the one he has held on to for so long. (In short, Dad was a cad.) Though characters other than the core three are sketchy, the mystery that unravels both inside and outside of Lucas's head will keep readers entertained. From HORN BOOK, Copyright © The Horn Book, used with permission.
Kirkus Reviews
Deciding to hire a cab with the ten pounds his sister left in his jacket after borrowing it, Lucas enters a London cab company office to find himself mystically drawn to Violet, the dead inhabitant of an urn left behind by a fare years earlier. Lucas's own father had gone missing right about the time his younger brother was born, and his mother has never managed to let go of her anger and loss. Thus, the journey of discovery to find where Violet belongs becomes in part Lucas's attempt to come to terms with his own circumstances. Readers never learn whether it's his own loss that draws him to the answers, or whether Violet somehow leads him along through a series of interviews that enlighten both his and Violet's shadowed pasts. The voice is fresh and humorous, which keeps the melodrama low and the atmosphere light. Everyday quirkiness brings the secondary characters to life as distinct individuals, and fortuitous turns in the plot lead to the answers to Lucas's critical questions. Charmingly told, this mystery manages to be both frothy and nourishing. (Fiction. YA) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
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The British and Canadian editions were published under the title "Finding Violet Park."