No and Me by Delphine De Vigan
Bloomsbury, 2010. ISBN:
9780747599838.
Target audience: secondary students of any age. This engaging story is
narrated through the eyes Lou Bertignac, a 13 year girl with an IQ of
160 who has been accelerated into year 11. As with many academically
gifted teenagers Lou struggles to fit in. On the first page there is a
situation at school where "Brains has been caught out", and she admits
that she loathes talking in front of the class. Later on she states,
"all my life I've felt on the outside wherever I am".At home Lou
feels that her mother doesn't love her anymore, since the death of her
baby sister Chloe. Lou sees violence in silence. In reality the
mother is suffering severe depression and rarely leaves the house.
Lou often goes to Austerlitz railway station in Paris just to sit and
watch the emotions of the arriving and departing passengers, as she is
bereft of emotion at home. There she meets 18 year No, a frail
homeless girl who asked for a smoke.They develop a friendship
and Lou incorporates No into her school assignment, with her
permission, on homelessness. Later on Lou asks her parents
whether No can live with them and they surprisingly say yes, and this
has ramifications on the family.
The other main character in the story is Lucas, a 17 year old classmate
who supports Lou at school and meets and helps No as well. The
plot largely revolves around these three characters and their
relationships. The simple narrative makes the book easy to read.
It incorporates contemporary issues of grief, mental illness,
friendship, troubled teens, neglect, family life and the nature of
homelessness. It is thought provoking, disheartening and hopeful
in equal measures. No and Me was originally a best seller in
France and a feature film is being produced in 2010.
Kay Haarsma