Review for No and Me by Delphine de Vigan

When I got this book through my letter box to review I hadn’t heard anything about it before but thought that it sounded good enough. Shortly after receiving it I started seeing it everywhere. In 3 for 2 offers in bookshops, being reviewed on blogs and just generally seeming to be read and enjoyed by everybody everywhere so I bumped it up on the TBR pile and picked it up when I fancied a quick read earlier on this week. The story starts when our heroine intelligent, quirky Lou has to do a presentation (which she loathes) in front of her class. Lou chooses to do her presentation on the homeless and introduces herself to No a teenage girl living on the streets. The pair start meeting so Lou can take notes on No’s thoughts on street life. Touched by No’s story, once Lou’s research is finished Lou finds that she can’t just turn her back on No and persuades her parents to let her stay with them even though their home life is far from perfect. Lou’s family is falling to pieces. Ever since her baby sister died her mothers been deeply depressed and hasn’t left the house in years whilst Lou’s father is struggling to hold their family together. With No living with the Bertignac’s her presence forces the family to come together and challenges their beliefs on friendship, family and the true meaning of home. I found this book to be highly original. I’d never read or even heard of for that matter a book about homelessness before and it’s a real eye opener. No and Me made me consider things that I’d never really gave much thought to before and made me question the concept of home and family and what they truly mean. This book has a big message and plenty of lessons to be learned within its pages and some parts are so true and brilliant that they brought tears to my eyes on quiet a few occasions. There’s nothing else quiet like No and Me out there for teens at the moment and I think it would be a really good book for them to read. This certainly isn’t a book just for teens though. In fact there’s both a young adult and adult version on the market and I can really see why. No and Me has something to offer everyone and is the perfect book for book clubs or families to share. Like the story itself it will bring people together. I loved the characters of Lou and Lucas, they felt very real and developed to me especially as they both try to fix No because they can’t fix their own situations at home. No sparked some mixed emotions in me sometimes I wanted to hug her and look after her and other times I wanted to shake some sense into her. I didn’t agree with a lot of her actions but I could understand why she did them. I really loved seeing how each character grew through out the book especially Lou who’s intelligent yet naive a lot of teens will relate to her and I think she’s a YA heroine to look up to. Above all what made this book for me was the writing. Delphine de Vigan has a wonderful voice. Sometimes with books that are translated the writing can feel a little unnatural at times but No and Me sailed along beautifully. The writing feels almost poetic at times it really is wonderful - one of the most well written books that I’ve read all year. The only fault I had with this book was that I would of liked a bit more of a story just to give it that un put down able edge that I feel it lacked a little bit. That a side though I can appreciate it for what it is. I can see why this books doing so well at the moment and I warmly recommend it. Buy it, read it and pass it around to your family and friends. Lend it to your mums or children because it’s guaranteed to bring families together and warm your hearts. 4 stars. My Rating 4/5 stars **** Thanks go to Bloomsbury for providing a copy of this book for review.