REVIEW: No and Me by Delphine De Vigan

Review by Kate

Lou Bertignac has an IQ of 160 and a good friend in class rebel Lucas. At home her father puts a brave face on things but cries in secret in the bathroom, while her mother rarely speaks and hardly ever leaves the house.

To escape this desolate world, Lou goes often to Gare d'Austerlitz to see the big emotions in the smiles and tears of arrival and departure. But there she also sees the homeless, meets a girl called No, only a few years older than herself, and decides to make homelessness the topic of her class presentation.

Bit by bit, Lou and No become friends until, the project over, No disappears. Heartbroken, Lou asks her parents the unaskable question and her parents say: Yes, No can come to live with them. So Lou goes down into the underworld of Paris's street people to bring her friend up to the light of a home and family life, she thinks.

I’m very glad I agreed to review this book, it’s one I probably wouldn’t have picked up in Waterstones but I’ve enjoyed it regardless. As a book it’s very serious, don’t expect there to be a punchline on every page, but at the same time it isn’t depressing, though that is the impression one might get from reading the synopsis.

The story is very descriptive to the point that the reader almost feels like they are Lou. Lou is a very naïve character who likes to think that everything in the world has a system and that if she can teach herself that system, then she will know exactly how the world works. Of course it doesn’t work like that and the character of No opens her up to the real world more and more as the story progresses. The two characters complement each other very well and although No is technically poorer than Lou, with No around Lou’s life grows richer.

The book itself is made up of short chapters of about four pages long. This makes it very easy for the reader to convince themselves to read “just one more chapter”, which soon turns into ten more and going to bed at insane times. In my opinion, the best books are the most addictive ones and this one is definitely addictive.

I found this book a pleasure to read and my only slight annoyance was the ending of the book. Whilst it had a sense of being finished, there were still some questions I wanted answering, almost as if we should expect a continuation of the story from De Vigan.

I would recommend “No and Me” to anyone who enjoys a more serious read from time to time. A very mature read; I’m sure adults will enjoy this as much as teens.

Review by Kate

No and Me is officially released on 1st March, but is already in stock at some UK bookshops.

Comments

[Jo]

Awesome review, Kate! I have this book sitting in my TBR pile. I haven't read it yet because it's just not appealing to me, but after your review, I think I'll read it soon! It sounds awesome, and I'm now really looking forward to it! Thank you! :)

[Sophie]

Great review, Kate! I'm not sure that this is my thing, but I'm glad you enjoyed it!

[Kate]

Thanks for the comments, glad you both enjoyed it :D

[Carly]

I just finished reading this one and I absolutely adored it :). It's so well writte and I actually loved the uncertainty of the ending. Thanks for the review!

[Ria]

Ohh! Sounds great!
Cover= brilliant (:
Ria x

[Kate Pinn]

Superb review! This book sounds really interesting and I like having the odd serious book from time to time!

[Yunaleska]

I enjoyed this book - again, I probably wouldn't have picked it up in a book shop, so I'm glad I got it by request.

[Becky (The Bookette)]

I have this to review and I cannot wait to read it. I love books in translation and this one sound so quirky. Great review.