I recently received a new book to check out and review called, I'm Nobody: The Lost Pages by Alex Marestaing. This book centers around a teenage boy named Caleb Reed. He has a lot of issues and that is actually what draws you in and gets you hooked....fast. His dad actually thinks he is losing his cookies altogether. Alex Marestaing does a great job of adding really interesting elements into the story little by little to keep you engaged. He has an older sister who died to add to the drama.
Thirteen year old Caleb watches the same episode of America's Funniest Home Videos over and over....for the past 6 years. Yes, the same episode. You know he has some issues but that is what makes the book so funny. He has a lot of kooky regimens that he follows. He hasn't even been out of the house since who knows when either to add to the drama. The author adds an abandoned mansion across the street to get Caleb even more off kilter and adds to his daily obsessions.
Then someone named "Emily Dickinson" leaves an odd note on his doorstep. Even freakier, it's folded perfectly and wrapped up in black ribbon. The note says, "I'm nobody. Who are you?" it reads. "Are you nobody too?" This is just the beginning.
Strange, poetic messages continue to arrive at his doorstep and Caleb ventures outside a little bit more and more to get them. He wonders obsessively who these notes are from. Are they from someone already deceased like the real Emily Dickinson or maybe his poor sister that died a few years ago? Are the notes from Iris, the YouTube obsessed eighth grader who has begun filming an indie film on his street? Has his deceased older sister returned from the grave to deliver some sort of message?
With his sanity in question, Caleb Reed's entire existence depends on finding an answer.
My thoughts: This is a riveting book which keeps twisting and turning as you read deeper into it. Just when you think you have an answer then you realize you don't. I like the way the personalities develop and you gain an inside look into Caleb and his family. I think that is why I enjoy reading so much more than tv or even movies. You can go at your own pace with a good book and let your mind take you on a fun ride wherever the author goes. This is a good book for a summer beach read or a long weekend getaway.
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