Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Review -- No One You Know

No One You Know
by Michelle Richmond
Bantam Books, 2009
352 pages

Summary: Twenty years after the death of her sister Lila, Ellie comes face-to-face with her sister's lover, the man she believes killed Lila. After their brief encounter, Ellie begins to investigate what really happened to Lila on that fateful night.

Review: An interesting look at how traumatic events can change the life of those left behind, No One You Know is an engaging read. Michelle Richmond describes the very different lives of two sisters. Lila, a mathematical genius, whose life is taken away too soon and Ellie, an average girl whose life is scarred by the death of her sister. The novel is part character piece and part mystery as Ellie looks for her sister's killer more than twenty years later. The murder and it's outcome are strongly written and the ending was satisfying for this reader. I was struck by the intensity of Ellie's perceptions of herself and her place in the world, which are questioned and altered due to the death of her sister. The only difficultly I had with this book was the mathematical puzzles presented, not being interested in math I had a hard time understanding and concentrating on those sections. Rating: **** out of 5.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

I really enjoyed this, too. Her other book, The Year of Fog, is also really wonderful.

Bingo said...

I haven't read this of THE YEAR OF FOG but will have to look them up after your interesting review! Thanks!

Kelly said...

I thought this one was good too. I haven't read Richmonds first book yet, but its on the wish list.

Great review!