After reading the description of Evidence of Things Not Seen, I
was really looking forward to reading this mystery with a touch of
science fiction. As I opened the book, I quickly discovered that the
book blurb describing a coming different book.
Description: When high school junior Tommy Smythe goes missing, everyone has a theory about what happened to him. Tommy was adopted, so maybe he ran away to find his birth parents. He was an odd kid, often deeply involved in his own thoughts about particle physics, so maybe he just got distracted and wandered off. He was last seen at a pull-out off the highway, so maybe someone drove up and snatched him. Or maybe he slipped into a parallel universe. Tommy believes that everything is possible, and that until something can be proven false, it is possibly true. So as long as Tommy’s whereabouts are undetermined, he could literally be anywhere.
Review: Sometimes readers get duped by a great description. This is one of those times. Evidence of Things Not Seen is composed of disjointed, confusing, and rather bizarre novellas told from a different point of view that are strung together with only one connection in that at least one character knew or even heard of Tommy. You don't revisit any of these narrators again nor do you get an answer regarding to Tommy's disappearance and by the end of the book you really don't care about any of these characters. You are actually upset that you took the time to go on this weird journey and finished without any resolution. While some of the novellas were interesting and vary in topics from hard to read topics such as a mother drugging and forcing her daughter into prostitution in order to make a living at a very young age or the very odd where a girl who sees sex and losing her virginity in a completely scientific nature and practically forces herself upon her best friend in hopes of understand what the fuss is all about.
Though the book itself was well written and had a stream of consciousness feel to to the narrative, I had no clue how these stories and topics such as abuse and rape added to the overall plot arc. In fact there were many times where I completely forgot about Tommy at all. I was completely lost with all the quantum physics talk too, perhaps that's where the answer lay. Overall I didn't understand Evidence of Things Not Seen and I can't really recommend it anyone.
Rating: 2 stars
Words of Caution: There is strong language, allusions to sex, physical abuse, and rape as well as drug use and alcohol. Recommended for strong Grades 9 readers and up.
If you like this book try: Charm and Strange by Stephanie Kuehn
Review: Sometimes readers get duped by a great description. This is one of those times. Evidence of Things Not Seen is composed of disjointed, confusing, and rather bizarre novellas told from a different point of view that are strung together with only one connection in that at least one character knew or even heard of Tommy. You don't revisit any of these narrators again nor do you get an answer regarding to Tommy's disappearance and by the end of the book you really don't care about any of these characters. You are actually upset that you took the time to go on this weird journey and finished without any resolution. While some of the novellas were interesting and vary in topics from hard to read topics such as a mother drugging and forcing her daughter into prostitution in order to make a living at a very young age or the very odd where a girl who sees sex and losing her virginity in a completely scientific nature and practically forces herself upon her best friend in hopes of understand what the fuss is all about.
Though the book itself was well written and had a stream of consciousness feel to to the narrative, I had no clue how these stories and topics such as abuse and rape added to the overall plot arc. In fact there were many times where I completely forgot about Tommy at all. I was completely lost with all the quantum physics talk too, perhaps that's where the answer lay. Overall I didn't understand Evidence of Things Not Seen and I can't really recommend it anyone.
Rating: 2 stars
Words of Caution: There is strong language, allusions to sex, physical abuse, and rape as well as drug use and alcohol. Recommended for strong Grades 9 readers and up.
If you like this book try: Charm and Strange by Stephanie Kuehn
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I'm thinking this is not the book for me Rummanah! I thought it would be more focused on Tommy, so I'm caught a little off guard that what we get instead are novellas about rape, abuse and a scientific fixation on the act of sex. I'm looking for a little something lighter around the holidays:) Thanks for your thoughts!
Ok so it wasn't just me! I thought I was supposed to like the book because it was stream of consciousness and so different, but I really haven't been able to pick it back up past the first couple of rambling narrators. So glad I'm not the only one! Great way of describing this one!!
Oh no, I'm sorry this one didn't work out! I don't think I'm going to enjoy this one at all, so I feel good about my decision to skip it. Thanks for your honest review!