The Gone Book

by Helena Close

I know you'll hate me. I just know you will. But I can't help it. I'm going to find you. Matt's mam left home when he was 10. He writes letters to her but doesn't send them. He keeps them in his Gone Book, which he hides in his room. Five years of letters about his life. Five years of hurt. Matt's dad won't talk about her. His older brother is mixed up with drugs and messing with dangerous characters. His friends, Mikey and Anna, are the best thing in his life, but Matt keeps pushing them away. All Matt wants to do is skate, surf, and forget. But now his mam is back in town and Matt knows he needs to find her, to finally deliver the truth.

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction

304 pages, Paperback

Published April 2, 2020

Reviews

[Mary Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A remarkable narrative that throws the reader right into the story, this is a book that simply sings. We don't so much read it as feel it; experience it. The descriptive passages give a realistic, accurate portrayal of location and people as Matt is navigating his life, trying to leave the past behind, but finding no real guidance to move forward. He's trying to be his own person, but struggling to uncover who that is. Each character shines with a palpable, genuine quality that brings the book to life; that reveals a tangible, sometimes painful reality that is also filled with small glories. There is real heart and humour here; real emotion and action, told by a storyteller with a gift for crafting convincing voice and circumstance. A completely riveting and heartfelt family/coming-of-age drama, extremely contemporary and relevant and filled with truth, compassion and soul.

[Niamh Carmody · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping and poignant, injected with moments of sharp wit. The Gone Book is a must read. Absolutely loved it.

[Shona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn't put this down. Great dialogue, dark humour, and characters that felt very alive, including Limerick City.

[RenaR · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. The writing sparkles like a gemstone, many-faceted yet sharp, clean and lucid. Matt, the central character, is so well drawn. His awareness of the flawed adults around him grows throughout the book. The themes of friendship and first love are intricately woven into the gripping story that unfolds so beautifully. What is remarkable about Helena Close’s writing is her use of the negative space. It’s what she doesn’t tell that activates your interest and curiosity from the start. Nick Hornby does this well, but in The Gone Book, Helena Close does it better. This book deserves huge success. Simple yet layered, the writing is flawless. The characters are authentic and jumping off the page. The context of Limerick city, the river Shannon are beautifully evoked. Masterpiece!

[Emmet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Any book that opens with Dutch Gold tasting notes is bound to be a good one. It doesn't take long for the plot to get moving at an incredibly fast clip, and it becomes increasingly gripping throughout.

The characters are authentic. The dialogue is sharp. Inner-city Limerick and the Lahinch coast brilliantly play host to this powerful story.

Through Helena Close's masterful story telling, I felt part of Matt's search for the green room. We occasionally find it, but are never allowed to stay there.

An absolutely fantastic read.

[Sheila Quealey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book that tells an important story.

[chloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

my heart aches for matt, so much sympathy for him 💔

[Emma Rosina · Rating 1 out of 5]

Personally, this book really wasn’t for me. I couldn’t grasp the plot line and couldn’t see how things developed. The story felt disjointed, in my opinion. I did ,however, love how the relationship between “Dad” and Jaime became better in the end.

[Aiden · Rating 4 out of 5]

I feel like this book definitely has an audience. I personally enjoyed it, Matt's journey through what it was like to loose his mother and then have her return back too his life out of the blue and how that brings up all these emotional knots in his family relationships. Matt's mother leaves when he's around 10-11 years old Matt is the middle of 3 boys and we actually follow Matt through both the way in which his life changes after the disappearance of his mother and how his life is shifted again by her reappearance through his journals that he keeps to himself so the story becomes a sort of non linear native but it works well it's definitely an easy read due to it's talented use at making the reader feel present as if they were living the moment in Matt's shoes. It's that sort of authenticity that makes it a good read and what makes you interested in the lives of others.

[Anne Cunningham · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s difficult not to fall for a book which opens with the line: “Dutch Gold tastes like piss.” Other truths in this novel, narrated from the perspective of its 15-year-old protagonist, Matt, are not always quite so funny. It’s not funny, for instance, that Matt is so damaged by his mother leaving home five years previously that he keeps a secret journal, the ‘Gone Book” of the title, in which he writes to his mother regularly, telling her exactly what he thinks of her. Caught between missing her profoundly and hating her for leaving, Matt is a confused, wounded teenager. But he’s not as messed up as his older brother Jamie, or indeed his ever-tearful younger brother Conor.

All three brothers live with their father in an apartment in central Limerick where they watch over the city ‘like God’ from a height, loving its beauty but unfortunately getting caught up in its ugliness too. Matt’s best friend Mikey provides much of the humour and Mikey’s mother offers Matt a kind of practical maternal succour. His father is doing his best, he’s given up drinking, but he’s now addicted to AA meetings and half-marathons and forcing little Conor into punishing swim training schedules.

When Matt discovers his mother is back in Limerick, he decides has to see her. He needs to know why she left and why she’s never been in touch since. The initial encounters between mother and son are so authentic in their awkwardness, they’re just breathtaking. Limerick is no Hollywood and teenage boys are not renowned for their emotional eloquence, and Close plays a blinder in these passages in particular. Her characters are utterly authentic, full of human failings and she captures the sheer pain of growing up, of desertion, of having to keep stumbling on, with utter accuracy and real verve. Gritty and funny, but also tragic, it’s a fast and furious ride.

[Miriam Zollia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely fell in love with the writing. It genuinely feels I’m there, in Limerick city, participating in every character’s life and being part of their day to day life.
Except nothing is normal in their routing and their life is actually fucked. I felt close to every single one of them, as their feelings and way of thinking were very similar to mine in most situations. I hated the death in the end, I think it was unnecessary and feel it in my bones when I say… it should’ve been the mom.
But overall this book was intriguing and very nice to read! :)

[David Cowpar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was so confused about the wave on the cover until the end of the book, where it sort of makes a bit of sense. But I still think it’s the wrong cover for the book.
I loved the Limerick aspect of this. But I don’t know if I would have enjoyed the story if it was not set in Lahinch and Limerick, places I’m very familiar with.

The ending is sad and things are left unresolved. And the Gone Book as a title is a bit… I don’t know. The Gone Book turned out be inconsequential…

[⋆˚࿔ sannnnnnn;˚⋆‧°♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

guys what is this book. THERE WERE LIKE THIRTY PAGES LEFT. thirty and then he died. one of the best characters died. and his mom leaves. I was listening to not strong enough when I got to his last entry in the gone book about Mikey dying and I SHUT THAT BOOK QUICKER THEN ANYTHING. cause I was not trying to cry before dinner tf. so freaking good, would read again. actually that's a lie, I wouldn't be able to make it.

[Alderwasley Hall School · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book deals with feelings of abandonment after Matt's mum leaves him. It swears on the very opening line with use of strong language throughout, but in quite a convincing character portrayal. There was some humour scattered amongst a boy's search for his own identity and sense of belonging. An average read, it has not left a brilliant impression on me (but I did read it in 01/21).

[Lola · Rating 4 out of 5]

emotional, raw and descriptive in a way that is very rare! quite slow to start off with (which i think is why it took me so long to read it) but the end is really compelling although really sad. rip mikey :(

[Mary Coll · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really terrific storytelling, totally authentic characters and very vibrant dialogue and sense of place, definitely not just YA fiction, any reader would love this book.

[Andrew]

It deserves the 4.75 rating. I am not giving a rating as I read this for work.

[M E MOORE · Rating 5 out of 5]

A vivid, engaging and fast moving story. So relatable, you can feel yourself right in that situation. My heart broke and soared as I followed the narrative. You will enjoy it:)

[Niamh · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of those books that will stay with you. The characters jump to life and make you love them. Beautifully written. So well-observed. Funny, sad, full of hope and tension. Read it!

[Siobhán Bayertz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this book, it was an emotional read and the humour in it was a good touch. Really felt like I was there with Matt experiencing everything he was.

[Arely Brady · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's was a very funny book and super easy to read

[miracleactuallyreads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely devasting.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow what a book , fantastic YA read that was funny and sad at the same time brilliant

[Chloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Flew threw the book, and literally could not put it down.

[Julia Piaskowy · Rating 2 out of 5]

What the fuck

[Carla A · Rating 4 out of 5]

Non stop in your face teen emotion and tragedy and bad decisions.

[Cj-Chandni Gajjar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great emotional read regarding single parent households and abandonment issues. Three siblings dealing with the return of their four year absent mother, in their own way. Middle child/narrator has written to his absent mother over the years in a notebook, which he passes onto her when the relationship seem to be improving(she never bothers to even pick it up).

Also deals with issues of body image, drug abuse and gang crime. Spoiler for the end of the book-his best mate is killed for talking to the police, and the book ends with narrator writing to his recently deceased friend rather than mother.

As a YA not the most hopeful of stories, but tackles the themes with honesty and depth. Strong language throughout. Nice links to setting in description and slang(some of which went over my head).

[kael · Rating 3 out of 5]

it's unbearably slow but the characters are well described , it's a ok from me