Between the Bookcovers

My Review:

Quentin and Margo Roth Spiegelman grew up as next door neighbors. They were friends until the age of ten when Margo ditched him for the cool crowd. Over the next few years he watched her from afar, mesmerized by her antics. The story finds them on the cusp of high school graduation. Margo is the girl that every high school has, beautiful, popular figure who seems to have the world at her fingertips. One night she appears at his bedroom window, asking him to join her in a night of pranks to get even with those who have wronged her. This experience provides new hope to Quentin that their friendship can be renewed, but the next day Margo is gone, run away from home and her life. But she has left some clues for him, and as he unravels them he finds that he never really knew her at all.

His first fear is that she has committed suicide, a reasonable thought with what she was experiencing in her life at the time. He follows the clues, fearful that he will stumble on her dead body. Finally the clues lead Quentin and his geeky buddies on a hilarious across the country road trip. We watch his journey as he strives to find Margo, and in doing so he finds himself.

This book was beautifully written. The details used to describe moments found in real life created a masterpiece. The wonderful, quirky character development made even minor ones come to life and I could see them in the halls of my local high school. There were many moments when I laughed out loud while reading. The story stayed with me for days after I read it. On the surface it seemed to be a mystery to solve, but on reflection the true, deeper meaning of the book becomes evident. It was almost like I was so interested in him finding Margo that I almost missed the point of the exercise. While you may want to speed through this book along with the story, I suggest you slow down and savor each moment, novels like this don't come along everyday.

My Rating: An outstanding read you will not want to miss this one