Might As Well Be Dead by Mark Goldblatt REVIEW

 Summary:

Thirteen-year-old David Salmon is getting over his mom's sudden decision to pick up and leave. He seems to be adjusting fairly well, but then a strange thing happens. He meets a middle-aged Englishman named Winston outside his house.

David suspects that Winston may not be real, but he seems harmless enough, as hallucinations go, and the two of them become friends. If nothing else, Winston is a welcome distraction from the mess at home; David's dad cannot seem to cope with his wife's moving out.

Winston also proves a valuable advisor in navigating the trials of middle school, best friend problems and a budding romance. Eventually, however, Winston confesses the real reason he showed up: he needs David to deliver a message.

It's a journey David desperately doesn't want to make because it takes him somewhere he desperately doesn't want to go.

My Thoughts:

Wow. I did not expect this book to be what it was, but in a good way.

David is suffering the loss of his mother leaving them, and sometimes has to look after his father during this time. He meets what seems to be a ghost: Winston. While they get off on the wrong foot (David is Jewish and Winston makes some comments about that), they become friends.

At school, David meets and starts dating a girl named Minnie. Later on, they break up because David is very not ready for a relationship. His best friend is Hector, who later comes out as being gay. David accepts him the way he is, and even punches someone who made a homophobic comment.

I love the characters; Mark Goldblatt did such a good job of making you care about them despite being a smaller novel.

As for the message he has to deliver, we don't find out the message or location until towards the end of the book. All throughout, we find out that his mother likes the Beatles and used to play them a lot when he was young.

*SPOILERS*

The message David needs to deliver is to the singer. When David delivers the message, he breaks down, and we find out that his mother didn't just leave; she took her own life. He finally agrees to go to therapy, and the book ends with him at his mother's grave.

I really liked how such a heavy topic was handled so well, and younger readers might be able to start to understand these subjects in a slower pace.

My Rating: 5 stars