Picture Me Gone by Meg Rosoff

Mila is an exceptionally observant person. The  intuitive only child of academics, she uses her keen sensory powers to discover what it is that people aren’t saying through their body language, facial expressions and clothing choice. That’s why her father agrees to bring her along on a trip to visit his best friend Matthew’s family, even though Matthew himself has gone missing. Maybe Mila can uncover the reason he abruptly left his wife, small baby and loyal dog. Mila interviews Matthew’s wife, plays with Matthew’s baby, walks Matthew’s dog and visits Matthew’s summer cabin. But as Mila carefully collects clues, she is drawn deeper and deeper into a mystery that perhaps only exists to her. While the ending of the book didn’t work for me for all sorts of reasons that will give away important plot points, I found Mila’s voice and the construction of the story unusual and intriguing. If you follow The Mentalist or enjoyed The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, you’ll dig Mila’s cerebral adventures as well. Also, not for nothing, Picture Me Gone was nominated for a National Book Award.