Book review: No And Me by Delphine de Vigan

French author Delphine de Vigan's first novel published in English, No And Me is a funny and tender story told through the eyes of an intellectually precocious 13-year-old.

Young Parisian Lou Bertignac has an IQ of 160. At school, she is more than capable. But, tiny and timid, she proves to be unpopular. At home, her mother barely speaks to her and her father struggles to keep the family together.

A dreaded class presentation makes her life even more compli-cated. Settling on the plight of the homeless as her topic, she is deter-mined to make No – a pretty but grubby homeless girl she encounters at Austerlitz station – her interviewee. Persuaded by the prospect of warmth and refreshments, No eventually opens up.

Lou convinces her parents to let No live with them. They agree but after a few mishaps, No is forced to leave.

Lou and her school friend, Lucas, team up to save No from life on the streets, but she discovers that she may not, after all, have the strength to make the world right. Painfully honest and beautifully structured and written, this is worth having permanently on your bookshelf.

9/10