Reading Guide to
Picture Me Gone (2013) by Meg Rosoff
Laureate of the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award 2016
Written by Maria Lassén-Seger (published in February 2017)
THE ASTRID LINDGREN MEMORIAL AWARD
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About the Author
Meg Rosoff believes the job of an author is to think – but she writes books that
make readers think, too. An overarching theme of Rosoff’s novels for young adults
is that life is just as complex for young people as it is for adults. Young or old, we
all wrestle with life’s big questions.
Rosoff’s novels constantly blur the boundaries: between children and adults, people
and animals, the real world and the supernatural. She has said that she is drawn to
the margins, to what happens on the fringes, to things that are ambiguous or
unclear. Many of her books are about young people who are put to the test under
drastic circumstances. This infuses her texts with a sense of urgency and a strong
emotional charge, as if they were truly a matter of life and death.
Rosoff’s prose is clean and crystal-clear; while not challenging to read, it allows for
multiple interpretations and rewards repeated readings. Her humor can be
extreme, even dark, but she balances unvarnished truth-telling with a healthy dose
of joie de vivre, a lively curiosity and a firm belief in her young protagonists and
their ability to find a way forward in life.
Picture Me Gone
In Picture Me Gone, Mila, age twelve, travels to the United States over the Easter
holidays with her father Gil to look for Gil’s childhood friend, Matthew. Mila
imagines she will need to look after her absentminded father. She is observant and
good at solving puzzles: qualities that will come in handy since Matthew
inexplicably went missing a few days ago, leaving his wife Suzanne, his baby and
his dog and disappearing without a trace. At Matthew’s beautiful glass house in
upstate New York, the atmosphere is heavy and oppressive. Mila is on the alert for
clues to Matthew’s disappearance. She ponders theories and eavesdrops when the
adults discuss things they think she is too young to hear.
Gil and Mila drive to Matthew’s cabin on the Canadian border to see if Matthew is
hiding there. They do not find him, but they do find more puzzle pieces of his tragic
and complicated life story. Mila has a logical mind and can usually put two and
two together, but she finds it hard to see the purpose of Matthew’s apparently
irrational behavior. Although unusually insightful for her age, Mila nevertheless
lacks the life experience to understand how adults can be pushed to their limit by
poor decisions, guilt and shame. Mila is lucky to have grown up in a secure and
close-knit family. Now, that safe world collides with the painful insight that even
grown-ups can go off course and let other people down. When she discovers that
her own parents have kept things from her in an effort to protect her, she implodes
in anger and grief.
Picture Me Gone seamlessly weaves together the story of Mila’s trip to America,
told in flashbacks, with her ruminations on relationships and the conundrums of
(adult) life. The strongest parallel thread is her musings on her friendship with
another girl her age, Cat. Mila and Cat have been friends since they were seven or
eight years old, but since entering different classes at school they have drifted
apart. Mila remembers their lively spy games and how she felt drawn to wild,
madcap, unpredictable Cat, in many ways her opposite. On her trip to New York
Mila begins to better understand Cat’s desperate behavior. The girls keep in touch
by texting, and when Cat tells Mila that her parents, who are always fighting, are
getting a divorce, Mila realizes her own importance to Cat.
Meg Rosoff has said that she writes books about ideas, and Picture Me Gone is a
clear example. Although it features an exciting plot centered around the search for
Matthew, the real jigsaw Mila is assembling involves more difficult, existential
questions: lies and misconceptions of reality, silences and secrets within families,
mistakes that can shape the course of your life, guilt, shame, friendship, intimacy,
grief and loss. These are somber subjects, but the novel also contains equal portions
of love, warmth, hope and optimism. Rosoff tells us that as human beings, these
painful insights are necessary for us to grow. The novel derives its intensity from
the way it reveals details to the reader and to Mila at the same pace, so that we
struggle alongside her with the same existential puzzle.
Things to think about
Consider the novel’s opening sentence: “The first Mila was a dog.” Rosoff’s books
frequently portray strong connections between people and animals, especially dogs.
What role do dogs play in this novel? In what ways might Mila be “doggish”?
Mila is an extremely sensitive person who is good at reading moods and people. Are
her talents in any way supernatural? Does she have a sixth sense? Can she read
minds?
What similarities exist between Gil’s and Matthew’s friendship, and Mila’s and
Cat’s?
What does friendship mean to Mila? Does her friendship with Cat change during
the book?
Why is Cat so obsessed with playing spy games and pretending that she and Mila
must save the world from an enemy invasion?
Do you agree with Mila that your friends reveal who you are?
Why does Gil call Mila Perguntador? How would you describe their fatherdaughter relationship?
Gil is a translator and likes to talk about the possibilities and limits of language.
Can you find examples of either in the book?
Why does Mila get so angry at Gil? Why does she think that he has let her down?
Mila is secure and strong, resourceful and observant. But what is her greatest fear?
What happens when Mila meets Matthew? How does she react to his state of mind,
his inner darkness?
When Mila and Gil bring Matthew back home to Suzanne, Mila’s view of Suzanne
has changed. How? And why does Mila understand Suzanne differently now?
Think about the book’s multilayered title. How does it relate to the book’s
content?
Think about the book’s last sentence. How does it sum up the inner journey Mila
takes throughout the book?
Further reading (in Swedish)
Lassén-Seger, Maria. “Unik blandning av humor och allvar,” in Opsis Barnkultur,
2016(2), pp. 4–9.
Olsson, Lotta. “Hon hittade sig själv vid 48 års ålder,” Dagens Nyheter, 30 May
2016, pp. 4–5.
Rosoff, Meg. “Sanningen om att ljuga för barn,” in Opsis Barnkultur, 2016(3), pp.
24-27.
Warnqvist, Åsa. “Rosoff tar fasta på livets magiska realism,” Svenska Dagbladet,
30 May 2016, pp. 28–29.
In English
Listen to Meg Rosoff’s 2015 Philippa Pearce Memorial Lecture, “Do not be afraid
to be afraid,” at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzLn4wPzND8.