Finn's Going

Ten-year-old Danny narrates this puzzling story about a family thrown into emotional turmoil by the sudden death of a child—Danny's identical twin, Finn. Danny's first method of coping is to cease talking altogether (“I thought if they couldn't tell who I was, they couldn't tell who was lost either”). He then skips school and boards a train to run away, certain that every time his grieving parents look at him, they are reminded of his brother's death. Despite the poignancy of this premise, the story fails to convince, and the slow, random musings of the first 100 pages may make this a non-starter for youngsters. The narrator's voice comes across both too wise (“The only thing I know for sure is if [God] is sitting up in heaven or wherever and just watching then he needs a thump. Sitting and watching it happen and not doing anything about it is almost exactly as bad as making it happen in the first place”) and overly juvenile. The humor is scatological—scary things are called PBTMs (“Potential Brown Trouser Moments”) and much is made of the pleasures of “weeing” into the sea. Kelly, a playwright, keeps the pages turning by stingily parsing out the details of the accident that led to the boy's death. A surprise ending leaves it unclear which twin has in fact died and ultimately feels manipulative. Ages 10-14. (May)