GONE

A crowded plot and lack of subtlety mark Johnson’s latest. Connor, a recent graduate, is haunted by his alcoholic parents: an institutionalized father (after a drunken accident) and a recovering but still-hated mom (eventual details reveal why—tawdry but less shocking than indicated by the build-up). When a sexy teacher-with-a-troubled-past seduces Connor, he feels safe and seen for the first time; indeed, lack of seeing recurs throughout (sun-blindness, closed eyes). Their week-long affair ends when the teacher moves away. In the aftermath of his father’s funeral, Connor follows her, only to find she is using drugs again and has vanished. Connor realizes he can’t wait on an addict forever, and returns to his aunt and friends, whom he has carefully kept at arm’s length until now. Secondary characters—especially the teacher—lack substance; best friend Zach is a running gag about bad hair and, as he falls in love with the literal girl next door, a mirror image to indicate that Connor’s relationship is doomed. Fast but flimsy. (Fiction. YA)