Me, the Missing, and the Dead
by Jenny Valentine
Me, the Missing, and the Dead by Jenny Valentine is assigned in US schools at grades 9–12. It appears across 1 curriculum reference, sourced from state DOE pages and AP/IB/Common Core syllabi. Every citation below links to the primary source.
This page shows where Me, the Missing, and the Dead is assigned in US schools — curricula, states, grades, and the primary-source citations behind each placement. Not a summary or study guide.
- Grade range
- Grades 9–12
- Pages
- 231
- Reading time
- about 4h 15m (est.)
- First published
- 2009
- Genre
- Young Adult
- ISBN-13
- 9780061923142
Where to find this book
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About this book
Me: Lucas Swain—I'm nearly sixteen years old and live in London. I was fairly normal until the night I found Violet. Then everything changed. The Missing: Dad. He disappeared five years ago. Nobody knows what happened to him, and nobody cares except me. It's enough to drive you crazy. The Dead: That's Violet . . . in the urn. Speaking of crazy—I know she's trying to tell me something, and I think it's about my father. . . . A dead lady may not be much to go on, but my dad's out there somewhere, and it's up to me to find out where.
Why widely assigned
This Young Adult title, typically at grades 9–12. Written in the 2000s; cited across 1 curriculum framework.
Where this book is assigned
William C. Morris YA Debut Award
- recommended·9th gradesource: William C. Morris YA Debut Award winners + finalists, via Wikipedia — 2009 Honor
- recommended·10th gradesource: William C. Morris YA Debut Award winners + finalists, via Wikipedia — 2009 Honor
- recommended·11th gradesource: William C. Morris YA Debut Award winners + finalists, via Wikipedia — 2009 Honor
- recommended·12th gradesource: William C. Morris YA Debut Award winners + finalists, via Wikipedia — 2009 Honor
Similar grade-level books
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Common questions
- What grade level is Me, the Missing, and the Dead?
- Me, the Missing, and the Dead is most commonly assigned in US schools in grades 9–12. Specific grade placement varies by curriculum — AP Literature and IB English Literature typically use it in grades 11-12.
- How long does it take to read Me, the Missing, and the Dead?
- It takes about 4h 15m to read Me, the Missing, and the Dead (231 pages) at an average adult reading pace of about 250 words per minute — roughly 255 minutes. Faster or slower readers will vary; the estimate is a planning guide for assigning the book.
- What curricula assign Me, the Missing, and the Dead?
- Me, the Missing, and the Dead appears on reading lists for William C. Morris YA Debut Award. Each assignment on this site links to its primary-source citation.
- Is Me, the Missing, and the Dead banned in schools?
- Me, the Missing, and the Dead does not appear in PEN America's Index of School Book Bans 2022-2024. No documented multi-district removals on record, but individual districts may challenge titles locally.
Why this book is on this list
Each dimension below is sourced from a public reference. The full framework is documented on the classification standard page.
- Lexile measure
- Not classified — this book has no published Lexile measure.
- Grade band
- Grades 9–12 — drawn from state ELA frameworks and AP/IB syllabi citing this book.
- Curriculum alignment
- Cited in 1 curriculum on this site (see “Where assigned” above for primary-source links).
- State-level evidence
- Not yet documented in a state-level framework on this site.
- Removal / banning records
- No tracked removal or challenge records in cited sources.
- Seasonal / contextual tags
- Tagged for: read-aloud.