The Distant Dead

Sal Prentiss, a sixth grader, who recently lost his mother finds his maths teacher dead one morning. His teacher Adam Merkel, was a newly appointed maths teacher at the school and had previously been a professor from the University of Nevada. Having made a significant change in job title and moving alone to a small town caused quite a stir within the local community. Without time to form bonds with his work colleagues and living in solitude made Adam and his death quite a mystery.

Although the book surrounds itself around the mysterious death of Adam, Adam's voice is told through the other characters and their limited knowledge of the man. I found this quite a powerful feature in the novel. The story alternates between three character's: Sal, Nora and Jake.
Sal was a really interesting character. A young boy who had recently lost his mother and had been sent to live with his two uncles. Sal had formed quite an endearing relationship with his teacher but I found myself second guessing his reliability and their relationship didn't sit comfortably with me.
Nora, a teacher at the school also had her fair amount of heartache and trauma having lost both her brother and mother. Her backstory was extremely fascinating, especially her relationship with her own father.

The Distant Dead is a complex story about a small town and the history that weaves its way into the lives of everyone living there. The characters have all faced adversity and their emotions are written with a rawness that cuts through to the reader. The plot was shocking, twisty and all-consuming.

I found Young's writing in The Distant Dead to be poetic, evoked strong emotions within me and was very thought-provoking.