For ten years Edie Fraser has been, and is again, leaving her home and beloved cat, Peaches, behind. She and her mother Sydney have been leaving pieces of themselves in their wake with each sudden move. From Toronto their new emergency evacuation takes them to London, the city her mother grew up in. Running from her physically and emotionally abusive father, they are never in one place long enough to call it home.

Edie barely begins to befriend a couple of girls when her mother fails to return home from her job after the first night of work. After a few days she steals money from her homeroom that has been collected for a special donation, in hopes this will carry her through the search for her mother, fearing her father has found them. What she hasn't counted on is Jermaine Lewis, a black student shunned at the school, to be blamed for the theft. Jermaine was there when she stole the money over lunch period and immediately knows she is the culprit when the theft is revealed, but chooses not to identify her, taking the blame instead. When confronting Edie she eventually confides in him and they take to the road in a search leading through nicer parts of London as well as the lowest slums, evading the police who are now searching for them. Devastation and heroics are both a part of what they find in their quest.

This tale of a fifteen-year-old girl and mother on the run is a devastatingly emotional story. The reader can't help but get caught up in the desperation and despair of this girl and her mother. Though a tragic situation, understanding and survival are lessons to be learned. I enjoyed that SINCE YOU'VE BEEN GONE kept me on the edge of my seat with each new situation faced by Edie and Jermaine. The story was well written and easy to follow. Morgan Matson is a gifted writer even though the topic itself, while definitely a part of reality, is depressing.