The Missing Season

March 15, 2019
In small-town Maine, new girl Clara is pulled into the orbit of the mythical monster rumored to be responsible for disappearing teens.Clara Morrison moves to Pender when her father takes on work demolishing the town mill. She's used to the nomadic life, but she longs to belong somewhere. Enter Bree, the steely girl from across the street, and her best friend, Sage. The girls welcome Clara, inviting her to the skate park where they moon over boys. Bree admits a crush on Kincaid, a striking and enigmatic skater, but Kincaid keeps to himself unless he's spinning tales about the Mumbler, the monstrous man who supposedly lives in the marsh, killing a teenager every few years. As Clara ingratiates herself into the group, it feels like she's playing with fire: assisting in an escalating prank war and growing closer to Kincaid, which she knows will destroy Bree. And then Halloween looms close, and suddenly a girl disappears--could this be the work of the Mumbler? Clara doesn't buy into the town legend, but she can't deny that something's ramping up. Every locale jumps from the page, imbued with magic and foreboding. Clara's new relationships ring painfully true, both sharp and beautiful. Readers will burn through pages and be left haunted long after, although the resolution to the central mystery is something of a letdown. All characters are assumed white.A lyrically written, highly eerie slow-burn of a mystery. (Mystery. 14-18)

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April 1, 2019

Gr 9 Up-Dragged from place to place by her dad's job, perennial new kid Clara Morrison has landed in Pender, a dying New England mill town where the guidance counselor warns her "things may seem a bit off" because of a student's recent death. The official story is drugs, but the guys at the skate park tell chilling tales of a child-killing creature called the Mumbler that lives in the marsh and is blamed for the Halloween disappearances of troublemakers over the last two decades. Clara dismisses the rumors as urban legend-she's more worried about her fledgling friendship with aloof Bree and the magnetism she feels toward Kincaid, the elusive skater boy whom Bree also has a crush on. But as tensions rise over a series of Halloween pranks orchestrated by Clara and her friends, another student disappears and Clara begins to fear that she is the troublemaker the Mumbler is after next. French's most recent YA mystery brims with lyrical prose and striking imagery but is much less frightening than the premise suggests. It may have stronger appeal to fans of contemporary YA than frequent mystery readers: Clara's anxieties about her new friendships and romance with reckless, lonely Kincaid take center stage for much of the book. Although the climax feels rushed and slightly forced, the foreboding atmosphere, rich setting, and gorgeous prose make for a rewarding read. VERDICT A worthwhile purchase for most collections; hand it to readers looking for a creepy seasonal read without serious chills.-Elizabeth Giles, Lubuto Library Partners, Zambia

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 10, 2019
Delightful creepiness and teen shenanigans quickly give way to darkly introspective and suspenseful self-discovery in French’s (The Lies They Tell) novel for teens. High school student Clara has moved five times since elementary school, thanks to her father’s construction work, so she’s used to being a loner. Now in small-town Maine, she once again attempts to establish herself and falls in with a so-called bad crowd—kids who enjoy pranks, hanging out, and perpetuating the myth of the Mumbler, a madman who supposedly comes out of the marsh every October to kidnap and murder children and young adults. As she frequently winds through the wooded areas near her home, Clara encounters more questions than answers about such topics as who she wishes to become, where things might go with her crush, and the Mumbler’s identity (especially after Ivy, one of her schoolmates, goes missing, and the Mumbler’s involvement is suspected). Bowstring-taut tension builds gracefully through the novel, only to result in a rushed, vaguely anti-climactic ending. The book’s strength, however, is offering readers plenty of authentically developed characters with whom they can identify, from teen pranksters to hardworking parents. Ages 13–up. Agent: Alice Tasman, Jean V. Naggar Literary.

Starred review from April 1, 2019
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* Whenever Clara moves to a new town, it's because that town is dying. Her dad works in demolition, tearing down the mills and factories that once supported communities when they fail. In Pender, Maine, it's the paper mill that's gone under, and Clara arrives in the fall at a town on the brink of collapse, starting as the new kid a month into the school year. Then she meets Bree and Sage, two girls who adopt her into their group of friends. As Clara starts spending time at the skate park near the woods and marshes of Pender, she grows closer with hard-edged Bree and level Sage, as well as with Trace, Sage's prank-playing boyfriend, and Kincaid, the mesmerizing, enigmatic boy who never seems to leave the woods and who tells stories about a monster called the Mumbler, who, every October, steals away a kid from Pender. Clara doesn't believe in the Mumbler, no matter how good Kincaid is at telling stories. But the truth is, kids do go missing in October. And Clara's starting to feel like someone is watching her. Edgar finalist French (Grit, 2017) elevates this mystery beyond genre conventions with depth of characterization and an unyielding, low-�level sense of anxiety that permeates the text from uneasy beginning to disquiet end. A spare, spectral thriller that catches like a hook and doesn't let go.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)