Invisible Fault Lines

March 15, 2016
Dazed by her father's inexplicable disappearance, Callie spends the next several months searching for answers and adjusting to the new family dynamic that's developing with her mother. Following her father's disappearance, Callie finds herself imitating normal life, until driving by the construction site where her father was last seen makes her realize her dad has been missing for 39 days. Stunned at what feels like her complacency, Callie renews her efforts to solve the mystery of her father. Sadly, all she ever finds is her father's abandoned backpack, which offers no new clues. But, while visiting a centenary exhibit of photos from the 1906 San Francisco earthquake, Callie believes that she sees her father in one of the photos. She begins researching the earthquake and its aftermath, privately convinced her father may have been somehow transported back to that time period. Adding possible credibility to her theory are the evocatively detailed chapters featuring a nameless man with amnesia wandering around San Francisco after the 1904 earthquake. He vaguely senses he is missing something--could it be Callie and her mother in 2006? Ultimately Callie gains few answers, but her journey toward acceptance of both her father's disappearance and her feelings of loss is painstakingly, sensitively rendered. A gentle, honest, and occasionally perplexing exploration of how people seek solace during anguishing situations. (Historical fiction. 14-18)

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March 1, 2016

Gr 10 Up-On Tuesday, Callie's father disappears. He simply never comes home from work. There are no family problems to suggest that he left and no reason to think there was a crime committed. When Callie's friends take her to an exhibit documenting the San Francisco earthquake of 1906, she thinks she sees her father in one of the photographs. Could it be a relative from the past? Could time travel be real-or accidental? Chapters alternate between Callie's days and the experiences of the man in the photograph as he deals with the horrific quake and his loss of memory. This is a strong read and will pique interest in the actual earthquake. Callie and her mother get to know each other on a different level than they did before, much as families do when a tragedy occurs. The author adeptly shows that life goes on, even in the middle of a sorrowful situation. Callie begins to develop romantic feelings for an old classmate, her band gets its first gig, and her gay best friend goes through a bad relationship. This title is reminiscent of Susan Beth Pfeffer's The Year Without Michael (Bantam, 1987), in which the case of a missing brother never gets resolved. Readers wanting more stories about characters who experienced the earthquake will want to read William Lavender's Aftershocks (Harcourt, 2006) or Deborah Hopkinson's Into the Firestorm: A Novel of 1906 (Knopf, 2006). VERDICT A general purchase for readers interested in a mix of mystery, history, and fantasy.-Deanna McDaniel, Genoa Middle School, OH

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