Losing Brave

November 13, 2017
High school senior Payton Brave struggles with the disappearance of her twin sister, Dylan, in this underwhelming first novel from actress Madison and coauthor Miller. Payton was present the morning Dylan vanished from a bus bathroom in their small Mississippi town, but she has no memory of what happened. An angry Payton rebels against her “good girl” persona, watching her car go up in flames, changing her name to “Poe,” and hanging out with the school misfits, including her sister’s boyfriend, Cole. When Payton learns that two other girls matching Dylan’s description have also gone missing, she feels the need to start her own investigation. Flashbacks to the preceding year let readers get acquainted with Dylan, but they will need to stay on their toes to keep track of the timeline as the narrative jumps around. Laden with extraneous detail and two-dimensional characters, this slow-moving mystery is further let down by clumsy writing (“It was Starr’s expectation that she should attract more attention than Payton ever could, that drove Payton up a literal wall”) and closing twists that are both predictable and strain belief. Ages 13–up. Agency: Legacy.

November 1, 2017

Gr 7 Up-Suspense builds as a family's tragedy unfolds in this engrossing and touching novel. Almost a year before the story begins, Payton Brave's twin sister Dylan mysteriously disappears. Although Payton was with Dylan the day her sister vanished, she cannot remember what happened. Coauthors Madison and Miller strategically peel back the many layers of the mystery, slowly revealing just enough to keep readers hooked. Though close, the twins were opposite in many ways. Payton is part of the "in" crowd; Dylan never cared about being popular. Once Dylan disappeared, Payton began to question her own choices. Her life as one of Cornwell High's "It Girls" seems more effort than she can manage. Her mortician stepfather, doctor mother, and elderly Nana are loving, but the family members are locked in their individual battles to move forward without knowing what happened to Dylan. As Payton distances herself from her friends and family and even her name (she rechristens herself Poe after the macabre writer), she grows closer to Dylan's crowd of school outcasts. She also finds herself becoming more dependent on Dylan's boyfriend Cole. She's conflicted by her attraction to him, but she needs Cole, as he is the only one willing to help her search for the person who took her sister. As Poe moves closer to finding the assailant, she puts herself in danger. VERDICT A suspenseful thriller with heart and an unexpected twist. Highly recommended.-Cindy Wall, Southington Library & Museum, CT

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

An emotional Southern tale about the loss of a sister, the loss of self, and the quest to find wholeness after a terrible tragedy.High school senior Payton would do anything to remember the events surrounding her twin sister Dylan's disappearance. However, memories elude her even as some unexpected personality traits begin to surface. Whether it is her sudden preference for less girly clothing or her growing attraction to her sister's boyfriend, Payton finds that she is less and less certain of who she is. When another girl who strongly resembles Dylan goes missing, Payton is forced to confront a shocking truth about that terrible morning, one that may just result in a death. While this is a reminder of the depths grief can reach and the extent to which the mind will twist reality in order to cling to sanity, a proliferation of stereotypes, leaden writing, and overused tropes greatly deaden the novel's impact. Time jumps and shifts in point of view further muddy the waters in this atmospheric yet overly ambitious tale. Payton's evolution lacks emotional weight, leaving the story feeling gimmicky. While the cast is almost completely white, Dylan's love interest is a deaf boy who wears hearing aids.Southern charm without substance. (Fiction. 14-18)

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November 15, 2017
Grades 9-12 It's been a year since Payton's twin sister, Dylan, disappeared from a bus station bathroom. Despite her best efforts, Payton still hasn't been able to recall anything that happened the day Dylan vanished, and lately she's been struggling to keep up her perfect popular-girl persona. When another girl goes missing, new information is unearthed about Dylan's disappearance, and Payton is determined to get to the bottom of it. As she unravels the secrets surrounding Dylan and others in their small town, Payton finds herself going down a darker and more dangerous path than she could have ever imagined. Though the pacing starts slow, it accelerates as more and more clues mount. Despite the pacing problems, Madison (an established actress) and Miller realistically portray southern culture, especially of life in a small town. The charactersand, of course, the twist at the endmake this book one that fans of mystery and drama will definitely enjoy.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)