The Lost and the Found

June 27, 2016
Clarke (Undone) explores how a family fractures when a child goes missing, as well as the emotional roller-coaster they undergo when that child returns home. Faith Logan was three years old when her older sister, Laurel, was abducted by a stranger. For the next 13 years, Faith cobbled together a mostly normal existence, though constantly under the shadow of her missing sister. When Laurel miraculously reappears, Faith’s carefully constructed life slowly begins to fall apart as she grapples with mixed emotions concerning Laurel’s return. Blending coming-of-age elements with psychological suspense, Clarke carefully weaves a story in which the unnerving truth is slowly unveiled. As with the best thrillers, the truth is far from a straight line, and what readers believe changes with every turn of the page. In this fast-paced and darkly entertaining novel, Clarke’s true success lies is in crafting a realistic and haunting story of two young women who redefine what it means to be sisters. Ages 14–up. Agent: Julia Churchill, A.M. Heath.

From the moment this production begins, narrator Katharine McEwan imbues her performance with seriousness and a sense of foreboding appropriate to main character. Faith is a 17-year-old whose older sister, Laurel, was abducted more than a decade earlier. McEwan's British accent establishes the setting, and the voices she develops for Faith and Laurel add to their characterizations when Laurel's sudden reappearance sets the events of the story in motion. Supporting characters are well developed textually and through McEwan's interpretations--particularly Faith's steadfast stepfather and her intense mother--as Faith's carefully controlled life begins to fray in unexpected ways. The suspense never flags in this engrossing and surprising story about trauma, loyalty, and love. A.F. � AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine