Finding You

August 1, 2017

Gr 9 Up-A group of kidnapped girls sold and held captive in a sex-trafficking ring plan their escape. At first, Isla waits for her best friend and crush Tam to rescue her; when weeks go by and she realizes that he is not coming, she takes things into her own hands. By the end, Isla is a reluctant hero, saving herself and others, though not without the help of a powerful man and several friends. The author makes attempts to distinguish the dozen or so girls Isla is imprisoned with and does so with varying success. Some of the girls have well-drawn backstories, but several unfortunately end up as names on a page. Suspense and high-stakes situations move the plot forward while romance also plays a strong role. The setting is an imagined place in a time period similar to the early 1900s. Automobiles are not yet ubiquitous and the young women wear dresses and corsets. In the background are mentions of wars and a rebellion that plays a large role in the story, but these aspects of the world-building are not fleshed out. VERDICT An additional purchase for libraries seeking romantic thrillers.-Allison McLean, Elkhart Public Library, IN

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2017
Grades 9-12 Bookish Isla, who can't even bring herself to finally take action and tell her best friend about her true feelings for him, must find the inner courage to survive a wrenching ordeal after she is forcefully taken captive by human traffickers. In Isla's vaguely steampunk society, girls aren't widely subjugatedthey can receive equal education to boys, for examplebut a seemingly nonexistent system of law and order allows the strong to prey upon the weak. Isla and others like her are imprisoned by a powerful aristocrat who believes that the girls are his property to abuse and dispose of. If the girls are ever going to see their loved ones again, they have no choice but to escape. Readers accustomed to naturally aggressive, risk-taking YA heroines like Katniss Everdeen might be impatient for frightened Isla to fight back, and the thinly sketched setting might not satisfy those craving a detailed universe to delve into. But Isla's determination to reunite with her beloved Tam will captivate romance fans, and all will cheer her newfound self-reliance.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)