Long Lost

April 1, 2021
A mysterious book leads a girl into a century-old supernatural mystery. When Fiona's family moves across Massachusetts to Lost Lake, a small town that's far closer to her older sister Arden's figure skating club, Fiona resents both being uprooted and the constant focus on her accomplished sibling. To avoid spending hours sitting at one of Arden's practices, knowledge-loving Fiona opts for a morning at the library, where she discovers a book called The Lost One that begins, "Once there were two sisters who did everything together. But only one of them disappeared." Reading this book within a book, Fiona learns about characters Hazel and Pearl--relating heavily to younger Pearl, especially when she starts getting left behind, and knowing their story won't have a happy ending. Fiona better endures slights from her family because she has the book to look forward to, but when she finally gets a library card, the book's gone and isn't even in the system. In response to a heartbreaking moment of being her family's lowest priority, Fiona doubles down on solving the book's mysteries--having determined its setting is Lost Lake--and finds increasingly spooky pieces of the puzzle. Although the two sets of sisters have different relationships and dynamics, the complexity of sisterhood links both storylines, resulting in nuanced relationships. The gore-free supernatural elements are more haunting than terrifying, foregrounding the characters' journeys. Main characters default to White. Grab a flashlight and stay up late with this one. (Paranormal mystery. 8-12)

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May 1, 2021
Grades 4-7 Fiona Crane isn't at all pleased about having to move to a peculiar New England town, Lost Lake, just so her older sister, Arden, can be closer to the ice rink where she trains. Things get decidedly more interesting, however, when Fiona ventures to the library, formerly a grand old house, and finds a curious leather-bound book in the mystery section that draws her like a magnet. Clearly very old, The Lost One tells a haunting story of two sisters that echoes some of her relationship with Arden and, as will later play a much greater role, the two sisters who once resided in the very house that is now the library. Fiona becomes obsessed with the book, which is swathed in secrets, including an inconvenient habit of disappearing and the unfortunate absence of an ending. As Fiona tries to piece together the story's true ending, she dives into the town's history and creepy lore and confronts her own needs and faults as a sister. A good choice for those who enjoy atmospheric mysteries.

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