Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Enchanting Review: The Missing Girl

THE MISSING GIRL
NORMA FOX MAZER
YA Contemporary
Harper Collins
ISBN# 978-0064473651
304 pages
$8.99
Paperback—Available now

Rating: 4 Enchantments

This is the story of the five Herbert sisters and the man who watches them in the shadows. Beauty is the oldest that can’t wait to leave the small town. Mim is the sensitive one. Stevie is the rebellious one. Fancy is the one with special needs. Autumn is the youngest.

The man is very ordinary. He watches his chickadees, planning on which one he’ll take. The girls are unaware of this and continue with their lives until their family security is shattered one fateful day when the man makes his decision with painful consequences.

I admit at times this book was hard to read considering I’m the mother of a small child. This is a very chilling and at times disturbing story of a man who watches and waits to kidnap a girl. I was disturbed at how much the author revealed about the man’s plans and his thinking so much so that I found myself checking my surroundings more than once.

This novel is told from alternating points of view that at times confused me. I almost think it would have been better if the author had stayed with only one point of view. By having all five sister’s voices throughout this novel I didn’t feel a real connection with any of them. Also the parents were in the background. I wanted to know what they were feeling and to show how a tragedy rips apart a family.

At the end of the book is a study guide and other interesting information on how the author came up with the idea of THE MISSING GIRL. I think this book would be a great book club selection. Also it would be great for discussions afterwards.

Norma Fox Mazer died in 2009 and THE MISSING GIRL is her last novel. Her career as an author of teenage books spanned forty years. Her books won many awards, including the ALAN Award from the National Council of Teachers of English, the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award, and the Christopher Award.

Kim
ENCHANTING REVIEWS
April 2010

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