Anywho, my point is that I love my crime shows. But I always wonder what happens afterwards. For a girl who has been gone 10 years, what is it like to reintegrate into her family? I've read Jaycee Lee Dugard's memoirs on the subject, but my fascination remains. The premise of The Lost and the Found was unique to me, because I had never read a fictional account of this situation before.
The Good
As you guys may have noticed, Ellen and I have been AWOL recently. In my case, it's been because I've started classes and I participate in a ton of volunteer work. I'm always busy and barely have enough time to read. That's why The Lost and the Found was such a great read for me. I could barely set it down, so every spare minute I had was devoted to this book.
Faith, our main protagonist, was a wonderful character. She was equal parts caring and devoted, but also frustrated and selfish. Her relationships with her family, friends, and boyfriend was real and nuanced. I loved her relationship with her stepfather. He was kind and understanding, and there for Faith in a way her parents could never be.
The author also spent a great deal of time dealing with the media coverage of the situation and the frenzy that arises after a kidnapee like Laurel is found. She mentions the journalists, the tv interviews, the book deals, and the strain that Faith and Laurel's parents have gone through in terms of curating their image to the public all in hopes of finding their lost daughter.
The relationship between Laurel and Faith was interesting to read about. Especially how it slowly grew from being strangers to sisters. That is sisters who fight and can get jealous but also laugh together and combine forces against their parents. It's the definition of true sisterhood after all.
There's also a brief moment when a character in the book discusses how popular Laurel Logan's case was in comparison to that of lower-class or non-white kidnap cases. It's not something I've really thought about too much, but it did affect how I've been thinking of this situation. The argument presented was, was it fair for the police and media to devote this much attention to Laurel Logan when nothing even close to that was devoted to other missing children that were non-white and/or lower-class. It's definitely a tricky situation to address, but I appreciate that the argument was presented so that we can assess it for ourselves.
Not As Good
While I did enjoy the book, I only gave it 3 stars. While I was riveted by the story, I pretty much guessed exactly how it would go. I wasn't truly surprised by anything and I must say that I'm a little disappointed with where it ended up. It's almost like the book dealt with more issues than it could realistically handle. By straddling two main storylines, neither of them could be fully developed or expressed.
While I understand Faith's decision at the end of the book, I disagree with it. [spoiler]She should have told her parents about Laurel's death.[/spoiler]
Cat Clarke
Cat was born in Zambia and brought up in Edinburgh and Yorkshire, which has given her an accent that tends to confuse people.
Cat has written non-fiction books about exciting things like cowboys, sharks and pirates, and now writes YA novels. She lives in Edinburgh with a couple of cats, Jem and Scout, who spend their days plotting to spit up furballs at the most inconvenient times. She likes cheese A LOT, especially baked camembert.
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Follow the Tour!
Week 1
9/12: Such a Novel Idea - Review
9/13: The Story Sanctuary - Q&A
9/14: Avid Reader - Review
9/15: Who RU Blog - Novel Secrets
9/16: Novel Ink - Review
Week 2
9/19: Here's the Happy Endings - Guest Post
9/20: Blue Books and Butterflies - Review
9/21: Take Me Away to a Great Read - Mood Board
9/22: Quest Reviews - Review
9/23: Curling Up with a Good Book - Top 10
