Review by Booklist Review
*Starred Review* In a twist on the standard missing-person plotline, this novel opens with finding a missing teenager. Fifteen-year-old Lana Maddox, on a painting holiday with her mother in England's Peak District, has been missing for four days when she's found with a bloody head wound, bruises, and no apparent memory of her ordeal. But despite their relief, parents Jen and Hugh Maddox know that Lana's past includes depression, self-harming, and suicidal thoughts, and that she has gone missing before. Jen wants answers from her daughter about what occurred, answers that aren't forthcoming, as Lana is alternately distant, insolent, mysterious, and rarely approachable to the verge of affectionate. Lana's older sister, Meg, steps in to help, but she has her own concerns; a lesbian who recently broke up with her girlfriend, she's midway through a pregnancy via artificial insemination from a straight male friend. Healey (Elizabeth Is Missing, 2014) fashions this novel in titled sections, ranging in length from a few lines to a few pages, a technique that advances the narration, along with flashbacks, while eliminating extraneous details and building suspense naturally. The result is an absorbing view of a family, with the emphasis on the mother-daughter connection, in which flaws aside love shines through.--Leber, Michele Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
Fifteen-year-old Lana Maddox suddenly reappears after vanishing for four days in the English countryside. Although her parents, Jen and Hugh, are relieved their daughter is back, Jen can't believe that Lana doesn't remember what happened to her. After two years of visits with social workers and psychiatrists, their mother-daughter bond has become fragile in the wake of Lana's depression and self-harm. Was her disappearance the result of foul play, or did Lana purposely lose herself? The ligature marks around her ankles scream assault, but nothing makes sense. Then strange things happen-whispered conversations coming from Lana's bedroom at night, chilling and eerie Instagram posts on Lana's account, and an unknown cat appearing inside the house. Jen obsesses over finding out what happened to Lana, but the more Jen tries to pry the story out, the more distant her daughter becomes. Can Jen repair their tenuous relationship, or will her daughter remain lost, even after being found? Verdict For every parent who has feared losing their child, this pensive psychological mystery from the author of Elizabeth Is Missing will make us question if we can ever truly keep our children safe. [See Prepub Alert, 1/22/18.]-K.L. Romo, Duncanville, TX © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
After four agonizing days, Jen and Hugh Maddox's 15-year-old daughter, Lana, has been found, bloodied and soaking wet. But where has she been?Lana herself cannotor will notsay. The clues are scant: While on a mother-daughter painting course in the English countryside, Lana simply vanished one night and turned up four days later, spotted by a farmer. Did Lana leave voluntarily, or was she taken? Could fellow artist Stephen, a minister of the New Lollards Fellowship, a sect fascinated by visits to hell, have taken her? Or perhaps Matthew, the son of the holiday-center manager, lured Lana away? Remembering how she caught Lana last year with a plastic bag full of painkillers, Jen fears that Lana may have intended to harm herself. After Lana is discharged from the hospital, the Maddoxes return to London and attempt to patch their family back together. Still riddled with questions, Jen begins to investigate. In short, deft narrative fragments, Healey (Elizabeth Is Missing, 2014) captures Jen's piecing together of Lana's fragile psyche. Hoping to find clues, Jen scrutinizes Lana's sketchbook, her Instagram account, and the books hidden under her bed, alarmed to find repeated references to the end of life. With echoes of Demeter's rescue of Persephone, Jen's investigation into what happened over those four days becomes a quest to understand her daughter's mental illness and accept her broken memories. Healey beautifully depicts Lana's sense of unease in her own body: When asked by her therapist to find an image that symbolically represents her discomfort, Lana chooses one of birds, explaining that she feels as if she were full of fluttering birds eager to escape her skin. Along the way, Jen must face her own psychological quirks (including possibly imaginary cats) and walk in Lana's footsteps.An exquisite portrait of a mother's healing love for her troubled daughter. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
