Book Review: Missing Me

After reading the first two novels in the trilogy, I couldn’t not read the final instalment; I like to finish whatever I begin. The Purditt family has ridiculous levels of bad luck, as we (as readers) saw in the first two novels, too. The first thing to notice about Missing Me is that the narration is told from Maddison’s perspective, not Lauren’s, which for me was a welcome change as it mixed it up a little, particularly as she’s now fourteen years old and in the other books she’s under ten. Also, unlike the other books in the series, this one is purely based in the UK as all of the family have chosen to stay in London. This family never seems to live without drama, which although unsurprising, it felt a little annoying as I wanted something a little less dramatic to start off the book. Lauren reveals to the family that she is pregnant, which shocked me as I never would’ve predicted that of all things, but then I had to remember she’s in her twenties as Maddison is a teenager. Mo is really unimpressed, in fact she’s insanely jealous as she feels like their close bond will change.

Mo then finds out about her biological father being a sperm donor and so she’s determined to find him; like Lauren, she has an inquisitive mind so it doesn’t take her long to track him down through social media. On the surface he seems nice, keen to have a good relationship with her and has an amazing job but realistically you do wonder if he is all that he seems. In fairness, Maddison’s dad died when she was young, so it seems like she’s attempting to fill the void that he left, which is understandable, she’s had a difficult life so far. However, the issue is that he ends up involving Maddison in a dodgy situation although she does make some friends along the way, ultimately Lauren ends up being kidnapped. Naturally, all jealousy of the baby is forgotten and Maddison desperately attempts to find her with the help of a new friend, although it’s hard to tell if he can be trusted (much like her biological father, come to that). All in all, the situation is a huge mess. In all honestly, this book is a little too dramatic at times, as nobody can be trusted and there are lots of secrets hanging in the air.

It’s even clearer through seeing the world from Maddison’s point of view this time that she truly idolises her sister to the point that she’s constantly finding ways to live up to Lauren’s bravery in the previous two books. At times, Maddison is extremely selfish; in fact, her and Lauren are very similar in terms of personality. They’re both driven, determined, loyal to her family and fearless in the face of immense danger. One of the reasons that I loved this series so much was the way that Sophie McKenzie inserts dramatic events that keep the novel super fast paced yet easy to read; the plot flows well but at times all of the events lead into one another seems a little too convenient, unfortunately. However, this series is never short of action, with the sister often in the thick of it; but this time, there’s a baby to think about, which raises the stakes even higher. Maddison is a good character, but as the narrator she often came across as selfish, whiny and immature; there was so much teenage angst in her mind with her irrational hatred of her mother and her inability to be happy for her sisters baby joy. Plus, she has a tendency to throw herself into danger without thinking of the consequences.

Overall, I did enjoy this book but it was definitely my least favourite of the series. I know that sounds harsh, but I think that changing the narrator was a brave decision and although it worked to an extent (as the two sisters’ personalities are very different) it was hard to gel to Maddison as much as she is actually quite selfish, but her determination to protect her family was lovely to read, in fairness. However, McKenzie’s idea of a ‘villain’ for this novel was so easy to hate, it was a pleasure to get to the bottom of the mystery as the level of suspense never relented. Yes, it is a series so it’s not surprising that the plot layout is very similar to the first two novels in the series, but in all honesty I would’ve loved to see something completely different. I feel like this family have had enough danger, death and kidnapping for a lifetime. That said, I still rate this 4 stars as I do love a bit of suspense and I liked that she tried using a different character to narrate the story as that did mix it up a little. If you’ve read the other books in the series you’ll either love this or hate this; I’m closer to love than hate, but I still feel like there was something missing to make it outstanding for me.

Book Review: Sister, Missing

The stakes were high for this novel, being the second in a trilogy of which there was a seriously successful debut; however being written several years afterward I was curious to see if it could possibly live up to Girl, Missing as I couldn’t put that down until I’d read it. Recently I have been literally absorbing myself in Young Adult fiction and Sister, Missing had the potential to really grip me. Set just two years after the prime novel, as a reader we witness Lauren as a sixteen year old on holiday with her biological family in the UK. The families lives have changed considerably since Sam, the caring, protective father died suddenly and naturally Annie is struggling to handle being a single parent to three young girls who have already dealt with a lot in their lives so far. Lauren and Maddison are closer than ever, often visiting the beach together and despite their age gap, they have a lot in common. 

The writing style is very clever; it tricks the reader into believing that this novel is a copy of the first in the series. The same kidnapper, the same danger signs but this kidnapping is much more sinister, with a far more dangerous ulterior motive. Lauren has definitely matured a lot in two years, she comes across as much less whiny and entitled, however she still has a selfish streak, regularly putting her opinions forward and expecting her family to agree with her 100% of time; at times it’s obvious that she doesn’t believe that another opinion can possibly be correct. Rick, a kind of intruder into the family in the sense that he has become a comfort to Annie, seems to be stepping into the father role, however they family should be suspicious of how controlling and persuasive he can be, there’s something that doesn’t add up with him, but it’s hard to identify why. Sam was a really loveable father figure, particularly to Lauren and Maddison that it seems strange that he could be replaced so quickly. It was a nice surprise to see that Lauren and Jam are still going strong as a couple, Jam is a good source of support for all of the family, not only Lauren; he seems to have a good relationship with Shelby too, the sister who Lauren has a massive dislike for.

At the heart of this novel is the question ‘who is the kidnapper?’ due to the cyclical nature of the plot. However, this time it seems a lot more surreal, due to the twist at the heart of it, although realistically it was interesting to see how Lauren reacted to Maddison be kidnapped, rather than it being her in that position. Lauren doesn’t listen to others enough, that has always been her issue and it definitely made this novel far more complicated then it needed to be; she shits her emotions down a lot more than she did in ‘Girl, Missing’ and so it’s more difficult to decipher what is truly going on because she is less inquisitive than before. Her relationship with Shelby is very strained, which is hardly surprising considering how close they are in age, as well as how Shelby reacted to Lauren’s reappearance in their lives, although in two years it could’ve improved a lot more than it did. All three of the girls are in for a shock with regards to their parentage, which is not only unwelcome but also really unexpected. It added a whole new dimension to the story and was a great way of watching the sisters’ relationship develop.

Overall, this is an enjoyable sequel, but it’s crucial for me that a novel has something to stand out and this one didn’t really do that. I love the concept of a long-suffering family but two kidnappings borders on a bit ridiculous. That said, the way that the relationships between the family were explored was great and very realistically portrayed. I found this novel to be a fast paced but easy read; I literally whizzed through it in one sitting, although that just shows just how much I needed to know what happened to this family. The one thing that made me love this part of the series, was how Shelby and Lauren found each other; their much needed talk about how they both feel was both lovely and heartbreaking and so many emotions were pouring out at that point that it made the death even more poignant. This is a novel that I wish I could give 5 stars, but unfortunately it is a 3 not because I didn’t enjoy it or because I wasn’t invested in the story, but because I felt like there was a lot more to give, more to explore that was left untouched. But it is still an excellent continuation of an incredible family.

Book Review: Girl, Missing

Recently I’ve been rediscovering my love for Young Adult fiction and ‘Girl, Missing’ is a novel that caught my attention immediately after reading the blurb. It has an interesting take on the idea of missing persons; instead of focussing on how the family feel when a child goes missing, instead the focus shifts to what it must feel like to discover that you may be a missing person. This novel is completely addictive; it draws the reader in from the very start right until the very end with its multiple twists and turns in every chapter. The main character, Lauren Matthews is very strong willed but understands the difference between right and wrong. When a School project encourages her to find out and describe who she is and where she is from she begins to wonder about her early life, her biological family and why she was adopted at the age of three. Curiousity is only natural, considering her background but her adoptive parents are reluctant to provide her with any details until she’s older, which is understandable.

Lauren has always known that she was adopted, but her parents have always refused to supply her with any details, something which at fourteen, is something that makes Lauren take matters into her own hands. Through the use of a computer and an online search engine, Lauren finds what she believes is herself on a missing persons website as ‘Martha Lauren Purditt’ and shows her best friend, Jam, who is slightly sceptical but also supportive of her theory. ‘Martha Lauren’ has a similar birthday and the similar features, except she is American. Her adoptive mother is the kind of person who writes everything down and keeps everything, so Lauren looks through her mothers diaries from the year that she was adopted to find out the truth for herself, as no one wants to tell her. In all honesty, Lauren is a typical teenager; she’s self centred and definitely thinks that she is in the right, 100% of the time, but in many ways her determination is what makes this novel such a pageturner. Once she discovers that there is indeed a link between herself and the missing girl, she somehow persuades her parents to take a family trip to America, where upon arriving, she deliberately distances herself from her family and takes Jam along with her in an attempt to seek out her past.

Throughout the novel, Lauren never seems to have a sense of danger, often plunging into situations that could easily be avoided and usually involving others in her mistakes. The two teens are incredibly lucky to find themselves eventually out of danger, due to a friendly stranger (however, he could just as easily been cruel too) after having a run in with a vicious criminal at the adoption agency and getting swindled out of money by a dodgy taxi driver. Even after finding her biological family, Lauren isn’t happy; for someone so determined to discover the truth, it seemed bizarre that she hadn’t considered what to do with the information that she found out. Once again, that seems typical of a teenager. Although, she does have some kind of compassion as she fought hard to keep her adoptive family from being arrested but she struggled to gel with her biological family. For some reason, it was impossible for Lauren to understand why her sister had an issue with her, or why her mother was always around her, wanting to be with her. After waiting twelve years and never knowing if she’d ever see her again, it’s not surprising that she liked having her close by her as much as possible. That being said, that make Lauren somewhat more relatable, as many people make mistakes and poor decisions as they begin to grow up.

Overall, I enjoyed this novel far more than I thought that I would; it’s a decent thriller that would be an excellent dip into crime for young adults as the plot is really well devised and written. I loved how McKenzie explored how the dark side of adoption affects many people, for example the adopted parents, biological parents, siblings and of course the adopted child both legally and emotionally; nothing is ever as simple as it appears on the surface. This is definitely a coming of age novel, but not in the traditional sense. It’s about separating the truth from lies, learning how to face whatever you discover, however unpleasant it may be. Considering the mature subject matter, the writing is easy to follow and I read the entire thing in a day, which isn’t bad. I’d suggest picking up this novel if you want a fast paced, reasonably short novel that’s packed with action. Lauren’s past and future were so unknown and so unexpected that although there were some cliché moments, you still found yourself longing to know how her story ended, although there were some loose ends that weren’t tied fully enough for me, I enjoyed this novel enough that I can overlook that.