I've been a bit quiet lately with little sleep and one kid sick and coughing during the night and the other waking up for milk in between ... stress levels are high and lack of brain function is a reality 😅 I have however been thinking and working on some future ideas and posts for Steemit that I hope y'all will enjoy 😊 For now I bring you another book review. 🙌
by Sue Whiting
A gripping, albeit heartbreaking story of a young girl living through the tragedy of her mum going missing. A Middle Grade mystery full of heart and suspense.
I gave this book: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ ←this is out of 5 stars btw
I really enjoy a good mystery/thriller and even though this book might be aimed at a younger audience, it was most certainly a great book even for a (bit😉)more mature reader. (urgh…do I really need to call myself mature 😖)
I loved how the story was connected together with each chapter of the book alternating between “then” and “now”, this being the case for the majority of the book until the two merged into one. I was super intrigued with what was happening in the “now”, but also equally curious about how it all came about…so structuring the book in this way was absolutely brilliant.
Feels, feels, feels!! I had so many emotions stirring in me while reading this book. The author, Sue Whiting, gave us great insight into how life might possibly unfold for a child in a case where a parent or family member goes missing.
Home life, school life and friendships old and new are inevitably affected.
Do you hold on to the slightest hope that that person might still be okay somewhere out there? Or would you rather want to know for certain what happened and have that sense of closure?
“Nan says that I should cherish my memories, because that’s all I’ll ever have now.” 😭😭😭
“Memories are hard, especially when they are all you have.”💔
Mackenzie struggles with a lot of different emotions, often times feeling wholly consumed by thoughts that she felt unable to confide in those closest to her, wether it was because she just didn’t want them to think differently of her or wether she felt she was protecting them…it was really heart breaking to see her go through the agony of dealing with a world that has shifted of its axes.
Questions, guessing, confusion, guilt and a fragile sense of hope that all rides on a postcard of a fox bat.
There is also the awareness that Kenzie is just a young teen, she’s no longer a small child, but she’s not at all grown up either and how much should she know…
I can’t think of anything more frustrating than feeling that the full truth might be withheld from me in some way, especially on top of the fact that there are already so many uncertain factors.
So Kenzie’s dad drags her of to Panama in a desperate attempt to find his wife, while Kenzie is reluctant to go and unsure of what is going on. Her dad and his actions frustrated me the most. Often times he was unaware of what his actions and words made her feel. His words felt like physical blows to me and you can “feel” him checking out mentally and just leaving Kenzie isolated…not only in a foreign country but also ALONE and that only ads to this whole tumultuous situation.
“Where is that tender dad? I fear I’ve lost him forever.”
💔
“Hopelessness inhabits my heart and my mind fills the night with memories of me and Dad and Mum. Random memories that seem to belong to another family, another lifetime.”
“Was this really us? Did any of this really happen? It is all so removed from my life now, I feel like I’ve invented it.”
All in all a beautifully written book that speaks deeply to your heart.
On a more personal side note… I found the fact that Kenzie is an artist to be such a plus point…that is just something I personally love and it stirs the bit of creative energy that is left in me😂…thus the bat drawing…not a great drawing since I don’t really draw anymore…but it was fun! (Please let me know if you would like to see this drawing with a few progress photos and I'll do a separate post on it 😊)
That is all from me for today, thank you for reading my review!! 😁
