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andreajay's review
1.0
This book had so much potential. I was disappointed.
Problems:
-A lot of profanity. I don't mind a bit of profanity, but geez.
-Opening with the child's point of view. For the first section of the book, I thought it was a YA novel and the library had mislabeled it.
-Lack of character differentiation. I couldn't remember who of Lisa's friends was whom.
-Depressing. And I'm usually open to that sort of thing. What bothered me, actually, was that the novel was sad until the last few pages. The so-called happy ending felt contrived.
Again, I thought the plot was pretty good. I just think it should be rewritten. :op
Problems:
-A lot of profanity. I don't mind a bit of profanity, but geez.
-Opening with the child's point of view. For the first section of the book, I thought it was a YA novel and the library had mislabeled it.
-Lack of character differentiation. I couldn't remember who of Lisa's friends was whom.
-Depressing. And I'm usually open to that sort of thing. What bothered me, actually, was that the novel was sad until the last few pages. The so-called happy ending felt contrived.
Again, I thought the plot was pretty good. I just think it should be rewritten. :op
sdibartola's review against another edition
3.0
The story begins with the disappearance of the precocious child detective Kate Meaney, but soon settles on the routine lives of several young adults tied in one way or another to Kate. There is the socially-awkward security guard Kurt, the passive shopkeeper Adrian, and Adrian’s sister, Lisa, who, although seemingly intelligent, appears unable to walk away from either her indifferent boyfriend Ed or her lackluster job as assistant manager in a music store. Speaking of music, their situations call to mind the lyrics from an old Bob Dylan song (Chimes of Freedom):
“Tollin’ for the aching ones whose wounds cannot be nursed
For the countless confused, accused, misused, strung-out ones and worse
And for every hung-up person in the whole wide universe …”
The sadness of their day-to-day lives is summarized by Lisa when she talks about the pandas: “they spend their lives looking for leaves and bamboo to eat, but eating the stuff does them no good, they can’t digest it, so they have no energy. They have to lie down and rest all the time. They spend their whole lives in this pointless pursuit that just saps them.” And then there’s Kurt who meets his future wife Nancy at a concert for two put on by a busker who plays at a plodding pace on the street but rips through Django Rhinehart solos in the club – what’s that all about? Nancy falls out of love with Kurt but they don’t talk about it. Before they can, Nancy is killed in an auto accident. Finally, there’s Ian the clerk in the music store who torments poor old Mr. Wake by promising that his order for Mozart’s Horn Concertos Nos. 1-4 on cassette tape will arrive any day now although he knows it’s been discontinued. Lisa finally transfers the CD to tape to put Mr. Wake out of his misery. You get the picture – this is pretty depressing stuff. Although Kate has been lost physically, she is beyond this daily grind. The rest of these people are walking zombies – lost emotionally. As author O’Flynn says, they are “stuck in dead end jobs or relationships wondering how they got there.”
It’s not all bad however. For one thing, the mystery of Kate’s disappearance is solved by the end of the book, and Kurt and Lisa manage to find each another. Not surprisingly, events of the past connect the characters in meaningful ways that become apparent as the story unfolds. Also, there’s the case of Teresa, a classmate of Kate’s from an abusive family, whom Kate manages to launch on a trajectory of success. So, O’Flynn can express hope and optimism: “What I most wanted to convey was the confidence and fidelity of friends. While the characters may have little or no belief in themselves, it is the faith of their friends that provides their salvation.”
All in all, a very well done and entertaining little book despite the depressing workaday lives of the characters. Definitely worth reading.
“Tollin’ for the aching ones whose wounds cannot be nursed
For the countless confused, accused, misused, strung-out ones and worse
And for every hung-up person in the whole wide universe …”
The sadness of their day-to-day lives is summarized by Lisa when she talks about the pandas: “they spend their lives looking for leaves and bamboo to eat, but eating the stuff does them no good, they can’t digest it, so they have no energy. They have to lie down and rest all the time. They spend their whole lives in this pointless pursuit that just saps them.” And then there’s Kurt who meets his future wife Nancy at a concert for two put on by a busker who plays at a plodding pace on the street but rips through Django Rhinehart solos in the club – what’s that all about? Nancy falls out of love with Kurt but they don’t talk about it. Before they can, Nancy is killed in an auto accident. Finally, there’s Ian the clerk in the music store who torments poor old Mr. Wake by promising that his order for Mozart’s Horn Concertos Nos. 1-4 on cassette tape will arrive any day now although he knows it’s been discontinued. Lisa finally transfers the CD to tape to put Mr. Wake out of his misery. You get the picture – this is pretty depressing stuff. Although Kate has been lost physically, she is beyond this daily grind. The rest of these people are walking zombies – lost emotionally. As author O’Flynn says, they are “stuck in dead end jobs or relationships wondering how they got there.”
It’s not all bad however. For one thing, the mystery of Kate’s disappearance is solved by the end of the book, and Kurt and Lisa manage to find each another. Not surprisingly, events of the past connect the characters in meaningful ways that become apparent as the story unfolds. Also, there’s the case of Teresa, a classmate of Kate’s from an abusive family, whom Kate manages to launch on a trajectory of success. So, O’Flynn can express hope and optimism: “What I most wanted to convey was the confidence and fidelity of friends. While the characters may have little or no belief in themselves, it is the faith of their friends that provides their salvation.”
All in all, a very well done and entertaining little book despite the depressing workaday lives of the characters. Definitely worth reading.
carlamaeshep's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
brynebo's review
3.0
While this book evoked fond memories of Harriet the Spy, my love for Kate Meaney didn't quite measure up to her predecessor. Of course, the Kate's cloak and dagger antics produced far darker results. A good read, but don't expect to laugh.
sandeestarlite's review against another edition
4.0
What a delightful book! 10 yr old Kate Meaney seems to be one of the few people in a small town with a purpose. She has received a book about how to be a detective, which she takes very seriously, and starts out to discover crime in her town. She disappears shortly thereafter and remains a mystery for 20 years. Finally, the threads start to come together to wake up the town!
halfcentreader's review against another edition
4.0
While generally a sober book... it was also surprisingly funny.
eab7680's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
emiliehaugen's review against another edition
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
hannahreadslotsofbooks's review against another edition
3.0
What Was Lost started out promising with 10 year old Kate starting her own investigation company with her stuffed monkey. She talks about what happens in the mall that she “investigates” and she’s a fun character to follow around. Then about halfway through the reader finds out that she has disappeared and it’s been 20 years since she was last seen. The story is then told through the perspectives of Lisa and Kurt two current employees at the mall that are somewhat connected and haunted by Kate’s disappearance. That section was very uninteresting. I’ll be honest, I feel asleep twice while listening to this. I have no idea what I missed, but it also didn’t really impact the story. Lisa and Kurt were very uninteresting characters and that section seemed to drag on. If that section didn’t exist, I think it would have been better, but I don’t know what could have been put in place of that.
brownmartian's review
4.0
A sad and thrilling story. This book was given to me as a gift and it took me a while to get around to it, but I'm glad I finally did. I was totally broken by the end of it.