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bertrandlm's review against another edition
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
kaelino's review against another edition
3.0
This book, overall, fell a bit flat for me. It's not O'Nan's writing style, which I appreciate and enjoy, for both its simple directness and its tendency to create a distance from his characters as though he is merely an observer of them, while at the same time becoming fairly intimate with them. He "tells" a lot, leaving it up to the reader to interpret the character's voices, their actions, their thoughts. In this way, he sort of remains detached. But I think the characters are somewhat detached as well. Lindsay was a pretty flat character, speaking in a lot of one-word sentences, withdrawing into herself and maybe this is the result of grief, but we really don't know how she was before her sister went missing. I think I wanted more to happen in this story. I kept waiting for things, getting subtle hints that something big might be coming, but I was kept waiting...and waiting. I think O'Nan does a great job of showing the hopelessness and futility in people faced with horrible circumstances, but more emotional impact or twists would have been more satisfying.
somanybookstoread's review against another edition
2.0
This was quite bad. The premise of the story is a missing girl, but the author forgot to develop her character even a tiny bit, so I was utterly uninvested in the plot. Character development was a major element gone wrong throughout the book, in fact. I learned tons of irrelevant details about minor characters and when some of them seemed like they might just turn into something of interest pertaining to the slow-moving, ultimately hole-riddled plot, they didn’t. I wouldn’t bother with this one.
mschrock8's review against another edition
3.0
Sad & scary. I've recently read several books about abductions & run-aways. So hard.
jobananers's review against another edition
2.0
I don't know what it was about this book, but I just couldn't get into it. I am an avid reader and I finish books in less than a week, but this book literally took me months to finish. It was alright. The story plot was decent, and the characters were nice but I just didn't like the progression of the story I suppose. Perhaps it is because I always expect happy endings, and this wasn't one of those and I knew it wasn't going to have a happy ending from the beginning so maybe that was the reason I didn't get into it. It flows nicely, however. I like the way it's written. Everything just flows together.
cynthiatainsh's review against another edition
3.0
I would have given this three and half stars if I could have. The characters were beautifully portrayed and I was drawn into their world. This was painful to read but compelling- if not for the pain of the story, I would probably have given it four stars.
littletaiko's review against another edition
4.0
I have had Songs for the Missing on my Kindle for quite some time now but finally got around to reading it and am so glad that I did. It tales the tell of a high school girl who is missing and the impact it has on her family and friends left behind to find her. It was different in the fact that it wasn't your traditional thriller where the focus is on finding out who took her. Instead it's sole focus is on how those who remain cope. I felt that the family was portrayed very realistically, flaws and all. It shows the challenge of trying to deal with the day to day life that still goes on while continuing to search for the missing person as well as keeping the faith that it will all end well. Very good book.
spinstah's review against another edition
5.0
I really enjoyed this. It was a fast read, one of those that you don't want to put down. The book follows the aftermath of the disappearance of a young woman in the summer before she goes to college. Chapters alternate perspectives between her friends and family, and not everything is revealed - some things are just hinted at. I really enjoyed the prose style in this one and definitely recommend it.
amycrea's review against another edition
4.0
A tough-to-read subject (college-age child goes missing), but beautifully written and handled.