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sus__xox's review
5.0
The Lost and The Found by Cat Clarke
Writing:
I've been a fan of Cat Clarke for a while, so when I received The Lost and The Found in the mail, I was overjoyed. Obviously, when you dive into a book where the author has written amazing books before, you have high expectations. Cat Clarke's writing is perfect for YA.
She somehow manages to perfectly capture the thoughts and feelings of a teenager, without actually being a teenager herself. She writes to an extent that if the protagonist hates a character, you start to hate a character. With this it makes it surprising when the character does something that you wouldn't do, but that’s what makes the book intriguing.
I do read a lot of YA, but I have to say I'm always excited to see Cat Clarke in the bookshops I go to, because I can imagine other people reading her books and enjoying them just as much as me.
Characters:
The characters were the main focus of the entire book. The main character, Faith, is brilliant. The whole way through the book, Faith would say or do something and I would have to stop myself from nodding furiously, or yelling 'Yessss!' at the book. She's interesting and you never know what she's going to do next. Faith isn’t perfect, so there are some moments when she does something crazy that you wouldn’t even dream of doing, but that makes her seem like a person, rather than 100% fictional and made up.
My personal favourite character was Michel. At the beginning of the book, I was convinced he was her brother, only to be told otherwise later on. Michel is the kind of person everyone needs in his or her life. Someone who asks if someone is okay even if they know EXACTLY the problem and why it's bothering them.
Laurel was a whole other story. I always love a good book where there is a certain character everyone else loves, but you despise. I felt that Laurel was one of those characters I just love to hate. Laurel is one of the most developed characters I've read about, and you never know what to expect with her, whether she'll be angry about something or happy. She's unpredictable in an emotional way, rather than Faith, who's unpredictable in a physical way.
Storyline:
While I was reading this book there wasn't a moment that I wasn't full of suspense. There was the kind of build up so you knew something was going to happen, but you didn't know what or when, so you just had to keep reading to find out.
The beginning was great, because unlike some books, you just jumped straight into the action, without long character introductions.
Whereas in some books you have many tiny plot twists where you're just like 'oh gosh', this book amazingly had a massive build up to one of the most out of this world and crazy and shocking plot twists in the whole of human history.
I promise I'm not being dramatic.
What also shocked me in this book was the romance, or should I say, the lack of it. This is definitely not a contemporary. I love a good romance, but I also love how Cat Clarke knew there wasn't enough room for romance in the story, but she knew that she had to include a tiny problem to do with the romantic side of Faith.
-
Susie :)
Writing:
I've been a fan of Cat Clarke for a while, so when I received The Lost and The Found in the mail, I was overjoyed. Obviously, when you dive into a book where the author has written amazing books before, you have high expectations. Cat Clarke's writing is perfect for YA.
She somehow manages to perfectly capture the thoughts and feelings of a teenager, without actually being a teenager herself. She writes to an extent that if the protagonist hates a character, you start to hate a character. With this it makes it surprising when the character does something that you wouldn't do, but that’s what makes the book intriguing.
I do read a lot of YA, but I have to say I'm always excited to see Cat Clarke in the bookshops I go to, because I can imagine other people reading her books and enjoying them just as much as me.
Characters:
The characters were the main focus of the entire book. The main character, Faith, is brilliant. The whole way through the book, Faith would say or do something and I would have to stop myself from nodding furiously, or yelling 'Yessss!' at the book. She's interesting and you never know what she's going to do next. Faith isn’t perfect, so there are some moments when she does something crazy that you wouldn’t even dream of doing, but that makes her seem like a person, rather than 100% fictional and made up.
My personal favourite character was Michel. At the beginning of the book, I was convinced he was her brother, only to be told otherwise later on. Michel is the kind of person everyone needs in his or her life. Someone who asks if someone is okay even if they know EXACTLY the problem and why it's bothering them.
Laurel was a whole other story. I always love a good book where there is a certain character everyone else loves, but you despise. I felt that Laurel was one of those characters I just love to hate. Laurel is one of the most developed characters I've read about, and you never know what to expect with her, whether she'll be angry about something or happy. She's unpredictable in an emotional way, rather than Faith, who's unpredictable in a physical way.
Storyline:
While I was reading this book there wasn't a moment that I wasn't full of suspense. There was the kind of build up so you knew something was going to happen, but you didn't know what or when, so you just had to keep reading to find out.
The beginning was great, because unlike some books, you just jumped straight into the action, without long character introductions.
Whereas in some books you have many tiny plot twists where you're just like 'oh gosh', this book amazingly had a massive build up to one of the most out of this world and crazy and shocking plot twists in the whole of human history.
I promise I'm not being dramatic.
What also shocked me in this book was the romance, or should I say, the lack of it. This is definitely not a contemporary. I love a good romance, but I also love how Cat Clarke knew there wasn't enough room for romance in the story, but she knew that she had to include a tiny problem to do with the romantic side of Faith.
-
Susie :)
freadomlibrary's review
3.0
Actual rating 3.5 stars
This review was originally posted at https://freadomlibrary.wordpress.com/
I received an e-ARC of this book from Random House Children’s and Crown Books for Young Readers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
Critically
Plot – 3.5 out of 5 stars
This book was intense and powerful the entire way through. It’s so emotional and shocking and complicated. There was mystery and suspense. The whole story was complicated and you never really know where you stand with what’s happening. There were some things that were predictable, which I’ve had a tendency to do lately but the ending was mind blowing and unexpected. The only thing that really bothered me about the plot was that I felt like the romance was unnecessary.
Writing Style – 4 out of 5 stars
I don’t know what it was about the writing style of this book but it was totally addicting. It’s fast paced and easy to read. It’s intense and powerful and every time I sat down to read, I was consumed by the story. I even stayed up to 2 am once. It was full of depth and it was captivating. But at the same time the narrative was jarring and sometimes it was hard to grasp my mind around what the main character was thinking and feeling.
Characters – 3.5 out of 5 stars
I am torn between my feelings on all the characters in this book. I liked some and did not like others. Faith, our main character, is interesting. I had a hard time connecting with her at first. The narrative is really hard to connect with in the beginning. But in general, Faith is really emotional considering everything that is happening in her life. She’s torn on what she’s feeling. She’s angry and vulnerable and annoyed. But at the same time, she’s happy and looking forward to getting to know her sister. She has a sarcastic kind of personality and voice and I liked her a lot more when she was annoyed and bothered by the actions of the people around her so it was frustrating when she was happy because it felt a little fake haha. I was torn with how I felt about the side characters. Some felt complex and interesting. They intrigued me and made me question what was happening in the story. But there were others that I felt were simple and not needed. One in particular I felt was only used for the movement of the plot instead of actually having a meaningful presence in the story. However the relationships between the characters were so intense and complex and I definitely didn’t see that ending coming, it affected everyone in different ways which blew my mind.
Emotionally
The plot is powerful. We follow Faith, a girl who has lived her whole life behind the shadow of her sister, who was kidnapped when they were kids. Thirteen years later, her sister Laurel is found and everyone has to adjust to this new presence and their new normal. The story was completely addicting and intense when I was reading. It was so fast paced and easy to get lost into that I would fly through it. My heart would beat so fast even when things were calm because I knew not everything was like it seemed. I knew to be suspicious, because it’s a thriller book so obviously don’t trust everything, but I was still caught up in the emotion and the suspense of it. Unfortunately, when I wasn’t reading, I had no desire to pick the book. Some plot points were predictable and I saw them coming a mile away which was really unfortunate because it made me want to skim and read quickly to get to the climax of the story. Some of the relationships between the characters were used only to move the plot along and to bring about the catalyst which pushed for the climax and that kind of bothered me. It felt like unnecessary drama and almost like lazy writing in my opinion. But that ending completely blew my mind. The twist was easy to figure out like I said, but the resolution afterward and the epilogue that almost felt like an open ending were intense. I did not expect that finale whatsoever and it left me grasping at straws and I’m still trying to wrap my head around it.
The romance in this book felt unnecessary and forced. I didn’t find anything compatible between the two characters and it was used more as a way to push the plot forward. That could’ve been done in a separate way that still felt genuine and didn’t make the relationship feel cheap.
Faith frustrated me most of the time. While I understand that she’s going through something so huge, after spending her whole life with this invisible presence being more important than she is, suddenly that presence is actually there and there’s a lot of conflicting emotions that come with that. Yet at the same time, I didn’t want her to be happy at all. I wanted her to be angry, to be frustrated, to yell and scream because she wasn’t taken that seriously. Yes, I know how unrealistic that sounds but that’s what I wanted. It obviously makes more sense for her to be conflicted between happiness and anger, and I still enjoyed seeing how she dealt with that though it annoyed me sometimes. Her narrative almost felt unreliable at times, but maybe that’s just the way it was written because she got suspicious real quick and she felt like she couldn’t really trust her instincts.
I wanted to talk a little about the parental units in the family because unlike most YA books, they are extremely prevalent in the novel. Faith and Laurel’s Mom annoyed me a lot. I felt like she was focused on things that didn’t necessarily matter and that she was more conscious of one daughter over the other. It made me angry and I’m still bitter that no one told her that to her face. Dad on the other hand tried his best to keep it civil but he still tended to be neglectful towards Faith. I can’t begin to pretend that I know what they were going through but if I was the kid left behind, I’d be resentful of the way my life was handed out. Michel is my favorite adult in this whole book. I don’t want to explain much of his involvement but he’s the only one who really takes into account how Faith could be feeling and is the only one to approach her to ask what she’s thinking. I loved their relationship.
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by this book. The plot was fast paced, addicting, intense and powerful. Even though I had a hard time finding the desire to read this book, once I was into it, it was hard to pull me out. I was completely invested in the crazy story. I feel like all the characters could’ve been more developed and fleshed out in general, but I enjoyed Faith’s voice and the way she told her story and her personality. Honest to God, I’m still not over that ending. Serious mind fuck you guys.
This review was originally posted at https://freadomlibrary.wordpress.com/
I received an e-ARC of this book from Random House Children’s and Crown Books for Young Readers via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!
Critically
Plot – 3.5 out of 5 stars
This book was intense and powerful the entire way through. It’s so emotional and shocking and complicated. There was mystery and suspense. The whole story was complicated and you never really know where you stand with what’s happening. There were some things that were predictable, which I’ve had a tendency to do lately but the ending was mind blowing and unexpected. The only thing that really bothered me about the plot was that I felt like the romance was unnecessary.
Writing Style – 4 out of 5 stars
I don’t know what it was about the writing style of this book but it was totally addicting. It’s fast paced and easy to read. It’s intense and powerful and every time I sat down to read, I was consumed by the story. I even stayed up to 2 am once. It was full of depth and it was captivating. But at the same time the narrative was jarring and sometimes it was hard to grasp my mind around what the main character was thinking and feeling.
Characters – 3.5 out of 5 stars
I am torn between my feelings on all the characters in this book. I liked some and did not like others. Faith, our main character, is interesting. I had a hard time connecting with her at first. The narrative is really hard to connect with in the beginning. But in general, Faith is really emotional considering everything that is happening in her life. She’s torn on what she’s feeling. She’s angry and vulnerable and annoyed. But at the same time, she’s happy and looking forward to getting to know her sister. She has a sarcastic kind of personality and voice and I liked her a lot more when she was annoyed and bothered by the actions of the people around her so it was frustrating when she was happy because it felt a little fake haha. I was torn with how I felt about the side characters. Some felt complex and interesting. They intrigued me and made me question what was happening in the story. But there were others that I felt were simple and not needed. One in particular I felt was only used for the movement of the plot instead of actually having a meaningful presence in the story. However the relationships between the characters were so intense and complex and I definitely didn’t see that ending coming, it affected everyone in different ways which blew my mind.
Emotionally
Spoiler
To be honest, I have warring feelings on this book. On one hand, it was easy to read but on the other, I never really had any desire to pick it up.The plot is powerful. We follow Faith, a girl who has lived her whole life behind the shadow of her sister, who was kidnapped when they were kids. Thirteen years later, her sister Laurel is found and everyone has to adjust to this new presence and their new normal. The story was completely addicting and intense when I was reading. It was so fast paced and easy to get lost into that I would fly through it. My heart would beat so fast even when things were calm because I knew not everything was like it seemed. I knew to be suspicious, because it’s a thriller book so obviously don’t trust everything, but I was still caught up in the emotion and the suspense of it. Unfortunately, when I wasn’t reading, I had no desire to pick the book. Some plot points were predictable and I saw them coming a mile away which was really unfortunate because it made me want to skim and read quickly to get to the climax of the story. Some of the relationships between the characters were used only to move the plot along and to bring about the catalyst which pushed for the climax and that kind of bothered me. It felt like unnecessary drama and almost like lazy writing in my opinion. But that ending completely blew my mind. The twist was easy to figure out like I said, but the resolution afterward and the epilogue that almost felt like an open ending were intense. I did not expect that finale whatsoever and it left me grasping at straws and I’m still trying to wrap my head around it.
The romance in this book felt unnecessary and forced. I didn’t find anything compatible between the two characters and it was used more as a way to push the plot forward. That could’ve been done in a separate way that still felt genuine and didn’t make the relationship feel cheap.
Faith frustrated me most of the time. While I understand that she’s going through something so huge, after spending her whole life with this invisible presence being more important than she is, suddenly that presence is actually there and there’s a lot of conflicting emotions that come with that. Yet at the same time, I didn’t want her to be happy at all. I wanted her to be angry, to be frustrated, to yell and scream because she wasn’t taken that seriously. Yes, I know how unrealistic that sounds but that’s what I wanted. It obviously makes more sense for her to be conflicted between happiness and anger, and I still enjoyed seeing how she dealt with that though it annoyed me sometimes. Her narrative almost felt unreliable at times, but maybe that’s just the way it was written because she got suspicious real quick and she felt like she couldn’t really trust her instincts.
I wanted to talk a little about the parental units in the family because unlike most YA books, they are extremely prevalent in the novel. Faith and Laurel’s Mom annoyed me a lot. I felt like she was focused on things that didn’t necessarily matter and that she was more conscious of one daughter over the other. It made me angry and I’m still bitter that no one told her that to her face. Dad on the other hand tried his best to keep it civil but he still tended to be neglectful towards Faith. I can’t begin to pretend that I know what they were going through but if I was the kid left behind, I’d be resentful of the way my life was handed out. Michel is my favorite adult in this whole book. I don’t want to explain much of his involvement but he’s the only one who really takes into account how Faith could be feeling and is the only one to approach her to ask what she’s thinking. I loved their relationship.
Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by this book. The plot was fast paced, addicting, intense and powerful. Even though I had a hard time finding the desire to read this book, once I was into it, it was hard to pull me out. I was completely invested in the crazy story. I feel like all the characters could’ve been more developed and fleshed out in general, but I enjoyed Faith’s voice and the way she told her story and her personality. Honest to God, I’m still not over that ending. Serious mind fuck you guys.
rainbowdragonz's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
3.75
I like this book. It was a fun and easy read for me to speed through between deeper series. The one thing is this book has is a plot twist (as you'd expect it would be kinda boring without it leading up to something). Now my gf also read this and was completely shocked by the plot twist. I guessed the entire twist in detail before chapter 13. I don't know what that says about us. It was still a good book with a satisfying ending but for me this ending was predicable, whilst my gf found it completely surprising. I am a psychologist though so I may have an advantage 😂 Overall though I do recommend this book as something quick and easy to read when you just want some light hearted mystery.
obviously_lene's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
k_a_t_y's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
tense
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? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping, Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Torture
sienna727's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
pewterwolf's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars, I think. The last 100 pages redeem itself.
Review Taken from The Pewter Wolf and Bookish Brits
Faith's whole life has been dominated by her older sister, Laurel's, disappearance. Faith was four and Laurel was six, and Faith has known no difference. The media storm around her family and herself as she grew up, saw her parents split up and trying to deal with so called friends.
Thirteen years ago, Laurel was snatched. And now... now, she has come back.
The happy ever after everyone hoped for and wanted. But what happens next? And why is Faith suddenly feeling isolated and paranoid?
Now, I have read all bar one of Cat Clarke's books and I have really enjoyed reading them. I love Cat's writing style, where she makes you sped through the book while writing from a character who you might not be so thrilled to spend time with. And this book is no different to her others. Fast pace and you will speed through the pages. I read this with 5 days (four, technically as I had a day off playing with Bagheera and spending time with my other half!) so the pacing is good and strong.
However - yes, there is a however. And it's a big however from me. As someone who reads quite a bit of crime thrillers (and watches a heck of a lot of crime TV dramas), I felt that this book was very predictable. I knew where the story was going to go almost from the word go. And it annoyed me that I guessed correctly where the story was going. It made me like the book less.
But saying that though, the last few pages redeemed the book for me. It became, in a sense, the most important part of the book, the last 3 or so pages.
While it might have been my fave Cat Clarke, it was a fast addictive read.
Review Taken from The Pewter Wolf and Bookish Brits
Faith's whole life has been dominated by her older sister, Laurel's, disappearance. Faith was four and Laurel was six, and Faith has known no difference. The media storm around her family and herself as she grew up, saw her parents split up and trying to deal with so called friends.
Thirteen years ago, Laurel was snatched. And now... now, she has come back.
The happy ever after everyone hoped for and wanted. But what happens next? And why is Faith suddenly feeling isolated and paranoid?
Now, I have read all bar one of Cat Clarke's books and I have really enjoyed reading them. I love Cat's writing style, where she makes you sped through the book while writing from a character who you might not be so thrilled to spend time with. And this book is no different to her others. Fast pace and you will speed through the pages. I read this with 5 days (four, technically as I had a day off playing with Bagheera and spending time with my other half!) so the pacing is good and strong.
However - yes, there is a however. And it's a big however from me. As someone who reads quite a bit of crime thrillers (and watches a heck of a lot of crime TV dramas), I felt that this book was very predictable. I knew where the story was going to go almost from the word go. And it annoyed me that I guessed correctly where the story was going. It made me like the book less.
But saying that though, the last few pages redeemed the book for me. It became, in a sense, the most important part of the book, the last 3 or so pages.
While it might have been my fave Cat Clarke, it was a fast addictive read.
justlily's review against another edition
3.0
Really slow for the vast majority of the time. The big twist is pretty easy to see coming and everything after it just makes so little sense that it's hard to enjoy. But I've read worse? So? There's that?
sophiew1407's review
4.0
In many ways the novel is heartbreaking and very sad but there is such honesty to it that makes it a beautiful story. I genuinely loved this novel, just like Clarke's other novels I devoured this one quite quickly to say the least.
While the story line is more than a little sad, I really loved that Clarke put a happier spin on a negative situation. I connected with each character and felt deeply for them; sympathy, happiness, anger, frustration, joy and love.
The fact that Laurel's character is so complex is so very intriguing and I suppose to be expected but Clarke has yet again done it in such a compelling way that really makes you feel you understand Laurel while not understanding her at all. That probably sounds stupid but I know what I mean. I was definitely fond of her character and admired her greatly. Also though her sister Faith, appropriately named, is definitely admirable, the fact that she has lived under her sisters shadow upset me quite a bit, I just felt really sorry for her and wanted to give her a big squeezy crushed to death cuddle. Faith's character was definitely more admirable as you can connect with her joy and relief and then later on her jealousy. Her character makes sense. Both are very likable and I very much liked them.
The plot doesn't just twist, it constricts like a snake squeezing out any possible air! I loved the twist, I don't want to give anything away but it makes you question every detail of everything you've read so far until you have dissected and de-paged the book itself and are left with scraps of paper everywhere asking how? Where? What? And when?
The only thing I disliked about the twist is that it was rushed. I feel like that could've came earlier or at least the suspicion of a twist came earlier. It felt like Faith just had some sort of massive brain wave come fart and spewed out the contents (great image I know). Like I say though it is really a great twist, it was just let down by the fact that it was rushed. It is sad and did make me cry so really it still worked.
Heartbreaking yet honest, a perfect combination.
UnderDogThinking x
While the story line is more than a little sad, I really loved that Clarke put a happier spin on a negative situation. I connected with each character and felt deeply for them; sympathy, happiness, anger, frustration, joy and love.
The fact that Laurel's character is so complex is so very intriguing and I suppose to be expected but Clarke has yet again done it in such a compelling way that really makes you feel you understand Laurel while not understanding her at all. That probably sounds stupid but I know what I mean. I was definitely fond of her character and admired her greatly. Also though her sister Faith, appropriately named, is definitely admirable, the fact that she has lived under her sisters shadow upset me quite a bit, I just felt really sorry for her and wanted to give her a big squeezy crushed to death cuddle. Faith's character was definitely more admirable as you can connect with her joy and relief and then later on her jealousy. Her character makes sense. Both are very likable and I very much liked them.
The plot doesn't just twist, it constricts like a snake squeezing out any possible air! I loved the twist, I don't want to give anything away but it makes you question every detail of everything you've read so far until you have dissected and de-paged the book itself and are left with scraps of paper everywhere asking how? Where? What? And when?
The only thing I disliked about the twist is that it was rushed. I feel like that could've came earlier or at least the suspicion of a twist came earlier. It felt like Faith just had some sort of massive brain wave come fart and spewed out the contents (great image I know). Like I say though it is really a great twist, it was just let down by the fact that it was rushed. It is sad and did make me cry so really it still worked.
Heartbreaking yet honest, a perfect combination.
UnderDogThinking x
ebralz's review against another edition
2.0
Wasn't too fond of the way the main character let everyone dictate the way she thinks, feels, and talked. Was obvious from the beginning what the end was going to be like, but there was a SLIGHT twist with it so didn't make it terrible.