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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
Rating: ★★★.5 → ★★★
Started: 07 September 24
Finished: 09 September 24
POSSIBLE SPOILERS:
I actually kind of enjoyed this? It did take me about 123 pages to get into it but after that I was hooked.
I enjoyed the characters and the diversity of gender, sexuality and race. I enjoyed the little things about their sexuality that kept cropping up (the bad stereotypes (in a funny way), the phone cases, the group chat name).
I did guess who had done it but I was still surprised by what went down. The added component really threw me.
The flow of the writing make for a quick and easy read. I’ll be looking at more of this authors work in the future because I did enjoy the writing.
Started: 07 September 24
Finished: 09 September 24
POSSIBLE SPOILERS:
I actually kind of enjoyed this? It did take me about 123 pages to get into it but after that I was hooked.
I enjoyed the characters and the diversity of gender, sexuality and race. I enjoyed the little things about their sexuality that kept cropping up (the bad stereotypes (in a funny way), the phone cases, the group chat name).
I did guess who had done it but I was still surprised by what went down. The added component really threw me.
The flow of the writing make for a quick and easy read. I’ll be looking at more of this authors work in the future because I did enjoy the writing.
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A solid thriller!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Drug use, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Vomit
How to Find a Missing Girl takes place in a small Louisiana town, where 2 teenage girls have gone missing within a year. Iris and her friends are determined to figure out what happened to Stella and Heather, even if it means interfering with the police investigation. I really enjoyed this book! I loved the LGBTQIA rep in the book, and the way Iris and her friends worked together. The characters had depth and feeling, which made it easy to root for them. There were definitely some twists in this book, most of which I did not see coming. I feel like this book had a lot of what I look for in a book. It was engaging, page-turning, and I needed to know how it ended.
Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the e-ARC of this book. It is out now!
Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for the e-ARC of this book. It is out now!
3.5*
did someone say sapphic good girls guide to murder?? i ate this up
did someone say sapphic good girls guide to murder?? i ate this up
This book will appeal to fans of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder. It follows a similar storyline and feels very familiar. The author does a good job keeping you guessing about what happened to Heather, but the ending feels forced.
This is probably about a 3.5 for me. It felt like a sapphic Karen McManus novel, but not quite up to the complexity and originality of McManus. While I was reading it, I felt like I needed to know what happened and it felt suspenseful, but now that I've finished it, I feel a bit underwhelmed by the whole thing. Not because there is anything wrong with the conclusion (there isn't - it was appropriately suspenseful and action-packed), but because it just doesn't feel like that unique of a story.
My biggest critique is that the characters feel underdeveloped, especially Imani and Sammie: I don't feel like I really know anything about either of them beyond a few surface level facts and they seem to have minimal agency and barely exist beyond what they provide to Iris. Which adds to the perception that Iris is self-absorbed and wantonly disregards the well-being of others without ever really owning up to that fact. If this had been more framed as existing in the context of severe trauma, I think I would find this more tolerable, but since [SPOILER] the book doesn't end with Iris going to therapy, it feels like her behavior is excused and forgiven without her earning that forgiveness.
I liked the mystery itself for the most part, but some aspects felt predictable and others felt like they weren't thoroughly explained in the end. There are some leaps in logic that are never really justified. I finished it and mostly enjoyed it, but definitely felt it could've been better.
My biggest critique is that the characters feel underdeveloped, especially Imani and Sammie: I don't feel like I really know anything about either of them beyond a few surface level facts and they seem to have minimal agency and barely exist beyond what they provide to Iris. Which adds to the perception that Iris is self-absorbed and wantonly disregards the well-being of others without ever really owning up to that fact. If this had been more framed as existing in the context of severe trauma, I think I would find this more tolerable, but since [SPOILER] the book doesn't end with Iris going to therapy, it feels like her behavior is excused and forgiven without her earning that forgiveness.
I liked the mystery itself for the most part, but some aspects felt predictable and others felt like they weren't thoroughly explained in the end. There are some leaps in logic that are never really justified. I finished it and mostly enjoyed it, but definitely felt it could've been better.
Thank you to @thenovl @littlebrown @novelsuspects for my advanced copy (and @netgalley for my advanced electronic copy). My opinions are my own.
MY REVIEW:
A year ago, Iris Blackthorn's sister, Stella, disappeared from their small Louisiana town. The police determined that she had run away, and when Iris didn't believe it and launched her own investigation, she not only scared away the star witness but she also got in legal trouble. And now that she's approaching 18, she could face adult-level punishment if she doesn't stop meddling. The only problem is, now Iris's ex-girlfriend--who had started a podcast on Stella's disappearance--has also disappeared. Now, Iris and her amateur detective agency (her two best friends) are working against the clock, and this time it's life-or-death.
This one was full of amazing social and relationship dynamics. Adolescence is fraught, and adding disappearing beautiful, high-achieving teenagers to the mix makes it all the more intense. I was in the unique position of having a mix of formats to read this one in (the electronic version, the print book, and the audio version), and in this case I felt it added to my experience. When I found the audio performance too overwhelmingly tense (the narrators really, really did their job well! I was impressed!), I was able to switch to electronic and print to give my emotions some space to calm so that I could enjoy it better. I felt that the mixed-media approach of the narrative (traditional first-person limited perspective, podcast transcript, SMS transcripts, print sources, diary entries, etc.) very engaging, and a mystery investigation and the gathering of evidence lends itself well to this approach. Also, I really loved the diverse cast of characters, in ethnicity, appearance, sexual orientation and gender identity. I think Victoria Wlosok's new voice will add greatly to the genre, making a mash-up reminiscent of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, Veronica Mars, and other strong adolescent sleuths.
MY REVIEW:
A year ago, Iris Blackthorn's sister, Stella, disappeared from their small Louisiana town. The police determined that she had run away, and when Iris didn't believe it and launched her own investigation, she not only scared away the star witness but she also got in legal trouble. And now that she's approaching 18, she could face adult-level punishment if she doesn't stop meddling. The only problem is, now Iris's ex-girlfriend--who had started a podcast on Stella's disappearance--has also disappeared. Now, Iris and her amateur detective agency (her two best friends) are working against the clock, and this time it's life-or-death.
This one was full of amazing social and relationship dynamics. Adolescence is fraught, and adding disappearing beautiful, high-achieving teenagers to the mix makes it all the more intense. I was in the unique position of having a mix of formats to read this one in (the electronic version, the print book, and the audio version), and in this case I felt it added to my experience. When I found the audio performance too overwhelmingly tense (the narrators really, really did their job well! I was impressed!), I was able to switch to electronic and print to give my emotions some space to calm so that I could enjoy it better. I felt that the mixed-media approach of the narrative (traditional first-person limited perspective, podcast transcript, SMS transcripts, print sources, diary entries, etc.) very engaging, and a mystery investigation and the gathering of evidence lends itself well to this approach. Also, I really loved the diverse cast of characters, in ethnicity, appearance, sexual orientation and gender identity. I think Victoria Wlosok's new voice will add greatly to the genre, making a mash-up reminiscent of A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, Veronica Mars, and other strong adolescent sleuths.
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for the arc!
How To Find A Missing Girl is a suspenseful thriller focused on a small town where two girls have gone missing. Our main character, Iris is the pansexual leader of a sapphic detective agency she started after her older sister, Stella went missing a year ago. The police say that Stella ran away, but Iris knows that’s not true. And now, her ex girlfriend has gone missing and she knows that they must be connected.
What a roller coaster this book was! Sometimes I find with books like these it’s obvious who the villain is, but not this time! I was left guessing till the very end, and what a twist that was! Iris is a great main character: brave, smart and maybe just a teensy bit foolhardy. I really loved watching her relationship with Lea, they’re perfect for each other. I loved the side characters of Sammy and Imani as well, although I felt that towards the end of the book they were kind of forgotten about. I enjoyed the interpolation of the story with the podcast, and I felt like the author did a good job of showing how ‘true crime’ stuff can affect a victim’s family and invade their privacy. Also please check trigger ear songs before reading, this book has alcoholism, on page death and more. Overall, 4 stars.
How To Find A Missing Girl is a suspenseful thriller focused on a small town where two girls have gone missing. Our main character, Iris is the pansexual leader of a sapphic detective agency she started after her older sister, Stella went missing a year ago. The police say that Stella ran away, but Iris knows that’s not true. And now, her ex girlfriend has gone missing and she knows that they must be connected.
What a roller coaster this book was! Sometimes I find with books like these it’s obvious who the villain is, but not this time! I was left guessing till the very end, and what a twist that was! Iris is a great main character: brave, smart and maybe just a teensy bit foolhardy. I really loved watching her relationship with Lea, they’re perfect for each other. I loved the side characters of Sammy and Imani as well, although I felt that towards the end of the book they were kind of forgotten about. I enjoyed the interpolation of the story with the podcast, and I felt like the author did a good job of showing how ‘true crime’ stuff can affect a victim’s family and invade their privacy. Also please check trigger ear songs before reading, this book has alcoholism, on page death and more. Overall, 4 stars.