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A review by ladytiara
The Lovely and the Lost by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
4.0
Kira is a former feral child. She remembers almost nothing before the time she was rescued in the woods by Cady, her adoptive mother, just that she was on her own, trying to survive. Cady trains dogs for search-and-rescue, and she's the best in the business. Kira, her brother Jude, and their friend and neighbor Free are all learning to train dogs for search-and-rescue.
Cady is estranged from her father, but when she gets a call that he needs her help searching for a child who's lost in a vast national park, she agrees to go home to help, and brings the kids along. Kira gets caught up in the search for the missing child, and it triggering fragments of memories. It soon becomes obvious that the missing child didn't just wander off, she was kidnapped, so there's a mystery element to the story.
The characters all have some baggage. Kira has PTSD from her traumatic childhood experiences. Even though she's been living in a safe environment with a loving family for many years, the scars of her past are still there. She doesn't like being touched, eye contact is hard for her, and she relates better to dogs than people. Cady hasn't been back to her hometown in 18 years and has a fraught relationship with her father. Joining Kira in the search is local boy Gabriel, who has a criminal past and secrets of his own.
The book is fast-paced and very readable. I wasn't really expecting this to be a mystery, but that part of the plot was very well done and left me guessing until the end. There were a lot of twists and turns, and whenever I thought I had things figured out, I was way off base.
Kira was a fascinating character. She can be prickly and difficult. She loves her family, but the emotional interactions are really difficult for her. Her PTSD is triggered by searching for the missing child, and she's on edge for most of the book.
I found the info about search and rescue missions really interesting. The vastness of the wilderness where the child disappeared seems insurmountable, but the dogs and humans on the search team are able to do so much. It was really fascinating. I loved reading about the bonds between the searchers and their dogs.
I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.
Cady is estranged from her father, but when she gets a call that he needs her help searching for a child who's lost in a vast national park, she agrees to go home to help, and brings the kids along. Kira gets caught up in the search for the missing child, and it triggering fragments of memories. It soon becomes obvious that the missing child didn't just wander off, she was kidnapped, so there's a mystery element to the story.
The characters all have some baggage. Kira has PTSD from her traumatic childhood experiences. Even though she's been living in a safe environment with a loving family for many years, the scars of her past are still there. She doesn't like being touched, eye contact is hard for her, and she relates better to dogs than people. Cady hasn't been back to her hometown in 18 years and has a fraught relationship with her father. Joining Kira in the search is local boy Gabriel, who has a criminal past and secrets of his own.
The book is fast-paced and very readable. I wasn't really expecting this to be a mystery, but that part of the plot was very well done and left me guessing until the end. There were a lot of twists and turns, and whenever I thought I had things figured out, I was way off base.
Kira was a fascinating character. She can be prickly and difficult. She loves her family, but the emotional interactions are really difficult for her. Her PTSD is triggered by searching for the missing child, and she's on edge for most of the book.
I found the info about search and rescue missions really interesting. The vastness of the wilderness where the child disappeared seems insurmountable, but the dogs and humans on the search team are able to do so much. It was really fascinating. I loved reading about the bonds between the searchers and their dogs.
I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review.