A review by trid_for_kicks
Once Was Lost by Sara Zarr

5.0

This book is heartbreaking and real and relatable. As someone who has been a teenager, grown up with questions, fear, confusion, this book hits close to home. I loved the main character, her voice, the way she saw and thought and felt, all the things that went unsaid: this is what it's like to be that age, to have problems and to want to fix them, but unable to ask for help because you're old enough to see that the only ones you can ask need help of their own. The narrative sucked me in, made me feel, which is exactly what you want from a book (even if the feeling isn't happy). You felt like you were there, the fear, the confusion, the depression and emptiness from not knowing what to do for too long. This is a book everyone should read, religious or not. Especially if they are a teenager, or going through a hard time. People need to know that feeling like this is real. People shouldn't have to feel that lonely, thinking they're the only one with unsolvable problems in the world. I want to write a book like this.