Recent Reads: The Shape of Lost Things by Sarah Everett

Source: From the publisher in exchange for an honest review. This in no way alters my opinion or review.

The Shape of Lost Things by Sarah Everett 
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication Date:  October 22, 2024

 

Format: Hardback


Rating:


Goodreads Synopsis: 

From the award-winning author of The Probability of Everything, which has been called "one of the best books I have read this year (maybe ever)" (Colby Sharp, Nerdy Book Club) and "Powerful" (Kirkus Reviews, starred review),comes a heartfelt exploration of family and change as twelve-year-old Skye reunites with her older brother, Finn, after he spent four years on the run with their father.

Skye Nickson’s world changed forever when her dad went on the run with her brother, Finn. It’s been four years without Finn’s jokes, four years without her father’s old soul music, and four years of Skye filling in as Rent-a-Finn on his MIA birthdays for their mom. Finn’s birthday is always difficult, but at least Skye has her best friends, Reece and Jax, to lean on, even if Reece has started acting too cool for them.

But this year is different because after Finn’s birthday, they get a call that he’s finally been found. Tall, quiet, and secretive, this Finn is nothing like the brother she grew up with. He keeps taking late-night phone calls and losing his new expensive gifts, and he doesn’t seem to remember any of their inside jokes or secrets.

As Skye tries to make sense of it all through the lens of her old Polaroid camera, she starts to wonder: Could this Finn be someone else entirely? And if everyone else has changed, does it mean that Skye has to change too?

Review: 

The Shape of Lost Things is about Skye, a young girl dealing with a unique family situation. Her brother was taken by her father and they have been missing. Every year she has to deal with this loss as her mother celebrates his birthday without him, but they both hope that someday he will come home... and he does, but it is awkward in a number of ways. Skye must deal with a number of emotions and come to terms with her brother bring back.

This book was a beautifully nuanced portrayal of a young girl’s struggle to reconnect with a family member who feels both familiar and foreign. There were layers of confusion, hope, and healing from a young girls perspective that will help young readers navigate a variety of emotions and overcoming difficult situations. 

The book really was lovely. Skye is young, coming to terms with both the loss of a brother but then also his return, however things are different and change is hard. She copes through taking pictures so she can remember every detail but she is also living through her lens which allows her to be slightly detached from the world around her as well. 

I think that young readers will be interested by this book, it is such a different story from things that I have read for the middle grade audience. It is deep and depicts tangled emotions really well - there is an emotional depth and completity to it that I think will give middle grade readers something new.