Grant, Helen The Vanishing of Katherine Linden

Grant, Helen The Vanishing of Katherine Linden
Delacorte see Random 2009 287p 24.00
978-0-385-34417-3 hs/adult Missing children, horror thriller VG


Pia becomes an outcast when her grandmother “explodes,” overshadowing the sudden disappearance of first Katharina Linden, and the other children in the small German village of Bad Münstereifel, which Pia begins to investigate.
A rare delight of a first novel that will appeal to both adult and young adult audiences. The characterization is outstanding, the writing lyrical, yet dark and forboding. Touches of supernatural glint on the edges of the narrative and the mystery is challenging and first rate. That the protagonist, Pia, is only 10 has no bearing on the enjoyment of the story by many age groups. In many ways, this is reminiscent of Flavia de Luce, Alan Bradley’s dauntless 11-year-old sleuth (The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, 2009 and The Weed that Strings the Hangman’s Bag, 2010). Quirky, many-layered and a mystery readers will not want to put down, from the grandmother’s spontaneous combustion at the beginning of the book until the truly scary ending. The light tone of the narration belies the frightening and sinister character of the story. Not for younger readers, but satisfying and engaging for older ones. A delightful horror story.

This novel had just been selected for the 2011 Alex Award. Mystery/Detective Naismith, Pat

Somebody.

Springer, Nancy. Somebody.
Holiday House 2009 117p 16.95 978-0-8234-2099-5 ms/hs

Sherica is a "missing child." For 10 years her father has moved her and her brother around the country, changing their names, dying their hair, and keeping them from making friends so that he wouldn't be discovered. Now, at 15, she knows she must do something for herself. Absolutely riveting. The novel opens with the main character not knowing her real name, her birthday, or where she comes from. All she knows is that her dad moves her and her brother from town to town, sometimes as often as twice a year, and gives them new names in each new place. We are right there with her as she discovers the shocking truth-- that she is a "missing child" whose father is wanted for abduction. The emotional impact of the book is incredible, as we get inside this child's warped sense of herself and her poor self-esteem, and her notion that she must protect her dad from the law, while at the same time her soul is crying out for a real life for herself. C.Kennedy