"Missing" Review

Running away from home is something children do on a daily basis, although most come back. Derek, however, never came back from running away. Catherine Macphail's Missing kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the book.

Maxine Moody knows her brother is gone. She just wishes her parents would come to accept that fact. Time has passed since Derek left the house one morning after an argument with Mom, and never came back. Maxine feels invisible, her parents are forever preoccupied with trying to find Derek. But, one day when a policeman tells the family they have found Derek's dead body, Maxine thinks everything will possibly go back to normal. Then the phone calls start. Someone is calling the house claiming to be Derek, and Maxine is freaking out. Is Derek really alive? Could someone be playing a cruel prank? All of these questions are answered in the Missing.

The characters of Missing are Maxine, her parents, a bully at school, Derek (maybe), and some of Maxine friends. The characters are mostly static, although sometimes we wonder if some characters might have something to hide.

Missing is set in Maxine's hometown, although the story speaks of possible places Derek might have been before he "died," which are all over the world. The author does a good job with one of the places where a phone call was supposedly placed from, a graveyard, from a phone right next to Derek's grave.

I would recommend Missing to any reader, although this book is somewhat of an easy read. This book will keep readers wanting more, never a dull moment. Missing receives a two thumbs up from Crist Blackwell.