Brought to you by OBS reviewer Andra

Spoilers!

Synopsis:

Seventeen-year-old Arden Munro has been raised by her older brother, Scott, ever since the death of their parents 10 years earlier. He has been her only family. But now Scott too is dead–or so believe the local police and everyone in Arden’s community. Arden, however, is convinced that Scott has staged his snowmobile accident and purposely disappeared. She will search until she finds him. As Arden obsessively continues her detective hunt, she is forced to examine her feelings of loss and isolation, and to finally realize that these feelings existed long before Scott’s accident. Whether or not her brother reappears, where should Arden turn for the support that usually comes from family? The page-turning mystery leads to a heart-tugging conclusion that is at once hopeful and sad, piercing and satisfying.

Review:

I am always a bit apprehensive about the first book I read from an author that’s new to me.  Great expectations abound, but will I enjoy the book?  I was pleasantly surprised.  The book can be described as written in the last sentence in the synopsis:

“The page-turning mystery leads to a heart-tugging conclusion that is at once hopeful and sad, piercing and satisfying.”

Though the book was first published in 1997, I felt the way the story written is still relevant and relatable today.

The dynamics between Arden and her brother, Scott were just so relatable. Complexity was added as Scott had the “adult” role in Arden’s life since their parents died when Arden was 6 and Scott was 18, so the sibling dynamic was askew.  It must have been a very tough place to be for Scott, having to uproot his newly found independence (he had just started college) when he took on the parental role.  For 10 years he held it together, for his families’ sake.

One outing on Scott’s snowmobile turns out to be a near miss.  So when troubles begin to abound in Scott’s life (unbeknownst to Arden), a depressed Scott takes yet another fateful ride on his new snowmobile.  A seemingly innocent trip to see his girlfriend turns into tragedy yet again for Arden….her brother is missing and presumed dead.

I must say that some of the actions regarding living arrangements post-accident were odd and not entirely believable.  Who would let a teenage girl live on their own so soon?  Arden might be responsible, but she has just “lost” her only family – this is not an action I would see as plausible.  However, it does make for interesting reading.  And when things begin to go bad (missing school work, missing school, unchaperoned road trips), why was there not closer adult supervision?

Arden’s tenacity in her quest was what made the story for me.  She had a vision of what happened and did not let the outside world interfere with her quest to prove her theory.  As Arden slowly learns of the details of Scott’s life she begins to see and empathize with Scott as to what led him to act as he did.

It is be sheer coincidence that Arden does find her brother again.  I was chagrined by the lack of consequences Scott endured for running away from his life.  But the story was redeemed when Arden was able to learn how she got her name.  An odd story, but every child should know the history of their name.

An enjoyable YA read which will undoubtedly have me reading more from this author in due course.

*OBS would like to thank the publisher for supplying an ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review*