The Shape of Lost Things coming October 22, 2024 from HarperCollins; 272 pages
Content Warning: Family trauma, PTSD
About the Author: “Sarah Everett is the author of several books for teens. Charlotte’s Web was the first book that ever made her cry, and while she despises spiders, she still has an abiding love of stories that move her. When she is not reading or writing, she is dreaming about summer, gearing up for her next travel adventure, perfecting her tree pose, or yodeling with her dog. She lives in western Canada” (Bio from author’s website).
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Sarah Everett’s The Shape of Lost Things is an emotionally resonant and poetic middle grade novel on how life—and people—change. The story follows twelve-year-old Skye after her missing brother, Finn, returns home from being taken by their father. Skye feels lost and insecure about her identity, believing that she is uninteresting and without any redeeming qualities. With her father having chosen to take her brother over her and all her friends at school being far more talented and creative, she is unsure what value she brings to her family or her friend group. Soon, however, she begins to suspect that the boy who returned can’t be the real Finn; he’s forgotten all of their secrets, is much quieter, and doesn’t have the scar she knows him to have. To solve this mystery, Skye uses her polaroid camera to capture evidence against Not-Finn and send him away from her true family.
Starting The Shape of Lost Things was a bit of a struggle for me. The heavy subject matter is present from page one, and at first feels almost too dark for the age range it is trying to represent. Once I began reading though, I couldn’t put it down. Everett uses poetic language throughout the story and bookends chapters with what is pictured and what is not pictured in Skye’s polaroids, highlighting the pieces of life that she is missing. The lyrical prose and moving character arcs in this book made me cry at least three separate times. The depiction of middle school bullies and crushes felt realistic, and the relationship between Skye with her mother, her new stepfather, and Not-Finn are all deeply poignant. Skye is an incredibly relatable main character, with both her jealousy of her older brother and her interest in capturing the truth. Her stepfather acts as a wonderful comic relief and carries the burden of entering a broken family. The novel has an emotionally intense ending that teaches a lesson on grief, trauma, and change. It has as happy of an ending as you could expect, but also leaves many questions unanswered, which grounds the story. If you are a fan of Angie Thomas’ The Hate U Give, I highly recommend this book for its representation of African American families, well-written themes, and overall writing style.
The Shape of Lost Things releases on October 22, 2024.
Pine Reads Review would like to thank SparkPoint Studio and HarperCollins for sending us an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change before final publication.
Jenica Delaney, Pine Reads Review Writer