The Shape of Lost Things
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
"Compelling and beautifully written... Everett's sophomore novel story is sure to captivate readers." — Janae Marks, New York Times bestselling author of On Air with Zoe Washington
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?
“An engaging look at grief, friendship, and how to remain who you are when everything around you is changing." — Claire Swinarski, author of What Happened to Rachel Riley?
"An engaging and unputdownable read." — Booklist (starred review)
"A stellar middle-grade novel." — Shelf Awareness (starred review)
"A recommended first purchase for all libraries serving tweens and teens." — School Library Journal (starred review)
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Every September 3, Rowland Waters Middle School student Skye Nickson, along with her physicist mother, celebrate her missing 14-year-old brother Finneas's birthday. Skye rationalizes her father's kidnapping of her brother four years ago by trying to determine if he loved her differently than he loved Finn. Her world turns upside down when Finn is found; Skye has difficulties navigating her estranged brother's arrival and the media circus following his return. She's also convinced that this Finn is not the real Finn: this new Finn likes olives, doesn't talk much, and his skateboarding scar is in a different spot than she remembers. Skye decides to write to the now-retired officer who worked on her brother's case, laying out the facts she's gathered about the possible impostor. Simultaneously, Skye and her family attempt to repair the wedge that time has driven between them by attending therapy in this emotionally driven novel. Everett (The Probability of Everything) unravels the Nickson's harrowing situation through the eyes of amateur photographer Skye, who's unique perspective is often informed by her ever-present Polaroid camera. Via the siblings' tense relationship, Everett depicts the trauma caused by the aftermath of divorce and its impact on family dynamics and mental health. Ages 8–12.
