The Beautiful Lost
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
From NY Times bestselling author Luanne Rice, a sweeping story of a girl and boy, both troubled in different ways, who take off on a whirlwind road trip.Here are three things to know about Maia:1. Ever since her mother left, Maia's struggled with depression -- which once got so bad, she had to go to an institution for a while. She doesn't want to go back.2. Maia's sure that if she finds her mother, if the two of them can talk about whale songs and constellations, then everything will be okay again.3. She's in love with Billy, the handsome, brooding boy who lives in the group home in town. He doesn't seem to know that Maia exists... until now.When Maia sets off on a road trip in search of her mom, Billy unexpectedly comes along. They drive up the East Coast, stopping along the way for lobster rolls and lighthouses. Maia learns that Billy has dark secrets of his own -- and wants to outrun his past, too. But what will the future hold if they reach their destination?From internationally bestselling author Luanne Rice, this is a sweeping, stunning story about the surprising directions our hearts can take.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
The gentle sounds of a piano playing at the opening sets the tone for Rice's YA novel about 16-year-old Maia's struggle with depression. When her mother abandons her family to follow her dream of studying whales in Tadoussac Bay in Quebec and her father remarries, Maia descends into depression, attempts suicide, and is sent to a rehabilitation institution near her home in Connecticut. Returning to school is difficult for her, and she finds a welcome distraction in her budding romance with Billy, the son of a murderer who is living in a nearby group home. Maia becomes convinced that finding her mother will give her the peace she longs for, and soon she and Billy run headlong on a wild adventure to Canada. Narrator Clarke's youthful and convincingly emotional voice conveys Maia's tumultuous feelings about her parents' divorce and her first love; Maia's battle with depression looms even during the high points of her road trip. Clarke provides Billy with a husky bad boy's voice, but the voices of Maia's friends and family are not noticeably distinct. Rice chimes in at the end to read the author's note detailing her own experience with depression and provides resources for young people experiencing this disease. The change of pace and reader helps convey the seriousness of the issues explored in this coming-of-age tale. Ages 12 up. A Scholastic hardcover.
