Come Find Me

Gr 9 Up—Six months ago, two sudden deaths changed the course of 16-year-old Kennedy Jones's life. To cope, she turns to her brother Elliot's abandoned research station in their family's old barn, where he used a satellite to scan for signs of extraterrestrial life. One county over, Nolan Chandler searches for his older brother Liam, whose disappearance remains unsolved after two years. Though his parents scour missing persons reports, Nolan has a sense that the explanation may be paranormal after picking up an unusual signal in Liam's room with his EMF reader. When Kennedy posts on a technology forum about the strange signals she's picking up with Elliot's satellite, it draws Nolan and Kennedy together in their search for answers. Their individual journeys through grief are multifaceted and utterly believable, though the thread of mystery that ties them together feels muddled by the book's conclusion. This novel excels particularly in Kennedy's strained relationship with her young uncle Joe, whose unexpected guardianship Kennedy views with a nuanced mix of gratitude and reluctance. This quiet portrayal of two families rocked by tragedy is not particularly fast-paced, but the dynamics among the characters as they all search for their own version of peace is gripping all the same. This sensitive and nuanced depiction of grief in all of its forms will surely engross fans of crime stories and family dramas alike, though any readers hoping for a paranormal mystery will find those elements lacking.