Have You Seen My Sister?

Gr 8 Up–A missing girl, many suspects, and a desperate sister looking for answers. Esme Gill is almost 16, and she’s finishing her trip to the U.S. before going back to England. Her beautiful and popular sister Gaia works at a ski resort in New Hampshire, and she’s gearing up to start college. The day before the girls’ family returns to the UK, Gaia goes missing. Esme and her parents are frantically tracing back her steps, and hidden secrets start coming out to the light. She befriends local boy Bode, who helps her do their own sleuthing while the adults work with the police. The two go on a wild chase that takes them through the mountains, a cabin in the woods, a slowly thawing forest, and many other places around Moon Mountain to pick up clues for Gaia’s whereabouts. Can Esme and Bode find her before it’s too late? Small-town life, family secrets, and a host of diverse characters make this book a compelling read. Gaia is biracial, Black and white, in a majority-white community, which is discussed frankly and matter-of-factly. The romantic friction between Esme and Bode adds to the overall tension of the plot, and despite a few far-reaching plot points, readers will fall in love with the witty main character, who is also open about her dyspraxia.