17 & Gone

by Nova Ren Suma

Summary:
Lauren can see the missing girls. She knows they are trying to tell her something. They want her to find them, to solve their cases, because they are gone. The only link between them is that they are 17, just like Lauren. As she follows the clues that they leave behind for her, she has to wonder, is she next? Or perhaps she is already gone.

Review:
17 & Gone is not a story about the missing girls. It's a story about a girl descending into schizophrenia. The girls she is seeing aren't real, neither are the clues, but no one around her recognizes that. What was most powerful about the book is how long it took anyone to realize that something was really wrong with Lauren. So much was dismissed as just odd, or a one time occurrence, just like it would be if you were seeing it in real life. Ultimately Lauren gets the help she needs, but it's interesting to see the progression it takes for her to get it. Definitely realistic in it's portrayal, this is a book for teens interested in psychological realistic fiction.

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Level: 9th Grade