Kira has been a lost child. She has been rescued by Cady and her son Jude but she still has scars - visible and invisible that have damaged her from her time 'alone' in the wilderness.
Cady is an expert with training and using tracking dogs. Kira, perhaps because of that time spent alone surviving in the wild, has a special bond with the dogs especially a rescue dog named Saskia. Cady has been called to the small town where she grew up because a very young girl named Bella is missing. But as the story unfolds finding this missing girl is not the only reason Cady needed to come home.
This is one of those stories where reading feels like viewing a television show. Nearly every character has a back story and as a reader you will want to know more about each key person and discover how they are interconnected. Of course, the plot is also driven by the desperate need to find young Bella.
Readers who enjoy survival stories and who have a special affinity with dogs are sure to love this book. The ending will be a surprise and as with all good Young Adult titles there are still a few loose ends.
I recommend this book for readers aged 13+ mainly because there is a very violent scene towards the end when Kira is taken for interrogation by the local sherif. He is a vicious and nasty man who exposes parts of Kira's story that are utterly dreadful and harrowing. If you look at my labels for this post you will have a better idea of some of the issues raised in this story.
I bought this book by accident but I am glad I found and read it. I was browsing one of our city bookstores (Abbey's York Street). As usual I had found one book to buy but I decided I needed two! Abbey's have a good shelf of front facing newer titles and this one caught my eye. I thought I had heard of the author Jennifer Lynn Barnes but in fact she is new to me. High School readers, this is a Young Adult book, are sure to have heard of her book series The Inheritance Games. The Lovely and the Lost was published in 2020 but my copy is the UK 2025 edition.
You can read a long description of the plot on the US publisher page.
Blurb from the author page: Kira Bennett's earliest memories are of living alone and wild in the woods. She has no idea how long she was on her own or what she had to do to survive, but she remembers the moment that Cady Bennett and one of her search-and-rescue dogs found her perfectly. Adopted into the Bennett family, Kira still struggles with human interaction years later, but she excels at the family business: search-and-rescue. Along with Cady's son, Jude, and their neighbor, Free, Kira works alongside Cady to train the world's most elite search-and-rescue dogs. Someday, all three teenagers hope to put their skills to use, finding the lost and bringing them home. But when Cady's estranged father, the enigmatic Bales Bennett, tracks his daughter down and asks for her help in locating a missing child, Kira's memories threaten to overwhelm her at every turn. As the danger mounts and long-held family secrets come to light, Kira is forced to question everything she thought she knew about her adopted family, her true nature, and her past.
How did I decide this was a Young Adult title? What are some things I should have noticed?
- The print size is very small
- The bookshop price sticker (these are always worth exploring) says "Young Adult Fiction"
- The cover endorsement - 'A propulsive mystery-thriller ... You will cling to this book until you reach the end' Maureen Johnson - not a name I know - this should have been a strong hint
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