How to Find a Missing Girl by Victoria Wlosok
Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 400 pages
Published: September 19th, 2023
Source: Giveaway hosted by Literary Rambles
Opening Line: "Everyone knows you wear black to a stakeout."
A year ago, Iris's older sister, Stella vanished without a trace. The police have deemed that she's a runaway and closed the case, but Iris can't believe that her sister would ever just leave her without a word. Since then, Iris has been running a detective agency, under the radar to continue to gather information about Stella's case. While also picking up odd jobs staking out cheaters and locating catfish with her best friends Sammy and Imani. When Iris's ex-girlfriend Heather also goes missing, Iris begins to intensify her investigation as Heather was recording a true crime podcast about Stella's disappearance and might even have uncovered some clues that the police missed. Can Iris find the culprit responsible for all of these disappearances and piece together where Stella and Heather are?
How to Find a Missing Girl is a YA mystery thriller which I quite enjoyed reading, although it took me a little bit to get into. Although, I also think that the slow build is a way to get all the backstory about Iris and Stella and why she began the detective agency. Iris is very determined and resilient. She strives to find answers and I appreciate that about her. She's not willing to accept what the police are telling her, even if her amateur sleuthing might get her into trouble. I believe Iris has felt like she's living in her sister's shadow and the detective agency is her way of carving out a place for herself.
The inclusion of Heather's podcast transcripts, the text messages between friends and newspaper articles, brought some interesting elements to the story. With the podcast sort of feeling like the tapes in Thirteen Reason's Why. I've seen reviews on Goodreads comparing this to A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, but I haven't read that, so it was a fresh new read for me. The story includes a diverse cast of characters with lots of LGBTIQ+ representation with characters that identify as pansexual, queer and nonbinary. There's a strong bond between Iris, Imani and Sammy, and although they have a major difference in opinion in how the case should be approached, somehow, they make amends and overcome their obstacles to work together and solve the case. I found the mystery of who was behind the disappearances to be intriguing and although I saw some of the twists coming, I'd say that the major reveal at the end was a surprise. Just enough tension and risky behavior to make for an entertaining and satisfying read.
**A huge thank you to Literary Rambles for the copy for my review and hosting so many giveaways on your blog**
I'm glad you enjoyed it. I read it already and really enjoyed it too. This is a first that I read something first. I agree that the podcast transcript were an interesting addition to the story.
ReplyDeleteI don't read much YA, but I'll put this one on my list. It sounds really, really good. Thanks for telling me about it.
ReplyDeleteOooh- your review has me wanting to read it. I read some YA, but not a lot. This sounds like a winner in my book. Love the mystery of it all. Thanks for sharing!
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