Missing
Realistic Fiction
By Catherine Macphail
Reviewed by Jessica Fitzgerald
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
“Was she still dreaming? That was her first thought. That she was still lying on her bed, having a nightmare. Any moment now she would wake up. She had to. She stared at her trembling hands. No. it wasn’t a dream or a nightmare. She was standing here on the upstairs landing and Derek had just phoned her…but that couldn’t be. Derek is dead.”
The Moody family has suffered the disappearance of their son Derek. Since then Maxine Moody, Derek’s 13 year old little sister, has been ignored by her parents. She wishes Derek was dead. She knows she shouldn’t wish such a terrible thing, but if he’s dead, maybe him, his memory, and everything about him will disappear along with him and she’d finally become visible to her parents again. Moving from neighbor to neighbor while Mr. and Mrs. Moody investigated possible sightings of Derek, she waited for what seemed like her whole life to get an answer. Until one day, his body was identified. But Derek wasn’t gone, not by any means. If anything, it made her parents focus on him even more, even though they knew he was dead. Mrs. Moody got a psychic medium to try to connect with his soul, and she started to say she could “feel” him around the house watching over them. One night the phone rang and Maxine picked up. “Hello?” she said. ‘“Maxie…?” no one had ever called her that except…‘Maxie. It’s me. It’s Derek.”’ Derek? How? He’s dead. Or is he? Is he dead? Is he alive? Is the strange caller Derek’s ghost? Or is it just a “crank” trying to pull a joke?
Missing is a quick read that is sure to keep you on your toes. There are always more pieces to the puzzle than what you think. I recommend this book to younger girls who enjoy page turning mysteries. Catherine Macphail did a wonderful job showing Maxine’s torn feelings between loving her brother, and wishing he was dead. I defiantly would read more books by this author.
