Every Missing Piece

Eleven-year-old Maddy Gaines can't help but imagine danger lurking around every corner. In the three years since a tragic accident took her father's life, the anxious girl has become so well acquainted with the local emergency services as to be considered a nuisance, dialing 911 at any hint of trouble. Six months after a local boy is abducted, she discovers a seemingly similar child with a bruised face setting booby traps in a cemetery, but she decides that she must accumulate proof to be taken seriously. Maddy becomes friends with the boy despite his connection to her sworn enemy, with whom she is engaged in a territory war. Also on Maddy's mind is getting along with her awkward new stepfather, whom she considers "the wrong piece for our puzzle," and the way her best friend seems to be growing up faster than she is. Conklin's well-paced narrative nimbly incorporates Maddy's ever-present fear and lingering grief into a nuanced tale of a tween discovering that things aren't always what they seem. Ages 8-12. Agent: Elena Giovinazzo, Pippin Properties. (May)

Gr 5-7--Sixth grader Maddy Gaines wants her old life back: before her father died, before her anxiety caused her to keep a rescue ladder under her bedroom window, and before her best friend, Cress, became interested in boys and skin care. But as Cress tells Maddy, "You have to get used to it." As Maddy navigates a relationship with Stan, her mother's new husband, and the changing dynamics of her friendship with Cress, she is also confronted with a mystery. Walking in the neighborhood graveyard one day, Maddy meets Eric, a boy who reminds her of Billy Holcomb who has been missing for six months. Maddy wants to share her discovery with her mom, but after so many false alarms fueled by her anxiety, she decides to say nothing. As she gathers evidence to support her conviction that Eric is actually Billy, Maddy has the opportunity to reconsider assumptions she's made about her friends and Stan. She slowly begins to connect with Stan and appreciate that he is making a genuine effort to be a part of Maddy's life. When she learns the true story of what happened to Billy and his mother, Maddy is also forced to understand some hard truths about the realities of the emotional and physical effects of domestic violence. VERDICT In this heartfelt story about a family struggling through adjustments big and small, Maddy's efforts to make sense of the changes in her life will inspire young readers.--Shelley Sommer, Inly School, Scituate, MA