Book Review: “The Shape of Lost Things” by Sarah Everett

“The Shape of Lost Things” by Sarah Everett (2024)

Genre: Middle Grade, Contemporary Fiction

Page Length: 273 pages (hardcover edition)

Synopsis:

Skye Nickson’s world changed forever when her dad went on the run with her brother, Finn. It’s been four years without Finn’s jokes, four years without her father’s old soul music, and four years of Skye filling in as Rent-a-Finn on his MIA birthdays for their mom. Finn’s birthday is always difficult, but at least Skye has her best friends, Reece and Jax, to lean on, even if Reece has started acting too cool for them.

But this year is different because after Finn’s birthday, they get a call that he’s finally been found. Tall, quiet, and secretive, this Finn is nothing like the brother she grew up with. He keeps taking late-night phone calls and losing his new expensive gifts, and he doesn’t seem to remember any of their inside jokes or secrets.

As Skye tries to make sense of it all through the lens of her old Polaroid camera, she starts to wonder: Could this Finn be someone else entirely? And if everyone else has changed, does it mean that Skye has to change too?

Review:

The Shape of Lost Things is a heartfelt and emotional middle-grade novel about grappling with grief and the constant changes of growing up. Skye, our main character feels empty when her brother and father disappear leaving her and her mom behind. When her brother returns years later, she struggles to recognize her brother as it seems like everything about him has changed. Instead of feeling like her brother has come back home, she feels as if a stranger is in his place. As she tries to reconnect with her brother and new family dynamic, her friendships at her school also aren’t quite the same. Skye must weave through multiple obstacles while trying to grasp her “new life.”

This novel felt so real and relatable for its middle-grade audience. Reading this book reminded me of the changes that were happening in my own life at that time especially when it came to friendship dynamics. Skye has to navigate through all of these powerful emotions while realizing that things and people never stay the same. She learns an important lesson of how we don’t always know the people that surround us and how that ties into our expectations of others. That thought is best summed up in this quote:

“We never really see all of anyone. We see some of them, whenever they allow us to see, and sometimes that feels like hardly anything. And other times, it feels like everything.”

Though a shorter read, I feel like this story made a great impact without feeling as if any parts were rushed. I appreciated that the ending leaves some questions unanswered to keep the book grounded in reality. Everett has such a way with words in the way she crafts the characters and plot making it accessible while also leaving its readers life lessons and how we can cope with changes in our lives. It was a moving novel and I’d be interested in checking out more Everett’s novels!

Final Verdict: