Every Missing Piece

Maddy lost her father in a terrible accident, and now she worries about nearly everything and sees danger everywhere. She is no longer allowed to call the police on her own. Her mother has remarried, and Maddy hasn’t accepted her stepfather, Stan. Would liking Stan mean she is disloyal to her father? Maddy thinks she spots a boy at school who was kidnapped months earlier, and she sets out to solve the mystery with help from her BFF Cress, but Maddy and Cress aren’t getting along as they used to. Now Mom and Stan want to have a baby. Things are changing at home and at school, and Maddy is having a very tough time.

Melanie Conklin has created an interesting cast of characters and given them a story with lots of drama, mystery, friendship conflict, parent and stepparent troubles, and more. The dialogue is snappy, and the writing is conversational and inviting to young readers. Maddy is believably imperfect, and she will have readers rooting for her every step of the way. The problems she faces are ones middle-graders will easily relate to. This is simply a terrific book that will rivet readers and keep pages turning.