All the Missing Girls
By: Megan Miranda
4/5 LOVED IT
All the Missing Girls was so very good, it kept me on my toes from page one, no exaggeration! This book was so enticing right off the bat, this may or may not be because of the way the story is told ... Backwards! Starting at "Day 1" on which Nicolette aka Nic, our leading lady goes back to her small southern hometown to help with an ailing father (who had just sent her a very cryptic letter) and her overworked brother. The story then immediately jumps to 2 weeks later to "Day 15" when the plot is coming to it's climax, then it stops , rewinds and keeps reeling backwards throwing you into the past 2 weeks of Nic's stay in Cooley Ridge one day at a time and consequently into the much darker and even more distant past.
Corrine, Nic's childhood best friend has been missing without a trace for ten years, being back in town and in her childhood home has Nic struggling with demons from her past: memories, old friends, rumors, her first love.
When another girl in Cooley Ridge goes missing , Nic and her old comrades are front and center, suspects once again. I really appreciated the construct of this story especially how the story-breaking secrets were revealed, because if you think about it , if you had some dark secret hidden for years and came back to the scene of the crime , it would be the first thing you thought of... on "Day 1" , not 2 weeks after you'd been there, very smart writing done here.
A huge theme of All the Missing Girls is TEENAGERS, and what dark and twisty messed up little monsters they can be, the emotions set on fire, sociopathy is almost a guarantee and what a disaster they can cause with unintentional selfishness. The teens in this story are very frustrating, but in all of the chaos there is something very sad and touching.. I know, just read it you'll understand. Again, amazingly written.
I don't have much more to say; most aspects in this story were pretty straight forward and not overly complex , that being said one thing stood out for me (as intended by the author) Loyalty; a word of which I feel like most of us don't really experience the true meaning and we may be lucky for that in a way ,but Miranda sheds a light on that small town/family mentality with her characters and just how much one person can do for another in a million ways for no other reason then love or even just sharing blood, and doing it without a second thought no matter how reckless, how many people in this day and age would show such unbreakable solidarity for another even if they are scared to death or get nothing out of it ? My guess is not many.
I loved this book, and am so happy I read it- can't wait for more !
-xoxoTHISRAVENCLAWREADER
