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The Shape of Lost Things

by Sarah Everett

CCBC Review:

Skye’s older brother, Finn, has been gone for two years, ever since their dad kidnapped him in the aftermath of their parents’ divorce. Skye, 12, not only misses Finn, but struggles with feelings of abandonment and inadequacy, sure her dad chose not to take her because she wasn’t special like Finn. Now Finn has been found. But when he comes home to their changed and changing family (Black), he isn’t the dynamic, funny, protective big brother she remembers. When Skye realizes Finn no longer has a scar on his elbow—a scar she remembers because it was her fault—she decides that whoever this person is, he’s only pretending to be Finn. Skye starts calling him “Not-Finn” in her head, finding more and more evidence to support her belief that he’s an imposter. Each chapter of this compelling novel grounded in Skye’s observant, imperfect perspective ends with a description of a photograph she’s taken, and feelings implied by the image for Skye. It’s Skye’s feelings and family dynamics that so skillfully propel this story that builds to an emotional climax in which Skye realizes she isn’t alone in feeling like too much has changed for things to ever feel right again. It’s a moment of catharsis offering hope that Skye—and Finn, too—will, after all, be ok. ©2025 Cooperative Children’s Book Center

CCBC Age Recommendation: Ages 10-13
Age Range: Grades 3-5 (Ages 8-10) Grades 6-8 (Ages 11-13)
Format: Novel
Subjects: Abandonment African Americans Change Divorce Families Mental Health and Illness Mysteries Observation Self-Esteem and Self-Worth Stepfathers Trauma
Diversity subject: Black/African

Publishers: Harper, HarperCollins
Publish Year: 2024
Pages: 263
ISBN: 9780063256613
CCBC Location: Fiction, Everett

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