Place Last Seen

Place Last Seen

Charlotte McGuinn Freeman

Genre: Fiction

Summary (from Goodreads): During a day hike in the Desolation Wilderness of the Sierra Nevada, the Baker family's life turns upside down when the youngest, a six year-old girl with Down Syndrome, disappears while playing hide-and-seek with her brother. Place Last Seen follows the paths of two stories--the Rescue and Search team's efforts to find Maggie and her family's attempts to come to terms with their loss. Clear, moving, and never sentimental, Place Last Seen explores the complicated bonds of family life.

Review:  When I decide on my rating for a book, I take into consideration whether I emotionally connected with the characters and whether I had a hard time putting the book down.  This book met both of those criteria.  Although I had very little in common with Maggie's mother, the author portrayed her emotions so realistically that I couldn't help putting myself in her shoes.  Even the rescuers were interesting characters with back stories and deep emotions.  Although their stories ended somewhat abruptly when the search was over, this didn't bother me as much as unconcluded endings normally do, because it was in keeping with the search and rescue.  The technical information about undertaking a mountain rescue was interesting to read about, although it did bog down the story in a few parts.  And the descriptions of the scenery were so detailed and realistic that it was easy to picture myself in the area.  If you are sensitive about the disappearance of a child, be prepared to cry while reading this.

Rating: 5 stars