Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
The Lost and The Found by Cat Clarke
Writing:
I've been a fan of Cat Clarke for a while, so when I received The Lost and The Found in the mail, I was overjoyed. Obviously, when you dive into a book where the author has written amazing books before, you have high expectations. Cat Clarke's writing is perfect for YA.
She somehow manages to perfectly capture the thoughts and feelings of a teenager, without actually being a teenager herself. She writes to an extent that if the protagonist hates a character, you start to hate a character. With this it makes it surprising when the character does something that you wouldn't do, but that’s what makes the book intriguing.
I do read a lot of YA, but I have to say I'm always excited to see Cat Clarke in the bookshops I go to, because I can imagine other people reading her books and enjoying them just as much as me.
Characters:
The characters were the main focus of the entire book. The main character, Faith, is brilliant. The whole way through the book, Faith would say or do something and I would have to stop myself from nodding furiously, or yelling 'Yessss!' at the book. She's interesting and you never know what she's going to do next. Faith isn’t perfect, so there are some moments when she does something crazy that you wouldn’t even dream of doing, but that makes her seem like a person, rather than 100% fictional and made up.
My personal favourite character was Michel. At the beginning of the book, I was convinced he was her brother, only to be told otherwise later on. Michel is the kind of person everyone needs in his or her life. Someone who asks if someone is okay even if they know EXACTLY the problem and why it's bothering them.
Laurel was a whole other story. I always love a good book where there is a certain character everyone else loves, but you despise. I felt that Laurel was one of those characters I just love to hate. Laurel is one of the most developed characters I've read about, and you never know what to expect with her, whether she'll be angry about something or happy. She's unpredictable in an emotional way, rather than Faith, who's unpredictable in a physical way.
Storyline:
While I was reading this book there wasn't a moment that I wasn't full of suspense. There was the kind of build up so you knew something was going to happen, but you didn't know what or when, so you just had to keep reading to find out.
The beginning was great, because unlike some books, you just jumped straight into the action, without long character introductions.
Whereas in some books you have many tiny plot twists where you're just like 'oh gosh', this book amazingly had a massive build up to one of the most out of this world and crazy and shocking plot twists in the whole of human history.
I promise I'm not being dramatic.
What also shocked me in this book was the romance, or should I say, the lack of it. This is definitely not a contemporary. I love a good romance, but I also love how Cat Clarke knew there wasn't enough room for romance in the story, but she knew that she had to include a tiny problem to do with the romantic side of Faith.
-
Susie :)
Writing:
I've been a fan of Cat Clarke for a while, so when I received The Lost and The Found in the mail, I was overjoyed. Obviously, when you dive into a book where the author has written amazing books before, you have high expectations. Cat Clarke's writing is perfect for YA.
She somehow manages to perfectly capture the thoughts and feelings of a teenager, without actually being a teenager herself. She writes to an extent that if the protagonist hates a character, you start to hate a character. With this it makes it surprising when the character does something that you wouldn't do, but that’s what makes the book intriguing.
I do read a lot of YA, but I have to say I'm always excited to see Cat Clarke in the bookshops I go to, because I can imagine other people reading her books and enjoying them just as much as me.
Characters:
The characters were the main focus of the entire book. The main character, Faith, is brilliant. The whole way through the book, Faith would say or do something and I would have to stop myself from nodding furiously, or yelling 'Yessss!' at the book. She's interesting and you never know what she's going to do next. Faith isn’t perfect, so there are some moments when she does something crazy that you wouldn’t even dream of doing, but that makes her seem like a person, rather than 100% fictional and made up.
My personal favourite character was Michel. At the beginning of the book, I was convinced he was her brother, only to be told otherwise later on. Michel is the kind of person everyone needs in his or her life. Someone who asks if someone is okay even if they know EXACTLY the problem and why it's bothering them.
Laurel was a whole other story. I always love a good book where there is a certain character everyone else loves, but you despise. I felt that Laurel was one of those characters I just love to hate. Laurel is one of the most developed characters I've read about, and you never know what to expect with her, whether she'll be angry about something or happy. She's unpredictable in an emotional way, rather than Faith, who's unpredictable in a physical way.
Storyline:
While I was reading this book there wasn't a moment that I wasn't full of suspense. There was the kind of build up so you knew something was going to happen, but you didn't know what or when, so you just had to keep reading to find out.
The beginning was great, because unlike some books, you just jumped straight into the action, without long character introductions.
Whereas in some books you have many tiny plot twists where you're just like 'oh gosh', this book amazingly had a massive build up to one of the most out of this world and crazy and shocking plot twists in the whole of human history.
I promise I'm not being dramatic.
What also shocked me in this book was the romance, or should I say, the lack of it. This is definitely not a contemporary. I love a good romance, but I also love how Cat Clarke knew there wasn't enough room for romance in the story, but she knew that she had to include a tiny problem to do with the romantic side of Faith.
-
Susie :)
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Loved this book !
It is so interesting to see the coming back of a vanished girl in her family from the point of vue of her sister. But it's not always beautiful for her... Jealousy, rivalry in this new relationship. But Laurel hide something that we can't imagine ...
Chronique française sur Sous ma Couverture
It is so interesting to see the coming back of a vanished girl in her family from the point of vue of her sister. But it's not always beautiful for her... Jealousy, rivalry in this new relationship. But Laurel hide something that we can't imagine ...
Chronique française sur Sous ma Couverture
The plot twists in this are awesome! You half guess some but then an added twist subverts things even more. An enjoyable read when you get the time.
The reason that I never give Cat Clarke's books anything less than 4/5 stars is because they're just so good - and The Lost and the Found did slightly disappoint. I flew through his in just over 24 Hours, and any time that I wasn't reading, I was thinking about what the plot would bring next. Again, Cat Clarke's books take turns that you don't see coming, and although I was bracing myself for that change of direction, the ending went somewhere completely different.
This has given me a lot to think about when it comes to the media, and also when you're trying to see from someone else's perspective - I really wish Faith's mum had been able to see how isolated her daughter was now that another person had entered the stage.
Moving and powerful - another fantastic book from Cat Clarke.
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
I knew that Thomas and Laurel would be found together - that was glaringly obvious.
NEVER suspected that Laurel wasn't really Laurel, and was Sadie instead though. What angers me is that we never get an explanation as to why Sadie chose to take up the role of Laurel, in my eyes that's purely cruel.
Also, as much as Faith felt like it was the best thing to do, I completely disagree with her ending actions. There are flaws and holes in the way things were handled (how long has "Laurel"supposedly gone away for?) do Faith's parents just expect to never see her again - that doesn't make sense.
Faith's parents had ever right to know what really happened to Laurel, and I can't see her keeping hat secret without eventually caving in. It is fortunate that Michel suspects it though.
This has given me a lot to think about when it comes to the media, and also when you're trying to see from someone else's perspective - I really wish Faith's mum had been able to see how isolated her daughter was now that another person had entered the stage.
Moving and powerful - another fantastic book from Cat Clarke.
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS
I knew that Thomas and Laurel would be found together - that was glaringly obvious.
NEVER suspected that Laurel wasn't really Laurel, and was Sadie instead though. What angers me is that we never get an explanation as to why Sadie chose to take up the role of Laurel, in my eyes that's purely cruel.
Also, as much as Faith felt like it was the best thing to do, I completely disagree with her ending actions. There are flaws and holes in the way things were handled (how long has "Laurel"supposedly gone away for?) do Faith's parents just expect to never see her again - that doesn't make sense.
Faith's parents had ever right to know what really happened to Laurel, and I can't see her keeping hat secret without eventually caving in. It is fortunate that Michel suspects it though.
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I picked up a signed copy of The Lost and The Found at The Edinburgh Book Festival. Here’s my link to my post if you’d like to see my write up of their talk – The Disappeared and my photo with Cat Clarke and Kat Ellis!!! https://kyrosmagica.wordpress.com/2015/08/22/edinburgh-book-festival-edbookfest-cat-clarke-and-kat-ellis/
My Thoughts:
Cover:
This is a very simple cover, and if I’m totally truthful I wasn’t particularly impressed. I must admit this little voice in my head kept on saying, couldn’t you think of something a bit more imaginative Cat ?!!!!!! It’s a bit basic, just words, and yellow tape? But having read the book, the cover seems to match the story inside, this is a novel primarily about relationships, and emotions, there are no fancy shenanigans going on, so a simple cover kind of makes sense. So first impressions are sometimes very, very wrong!!!
I bow down to your superior book cover knowledge Cat.
Snippet:
Cat read the following engaging snippet from The Lost and The Found at her Book Festival talk:
I don’t believe it. I won’t allow myself to believe it. Mum’s trying to stay calm too, but I can see it in her face – something I haven’t seen for years hope. She thinks it’s different this time. They wouldn’t have called her otherwise. They think this is it. After hundreds, maybe even thousands, of crank calls and false sightings and psychics claiming Laurel was living with goat-herds in the mountains of Uzbekistan.
Book Review:
The Lost and The Found manages to engage the reader in very dark subject matter, the return of an abducted girl that has been sexually abused, who now has to readjust to living in a world in which she has had little or no experience. Can you imagine being locked away for years and never been let out of captivity? How horrendous. Cat Clarke doesn’t take the obvious route, telling us Laurel’s story, instead she focuses primarily on Faith’s emotions. Making Faith the main protagonist of the novel instead of the more obvious choice Laurel, gives the story a much different, possibly more light-hearted feel. The novel tackles surface and deeply hidden emotions so well.
Faith, the seventeen year old younger sister, of abducted Laurel, tells us her story through her eyes. Of course she is beyond happy that her elder sister has returned, after thirteen very long years, but little by little we see tiny aspects of sibling resentment, and a ton of guilt creep into her emotions. A shocker, or what, The Lost and The Found doesn’t put a sugar coating on Faith’s response, instead it is an honest, and believable account of how Faith and her family respond to the return of her sister. Things are not the same any more, and Cat Clarke manages to convey this in well crafted plot ideas: the family have moved to a new house, her bi-sexual father is no longer married to her mother, and is now in a relationship with a Frenchman called Michel. Not surprisingly many changes have occurred after such a long time period, so how is Laurel going to adjust? From the mid-point of this novel we start to see hints that Laurel is damaged, she was bound to be. These strange behaviour revelations bring about a new dimension, a revelation, and mysterious aspect to the novel that is most definitely a plus, but no more about that as I don’t want to spoil it for you.
The characters are wonderfully crafted, all of them seem believable and engaging. I particularly had a soft spot for Faith, but Laurel’s step dad Michel deserves a mention too. He seems a bit left out of the loop when Laurel returns. Suddenly the original nuclear family of mum, dad, and the two girls bond together in a tight knit group. Again this is believable, so likely that this would happen when a much loved daughter returns after being abducted. But, Michel remains a rock of support and understanding for Faith. Also the relationship between Faith’s father and Michel allows a modern twist to the conventional nuclear family with the new dynamic of families with gay parents, and generally gives step-parents a better, more positive image.
I didn’t engage as much with Laurel as a character, but this was bound to be inevitable with the story resting firming in Faith’s hands.
The role of the press is an interesting aspect of The Lost and the Found. In Faith’s eyes they are portrayed rather like vultures, and each family member is either repelled, or fascinated by the possibility of public appearances, book deals, etc. Fundamentally we are all different, no two people will behave the same in these horrendous circumstances, and this gives the reader an insight into the characters’ personalities and motivations.
The Ending: (****Some Spoilers Below****)
I’ve been mulling over the conclusion to The Lost and The Found a lot. My initial reaction was, you’ve got to be kidding me, but then it hit me like a sledgehammer!
Certain aspects of the plot twists I suspected, others I didn’t see coming. Such a difficult book to conclude, where do you go with it? Whatever you do someone is bound to suffer, and in the end both families pay an equally dreadful price. The equilibrium of fairness is shared. Is it believable, or sustainable? Maybe not entirely, but I think Cat Clarke wanted to make a heartfelt point, and she succeeds in doing that: In prolonged media campaigns for abducted children it is always the kids from white, clean cut, (by this I mean – no drugs, no time spent in prison,) middle class families that are given the most press, and are cared about more. It seems to me that Cat wanted to add another dimension to the story by making Faith’s family a little different, a little off the run of the mill, by adding her father’s relationship with Michel – fuel for the media campaign, but not a reason for the press to lose interest.
Personally I think Faith’s final decision is fuelled by her understandable desire to keep the shocking revelation a secret, both to protect her family and the girl that has been abducted. Who can blame her? So a thought provoking ending, I’m still thinking about it as I write this review….. That can only be a good thing, books that make you debate certain aspects long after you’ve finished them are by far the best books in my opinion.
So would I recommend The Lost and the Found?
Absolutely, I’m so pleased that I read this! Go get a copy!! Great characters, emotions that you can really relate to, and a fast paced mystery too.
My rating:
It’s got to be 5 stars.
My Thoughts:
Cover:
This is a very simple cover, and if I’m totally truthful I wasn’t particularly impressed. I must admit this little voice in my head kept on saying, couldn’t you think of something a bit more imaginative Cat ?!!!!!! It’s a bit basic, just words, and yellow tape? But having read the book, the cover seems to match the story inside, this is a novel primarily about relationships, and emotions, there are no fancy shenanigans going on, so a simple cover kind of makes sense. So first impressions are sometimes very, very wrong!!!
I bow down to your superior book cover knowledge Cat.
Snippet:
Cat read the following engaging snippet from The Lost and The Found at her Book Festival talk:
I don’t believe it. I won’t allow myself to believe it. Mum’s trying to stay calm too, but I can see it in her face – something I haven’t seen for years hope. She thinks it’s different this time. They wouldn’t have called her otherwise. They think this is it. After hundreds, maybe even thousands, of crank calls and false sightings and psychics claiming Laurel was living with goat-herds in the mountains of Uzbekistan.
Book Review:
The Lost and The Found manages to engage the reader in very dark subject matter, the return of an abducted girl that has been sexually abused, who now has to readjust to living in a world in which she has had little or no experience. Can you imagine being locked away for years and never been let out of captivity? How horrendous. Cat Clarke doesn’t take the obvious route, telling us Laurel’s story, instead she focuses primarily on Faith’s emotions. Making Faith the main protagonist of the novel instead of the more obvious choice Laurel, gives the story a much different, possibly more light-hearted feel. The novel tackles surface and deeply hidden emotions so well.
Faith, the seventeen year old younger sister, of abducted Laurel, tells us her story through her eyes. Of course she is beyond happy that her elder sister has returned, after thirteen very long years, but little by little we see tiny aspects of sibling resentment, and a ton of guilt creep into her emotions. A shocker, or what, The Lost and The Found doesn’t put a sugar coating on Faith’s response, instead it is an honest, and believable account of how Faith and her family respond to the return of her sister. Things are not the same any more, and Cat Clarke manages to convey this in well crafted plot ideas: the family have moved to a new house, her bi-sexual father is no longer married to her mother, and is now in a relationship with a Frenchman called Michel. Not surprisingly many changes have occurred after such a long time period, so how is Laurel going to adjust? From the mid-point of this novel we start to see hints that Laurel is damaged, she was bound to be. These strange behaviour revelations bring about a new dimension, a revelation, and mysterious aspect to the novel that is most definitely a plus, but no more about that as I don’t want to spoil it for you.
The characters are wonderfully crafted, all of them seem believable and engaging. I particularly had a soft spot for Faith, but Laurel’s step dad Michel deserves a mention too. He seems a bit left out of the loop when Laurel returns. Suddenly the original nuclear family of mum, dad, and the two girls bond together in a tight knit group. Again this is believable, so likely that this would happen when a much loved daughter returns after being abducted. But, Michel remains a rock of support and understanding for Faith. Also the relationship between Faith’s father and Michel allows a modern twist to the conventional nuclear family with the new dynamic of families with gay parents, and generally gives step-parents a better, more positive image.
I didn’t engage as much with Laurel as a character, but this was bound to be inevitable with the story resting firming in Faith’s hands.
The role of the press is an interesting aspect of The Lost and the Found. In Faith’s eyes they are portrayed rather like vultures, and each family member is either repelled, or fascinated by the possibility of public appearances, book deals, etc. Fundamentally we are all different, no two people will behave the same in these horrendous circumstances, and this gives the reader an insight into the characters’ personalities and motivations.
The Ending: (****Some Spoilers Below****)
I’ve been mulling over the conclusion to The Lost and The Found a lot. My initial reaction was, you’ve got to be kidding me, but then it hit me like a sledgehammer!
Certain aspects of the plot twists I suspected, others I didn’t see coming. Such a difficult book to conclude, where do you go with it? Whatever you do someone is bound to suffer, and in the end both families pay an equally dreadful price. The equilibrium of fairness is shared. Is it believable, or sustainable? Maybe not entirely, but I think Cat Clarke wanted to make a heartfelt point, and she succeeds in doing that: In prolonged media campaigns for abducted children it is always the kids from white, clean cut, (by this I mean – no drugs, no time spent in prison,) middle class families that are given the most press, and are cared about more. It seems to me that Cat wanted to add another dimension to the story by making Faith’s family a little different, a little off the run of the mill, by adding her father’s relationship with Michel – fuel for the media campaign, but not a reason for the press to lose interest.
Personally I think Faith’s final decision is fuelled by her understandable desire to keep the shocking revelation a secret, both to protect her family and the girl that has been abducted. Who can blame her? So a thought provoking ending, I’m still thinking about it as I write this review….. That can only be a good thing, books that make you debate certain aspects long after you’ve finished them are by far the best books in my opinion.
So would I recommend The Lost and the Found?
Absolutely, I’m so pleased that I read this! Go get a copy!! Great characters, emotions that you can really relate to, and a fast paced mystery too.
My rating:
It’s got to be 5 stars.
Have I read this before?! Was running around in my brain. I could not for the life of me figure out if I had read this book before or seen an adaptation of it somewhere. Even the name Laurel Logan is familiar to me (now after I’ve read it, I guess?) I’m so confused.
Laurel Logan was abducted when she was six years old, after 13 years of being gone she is returned to the place that she was kidnaped from. (You should always look at the pace that you have lost an item from). The book follows the Logan family, in the voice of Faith the younger daughter and how they deal with the news of the disappeared sister being found.
I loved how the book deals with having Laurel back, and how the family coped and how they came together. But. For me, I have felt like I have seen it all before. It might be true that all families act the same when their missing child of thirteen years has finally appeared back in the lives, but I just felt déjà vu throughout the book. It’s as if Clarke had found a template online and just put her own spin on it. Nevertheless, I still very much enjoyed the book. Clarke is a fantastic writer and it showed through this book. I was gripped by her words and eager to read the next page and the next page.
I was expecting a twist, obviously because without a twist this book would have been boring. However, I was not surprised by the twist. I figured it out pretty early on (okay not the entire twist but the majority of it) and felt a bit disappointed with the fact that the characters, especially Faith didn’t think much of the clues (but then again I understand how her world was turned upside down with her big sister being back) but then again I was also disappointed with Clarke for giving out the same clue over and over again (although I understand why she had to do it) okay I will stop analysing everybody’s decisions.
Now let’s get to the romance bit of the book, my archnemesis in YA novels. What I hate more than shitty romance in YA, is filler romance in YA. Thomas was a filler and not a good one at that. Clarke made us think of him as this perfect, bird-like, emotional boy to this imperfect and selfish and horrible person back to being a wonderful boyfriend yet again. Even Faith’s friendship seemed quite forced at times. It’s hard to figure out a balance between what is going on in Faith’s life with Laurel being back and having to juggle her friend and boyfriend and I don’t think Clarke found that balance at certain points in the book which is a shame.
Also just want to point out what an amazing job Clarke did with juggling Faith’s feelings throughout the book. She was a great character!
Laurel Logan was abducted when she was six years old, after 13 years of being gone she is returned to the place that she was kidnaped from. (You should always look at the pace that you have lost an item from). The book follows the Logan family, in the voice of Faith the younger daughter and how they deal with the news of the disappeared sister being found.
I loved how the book deals with having Laurel back, and how the family coped and how they came together. But. For me, I have felt like I have seen it all before. It might be true that all families act the same when their missing child of thirteen years has finally appeared back in the lives, but I just felt déjà vu throughout the book. It’s as if Clarke had found a template online and just put her own spin on it. Nevertheless, I still very much enjoyed the book. Clarke is a fantastic writer and it showed through this book. I was gripped by her words and eager to read the next page and the next page.
I was expecting a twist, obviously because without a twist this book would have been boring. However, I was not surprised by the twist. I figured it out pretty early on (okay not the entire twist but the majority of it) and felt a bit disappointed with the fact that the characters, especially Faith didn’t think much of the clues (but then again I understand how her world was turned upside down with her big sister being back) but then again I was also disappointed with Clarke for giving out the same clue over and over again (although I understand why she had to do it) okay I will stop analysing everybody’s decisions.
Now let’s get to the romance bit of the book, my archnemesis in YA novels. What I hate more than shitty romance in YA, is filler romance in YA. Thomas was a filler and not a good one at that. Clarke made us think of him as this perfect, bird-like, emotional boy to this imperfect and selfish and horrible person back to being a wonderful boyfriend yet again. Even Faith’s friendship seemed quite forced at times. It’s hard to figure out a balance between what is going on in Faith’s life with Laurel being back and having to juggle her friend and boyfriend and I don’t think Clarke found that balance at certain points in the book which is a shame.
Also just want to point out what an amazing job Clarke did with juggling Faith’s feelings throughout the book. She was a great character!