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A review by poachedeggs
Once Was Lost by Sara Zarr
3.0
Sara Zarr does the realistic YA novel well. In this book, Samara is losing faith in God as well as her father, the upstanding church pastor who can't seem to/doesn't seem to want to save his wife from a drinking addiction. While Samara is preoccupied with her various problems - and estranging herself from her best friend - a girl goes missing in town, causing her to spiral even deeper into self-doubt and self-pity.
I like the way Zarr handles adults through the eyes of a teenager. Samara's anger with her father is well portrayed - never through over-the-top arguments, but through her constant yearning for him to live up to her image of him. It's awful when your parent fails you time and again, and Zarr highlights the bitterness of this disappointment poignantly.
However, I found Samara difficult to sympathise with outside of this. Although her problems are indeed bad, I disliked the way she imposed them on the brother of the girl who had disappeared. It's like - Hey, dude, so sorry about your kid sister going missing, but could you hear me out on my problems and how they relate to yours?
This is the second Zarr book I've read, and I had almost exactly the same problem with [b:Story of a Girl|33906|Story of a Girl|Sara Zarr|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1168471691s/33906.jpg|2420507]. I can see teenage girls liking these books, but am not sure I can take the self-centred angst any more.
I like the way Zarr handles adults through the eyes of a teenager. Samara's anger with her father is well portrayed - never through over-the-top arguments, but through her constant yearning for him to live up to her image of him. It's awful when your parent fails you time and again, and Zarr highlights the bitterness of this disappointment poignantly.
However, I found Samara difficult to sympathise with outside of this. Although her problems are indeed bad, I disliked the way she imposed them on the brother of the girl who had disappeared. It's like - Hey, dude, so sorry about your kid sister going missing, but could you hear me out on my problems and how they relate to yours?
Spoiler
I didn't like the romance element at all - didn't think it was realistic how the young man, having been badgered by the pastor's daughter about her own problems, would succumb to her charms and even begin a long-distance relationship with her by the end of the book.This is the second Zarr book I've read, and I had almost exactly the same problem with [b:Story of a Girl|33906|Story of a Girl|Sara Zarr|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1168471691s/33906.jpg|2420507]. I can see teenage girls liking these books, but am not sure I can take the self-centred angst any more.