Did you know that each year in the United States about 600,000 people go missing?  Most vanish in populated places.  The majority of them are found alive and in a short amount of time.  While these statistics are comforting in a way, the one Jon Billman is concerned about is this—around 1600 people are currently missing from North America's public lands (including national parks, national forests, and BLM land).  And this, Billman says, is likely a vast understatement.  For various reasons, hundreds go missing on federal land every year; many are never found.  

In The Cold Vanish, the writer uses the story of Jacob Gray (link contains spoilers)—a 22-year-old from California who disappeared in Washington's Olympic Peninsula while on a solo bicycling trip—as a springboard to explore these disappearing acts.  Who is most likely to vanish on public land?  Why?  And what is being done to locate the missing?  Billman discusses obstacles to finding people in the wild (vast acreage, inclement weather, difficult terrain, bureaucratic red tape, etc.) as well as the lengths that volunteers (including a group of dedicated Bigfoot hunters) have gone to to find missing hikers, bicyclers, and explorers.  Since so many of the circumstances surrounding these disappearances are strange, even inexplicable, Billman also talks about the more out-there explanations embraced by some: aliens, Sasquatch, and other otherworldly explanations.  The levity of this discussion is over-balanced, however, by those about how a missing persons investigation affects the family and friends who are left behind with no answers and no closure.  It's heartbreaking. 

Although there has apparently been a bit of a hubbub over Billman's portrayal of Jacob Gray, including some "facts" of the case that Billman may have gotten wrong, I found his coverage of Jacob's case to be both sensitive and absorbing.  On the whole, The Cold Vanish is very informative, compulsively readable, and highly compelling.  Also, sad and disturbing.  Although I read the book quickly, what I learned has stayed with me.  Haunted me.  My biggest takeaway: always maintain a healthy respect for Mother Nature, which will kill you just as soon as cradle you.  When exploring, stay on established paths, don't venture out alone, take a cell phone, and always—always—be prepared with emergency supplies.  Not doing any one of these, as Billman so clearly points out, can be deadly.

*Thanks to Lark for recommending this book to me.  You can see her excellent review of The Cold Vanish here.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of books by Jon Krakauer, especially Into the Wild, as well as Carried by Michelle Schmidt and Angie Taylor)

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find

 

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

As if watching her mom waste away from the effects of cancer wasn't awful enough, 10-year-old Lemonade "Lem" Witt is now being forced to leave the only home she's ever known.  She's already lost her mother, does she really have to give up San Francisco, with all its beauty, bustle, and memories?  Apparently so.  Lem's being sent to live with her maternal grandfather—a man she's never met—way up in northern California.  Good thing she's not planning to stay in tiny, leafy Willow Creek.  The minute another guardian is found for her, Lem will be heading right back to the City by the Bay.

When Lem meets Tobin Sky, her grandfather's 10-year-old neighbor, she's even more convinced that she's landed on an alien planet.  Obsessed with Bigfoot, the boy can talk of little else.  When Tobin "hires" her to be his assistant at Bigfoot Detectives Inc, Lem reluctantly goes along with it.  After all, Podunkville offers very little in the way of scintillating entertainment.  As the duo traipses all over town in an attempt to catch the elusive creature on film, they form a bond that will change both of them.  Together, they learn some very important lessons about loss, love, family, and the life-altering power of a Twinkie offered in friendship.

Lemons, a debut novel by child and family therapist Melissa Savage, is a bright, enjoyable book that explores the idea of turning the sour experiences of life into something sweet.  All of the main characters have suffered in some way or another and every one of them must find a way to cope.  As Lem learns how to deal with her own grief, she helps others face their own demons.  This makes her a very empathetic heroine.  She's also funny, brave, and loyal, which means she's the perfect narrator for this engaging story.  The tale deals with tough subjects, yes, but its overall tone is hopeful and uplifting.  Its a fun adventure that will appeal to anyone looking for a sunny summer read about turning lemons into lemonade.  

(Readalikes: Um, I can't think of anything.  Can you?)

Grade:

 

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

 

for brief, mild violence and some mildly scary images

To the FTC, with love:  I received an ARC of Lemons from the generous folks at Crown Books for Young Readers.  Thank you!

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Want more opinions on Lemons?  Check out the books other tour stops below: