When I was a new mom, I had a recurring nightmare about losing my baby.  In the dream, I ran from infant to infant, frantically scrutinizing each of their faces only to realize, to my utter horror, that I had no idea what my own child looked like!  How could I rescue my baby if I couldn't even recognize them?  It was a terrifying thought.  

In Until I Find You, Rea Frey takes these common parental fears to a whole new level, creating a story that is decidedly unnerving.  It centers around Rebecca Gray, mom to 3-month-old Jackson.  As a recent widow and a new mother, Bec is battling grief, exhaustion, stress, and loneliness.  To add insult to injury, she has a degenerative eye disease, which led to the dissolution of her career as a professional cellist and has now robbed her almost wholly of her vision.  Desperate to prove her independence, Bec soldiers on, but her life is not an easy one.  

Bec thinks she's just being paranoid when she gets the odd sensation that something is not quite right.  She feels as if someone is watching her.  At home, things seem to have been disturbed the slightest amount.  A friend dismisses Bec's fears, urging her to get some rest.  She does, but when she awakes and goes to retrieve her son from his crib, she finds another baby in his place.  Sure she's going crazy, Bec checks again.  Even though she's never seen Jackson's delicate features clearly, she's positive this is not him.  A mother—even a blind one—knows her own child.  Doesn't she?  Bec has no family and her friends can't be certain whether the baby is Jackson or not.  So many infants look so alike, after all.  There has been so much upheaval in Bec's life that, really, who can blame her for becoming a little...overwrought?  Not caring what anyone else thinks, Bec plunges ahead, getting the police involved in the baffling situation.  Everyone might believe she's insane, but she's determined to find her son.  No matter what.  Is the baby in Bec's house Jackson?  If he's not, who is he?  And where has Jackson gone?

Like I said, it's a chilling premise.  It leads to an intriguing mystery, which kept me turning pages, wanting to know what was going to happen next.  True, I didn't find Bec, who's whiny and victim-y, super likable.  Still, I sympathized with her.  I did see the story's big plot twist coming, which was a little disappointing.  More so is the fact that it's totally far-fetched, which made it feel less than satisfying.  All things considered, then, Until I Find You was just an okay read for me.  It's engrossing, but I didn't love the characters and the ending irritated me.  Bummer.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of Remember Mia by Alexandra Burt and The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena)

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

McKenna Barney loves mushing.  Always has.  Under normal circumstances, she—and her eight sled dogs—would be chomping at the bit to enter an upcoming, 200-mile dogsled race commemorating the brave work of early Canadian mail carriers.  But these aren't normal times.  The 14-year-old is showing signs of Stargardt disease, the same degenerative vision condition that has been stealing her younger sister's sight.  McKenna doesn't want to admit her symptoms to her parents.  That would only cause more tension, more fighting, and more stress over money.  They're dealing with enough of that with one affected child.  How much worse would it be with two?

When 8-year-old Emma realizes what McKenna's hiding, she makes her sister a deal.  McKenna will run the race, carrying a letter from Emma to Foundation Fighting Blindness, asking the organization to help spread awareness about Stargardt disease.  If she wins, Emma will say nothing to their parents about McKenna's condition.  If she loses, Emma spills the beans.  McKenna's not ready for that, so she must win.  Even if it means navigating rough terrain, ice storms, animal attacks, and dogsled maintenance with low vision that's getting worse by the day.  And it will.  Can McKenna finish the race, let alone win?

Terry Lynn Johnson is an outdoor enthusiast with extensive dogsledding experience.  It shows in her newest MG novel, Dog Driven, which rings with authority.  The story includes lots of interesting information about mushing that's shared in a way that doesn't talk down to the reader or slow the plot's forward action.  It also stars a strong, but vulnerable heroine who has to learn to have confidence in her abilities, accept her limitations, and ask for help when needed.  Although the story stars several likable characters, the focus is really on the action-packed plot.  There are plenty of exciting twists and turns in McKenna's path (literally and figuratively) to keep the tale exciting.  Hand this one to kids who love the outdoors and are always up for a thrilling adventure.

(Readalikes:  This is the first book I've read by Johnson, but I know she's written others about dogsledding and other outdoor adventures.  Dog Driven also reminds me a bit of Hatchet by Gary Paulsen and The Wild Lands by Paul Greci)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for scenes of peril

To the FTC, with love:  I bought a copy of Dog Driven on Amazon with a portion of the millions I make from my lucrative career as a book blogger.  Ha ha.

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for language, violence, and sexual content

To the FTC, with love:  I bought a copy of Between, Georgia with a portion of the millions I make from my lucrative career as a book blogger.  Ha ha.

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

When you're in junior high, nothing draws in the bullies quite like being different.  Flint would know.  With a debilitating eye disease called keratoconus, he has to work harder than most just to see normally.  Calling him "Squint," his middle school tormentors love to mock him at every turn, making his lonely existence even more difficult.  Flint tries his best to ignore the taunts, focusing instead on the epic superhero comic book he's writing and illustrating.  His goal is to submit it to a "Find a New Comic Star" contest before his eyelids thin enough to blind him completely.  When he wins, Flint will finally receive the respect and friendship he craves.

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated: