If J.R.R. Tolkein could write Young Adult Romantic Mysteries this would be The Book.

It has the narrative feel of The Hobbit and boy does she tease with them one-liners! One of those books that is impossible to put down because it's adventure and wonder triumphing through chaos and disorder. They live the same trauma from different perspectives, their lives are entwined by fate and the love of a book that triggers nostalgia at such a young age because they are still so young and yet so old by experience and they question existence with longing and yet fear.

It's funny, sad, has cringeworthy injustice but has an abundance of heart. Will definitely read more from the author. ( )

A complicated tale of grief, self-discovery, the joy and the heartache that making connections with others can provide.

Yes, sometimes people do “want to be lost”, and “sometimes the lost do the unimaginable.” Deb Caletti does a good job of allowing us as the reader to witness the struggles of Mads and Billy as they come to terms with their messed up lives, their developing relationship and the consequences of the relationship being built somewhat on a foundation of secrets and lies.

Grateful for the copy of I received via the GoodReads giveaway!

Their ogres relish throwing roadblocks in their way. Billy Youngwolf Floyd and Madison (Mads) Murray. Billy’s mom, Anna, threw herself off Seattle’s Aurora Bridge. Mads, in Seattle to study for the real estate license she doesn’t want (but her mother does), discovers the body (although Billy doesn’t know this). After the discovery, Mads becomes obsessed with finding what could have possibly pushed Anna to the brink.

EssesntialMaps

Of course, Billy and Mads must meet…under awkward circumstances…and fall for each other. Of course the ogres are in their glory, setting up roadblocks to their budding romance. Of course there is heated passion. Of course there is disappointment.

Billy and Mads are savers. He wants to save animals from cruel owners. She wants to save her infant next door neighbor, Ivy, from her lousy parents. The question is can they save themselves from themselves, either alone or together?

Have you ever read a book that you like at the beginning, but about two thirds of the way through, it’s too much of a good thing and you speed read to finish because you’re invested? Well, Essential Maps for the Lost by Deb Caletti is just such a book.

HoneyBaby


LastForever


WildRoses


SixRules

Caletti, author of the popular The Last Forever, The Six Rules of Maybe, Wild Roses and, of course, Honey, Baby, Sweetheart begins Essential Maps for the Lost as follows:

“Here’s the biggest truth right up front: The way Mads and Billy Youngwolf Floyd met was horrible, hideous. Anyone will agree. You will, too. You’ll think it’s awful. And then maybe beautiful, which is precisely the point. When the story gets sad and terrible, when there are too many mistakes to count, hang on for the beautiful parts. Wait for them. Have some faith they’ll arrive. This is also precisely the point: the hanging on. The waiting, the faith.”

It is certainly an unusual use of language. However, after 270 pages, it was too much of a good thing. I was ready for ‘normal’ language. I was invested. I liked Mads and I liked Billy. I wanted a happy ending. So I read on…actually skimmed the remaining 60 pages…to find out what happened.

Essential Maps for the Lost is a good book, no doubt about it. Something, though, made it miss being a great book. ( )

This book is so PRETTY! I highlighted several passages just because I liked the way they sounded. Madison, AKA Mads, is spending the summer with her aunt and uncle while taking a real estate course at the community college. It's her overbearing mother's dream for Mads to join her as a real estate partner. Her future has been decided for her, so what's the point in dreaming? One morning while enjoying a swim in the lake, something bumps up against Mads and she becomes tangled up with it. When she realizes it's a dead body entwined with hers, it takes everything in her to be able to think clearly enough to drag the body, and herself, to shore. Mads is understandably shaken by the encounter and finds out that the body belonged to a woman who took her life by jumping off of a bridge into the lake. Mads becomes obsessed with learning about the woman's life, which brings her to Billy. Billy is obsessed with saving mistreated dogs. He feels lost and alone and clings to a map that belongs to the only book he ever read for fun, From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. When Mads and Billy's lives collide, they cling to each other amidst a whirlwind of passion, possibilities, great books, and dangerous secrets.

This book tackles the topic of depression beautifully. Readers will enjoy being part of main character Mads's journey to break away from her mother and carve out her own path while dealing with tragedy, loss, and love. I recommend this to grades 9-12, especially anyone who's ever felt lost. -EC ( )