lostsisterTitle: The Lost Sister
Author: Megan Kelley Hall
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: Kensington Books – Provided by Author

Summary:
Cordelia LeClaire loathes the ‘quaint’ New England town of Hawthorne, Massachusetts.  Having revealed family secrets long buried deep she struggles through unspeakable violation and scorn before leaving the privilege, entitlement and secret society types behind.

Running off in the dark of night she lands in Maine with a plan of seeking revenge against anyone and everyone who has wronged her.  Left behind, Cordelia’s family struggles to make heads or tails of her disappearance while constantly wrangling with the guilt of the role each of them played in her departure.  Constantly wondering if she’s dead or alive they soon start finding suspiciously cryptic clues to answer their questions.

Now, all are stationed at a crossroads when crisis takes hold and reveals, as chance would have it, Cordelia’s true fate.  It is at this point that the reader is taken on a mystical ride as the teenager’s friends and family work through a darkly mysterious twist of fate.

Opinion:
This review starts by stating it was incredibly difficult to write a detailed summary of the over arching story because there are so many good plots, twists and turns that shouldn’t be revealed.  There are just that many secrets that spoiling even the smallest part would take the fun out of experiencing it; and experience it you should.

Knowing that to be the case, it can be said that the author did an excellent job of  formulating an interesting and thought provoking mystery.  Her ability to construct a story that utilized elements of mysticism and witchcraft accompanied with local history made for an intriguing read.  It was certainly difficult for this reader to put the book down for fear of not getting to know the answers soon enough.

Hall has also written dynamic characters that are somewhat larger than life.  Showcasing a typical class based system of haves and have-nots the animosity between groups is palpable.  As one would expect there is constant positioning, one-upsmanship, back stabbing and general down and dirty cat-fighting.  Fighting, that at the heart of it all, spurns resolution to the larger mystery.

If you are looking for a good whodunit with a dash of the supernatural that includes compelling characters that you’ll want to revisit in the future then The Lost Sister is definitely for you.