Missing Dead Girls by Sara Walters. SourceBooks Fire, 2023. 9781728234137
Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 5
Format: Paperback
Genre: Thriller
What did you like about the book? Sara Walters is a young writer but it does not show in this book. She has created robust characters that you were hungry to continue to read about. The main character moves to a new town to escape a traumatic event. As she struggles to rebound socially and emotionally, she falls into the same dangerous patterns of love and treachery. The story is still a complete nail bitter right until the very last pages. It made for a plot that teased the reader from page to page, waiting for a mysterious answer. Walters leaves the reader with a hint that we have not seen the last of the characters.
The two main characters in the book are strong representatives of the LGBTQ+ community. While the characters do not have a great deal of cultural diversity (one friend of the main protagonist has parents who are recent immigrants to the U.S.), this is mentioned in the plot as a negative about the small affluent town in which they live. Walters uses this friend to mention briefly the prejudice faced by them in a small town.
Anything you didn’t like about it? No
To whom would you recommend this book? This book is a perfect fit for young adult readers who like a suspenseful read.
Who should buy this book? Libraries with young adult readers.
Where would you shelve it ? Suspense/Mystery
Should we (librarians/readers) put this on the top of our “to read” piles? I would put this on the top of the pile.
Reviewer’s Name, Library (or school), City and State: Christine Kelly, North Quincy High School, Quincy MA
Date of review: January 18, 2023
Youth Services Book Review 
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