A subdued character study about a family disintegrating in the wake of the elder teenaged daughter's disappearance. She's there; she's gone. Her car turns up, but she does not. In the immediate aftermath of the calamity, there's much to do: follow the investigation, put up fliers, organize searches, do tv appearances. But this is a crisis without end whose ongoing pressure forces all facades to crumble. The different ways family members and friends cope--and fail to cope--with the strain of unknowing, the cycles of hope and despair, survivor guilt, and the truths revealed about their lives is the real subject of the book. The younger sister of the victim is especially well done. It dovetails nicely with the Lamb book with its "snatched from the headlines" subject matter and exploration of the consequences of such horrors on ordinary lives. (Used it as an alternate selection for Lamb’s The Hour I First Believed; obvious connection to The Lovely Bones, though without its feel-good she’s watching-over-us thing. Reference librarian Barb H. likens it to Jodi Picoult, but without her contrivance.) ( )

Stewart O'Nan allows his readers to glimpse the lives of those who alternately hope and mourn during the agony of a missing 18-year old girl, Kim. The day-to-day existence is charted from the individual perspectives of those who loved Kim, and how each attempts to cope with her disappearance. It alters relationships between everyone involved in the search to understand what happened to Kim. O'Nan is particularly gifted at these poignant descriptions, and allows the reader to experience all the emotions in this unimaginable event. It also makes us aware of the very real experiences of those whom we see on television pleading for help in finding a missing person. This book will continue to haunt me for a long time. ( )

It was good...Last Night at the Lobster is a "tough act to follow". It reminded me a little of Alice Sebold's Lovely Bones. I agree with other reviewers it does remind us of the other victims...parents, siblings, friends ( )

Although the subject matter is depressing, the writing is not. Stewart O'Nan has written another winner (after Last Night at the Lobster). An 18-year-old girl goes missing in a small town in Ohio in the summer before she is to go off to college. O'Nan tells us the story of the search and the aftermath through the eyes of each member of her family and her close friends. Every character rings true and we feel we are living through it all with them, inhabiting their minds and learning their inner thoughts. An excellent story, highly recommended - this type of writing is why I love to read. ( )