Dolly’s dad, Joseph Rust, tells Dolly they are going on an adventure. Dolly grabs her toy, Clemesta, a plastic horse, who also is Dolly’s conscience, and is excited for the adventure with her Dad. Clemesta and Dolly “speak” to each other, and Dolly gains confidence from Clemesta. After a few days on the road, and amidst Clemesta’s warnings, Dolly starts suspecting that they aren’t really on an adventure, and she wants her Mom.
Told from the perspective of a 7 year old, with memories of words overheard, and a big imagination, this is a story of desperation, anguish, and the love between a child and her father. ( )

I initially had a tough time with the narrator being in the voice of a seven year old child. As I read the book I became accustomed to it and found the narration endearing. It was an interesting perspective to hear from the child as she slowly starts to understand that the adventure with her Daddy is not actually that. Surprise at the ending was not expected. Good book just quite a different style of writing then I would normally choose. ( )

All the Lost Things from Michelle Sacks was initially, for me, a borderline book. Pluses and minuses that I couldn't make up my mind about. But I couldn't stop thinking about it, both the story itself and the writing. So I read it again. It isn't that a second reading was necessary for the enjoyment of the book but rather that it served as a type of rethinking of what was presented to me, the reader, and what wasn't.

I was not sure I could handle an entire novel with the voice of Dolly but between becoming accustomed to it and the slight change in the "cutesy" aspect the narration was ultimately a positive feature. Additionally, the sporadic use of words in all caps was more than just random words, they were largely important words that she would have picked up from adults with some type of understanding but without a full understanding. With this in mind those words tell us much more than we first think.

There are plenty of people comparing this to other novels, a couple in particular. I tend not to do so and particularly in this case because a comparison might either be misleading (we all have different takeaways from novels so a comparison will mean different things to different people) or give unnecessary hints at the plot. So I will compare this novel to what I was expecting it to be, and it compares favorably. As the situation became more evident the novel remained compelling not because of the "mystery" but because of wondering how it would ultimately play out.

I would definitely recommend this and just suggest that anyone initially put off by the narrator voice give it time, you will be rewarded.

Reviewed from a copy made available through Goodreads First Reads. ( )

When seven year old Dolly's father suddenly announces that they are going on an Adventure, Dolly is delighted to hop in the car and be off. Dolly, who narrates the story, takes her magical toy horse with her, prepared to spend lots of time with the Daddy she adores. But things get complicated, and the journey starts to turn into the road trip from hell. To find out what happens next, read the book. At first, I found the child narrator a bit too cute (and a bit too reminiscent of "Room") but I quickly got fond of her, and her magic horse. By the end of the book I was very involved with her, and with the story. A powerful read. ( )