THE SPACE BETWEEN LOST AND FOUND by the author of EXTRAORDINARY BIRDS hit me right where I expected to. Thank you to NetGalley and Bloomsbury for priding the arc of this poignant and powerful book.
Cassie’s life does a complete 360 when her mother is diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimers. She loses touch with friends or focus on art. When the caregiver is not present, Cassie helps her dad take care of her mom by catering to her whims of watching dolphins shows and eating Ritz crackers all while making sure she doesn’t run off and get lost. Or worse. These fears drive Cassie to try to reconnect with her mother by taking a trip to swim with dolphins, which has been her dream and one of the entries on her bucket list. But Cassie soon realizes that her mother will not get better and the road to acceptance is a hard one.
Although I have never been in the position of losing a loved one to such a disease, I could empathize with Cassie. It’s a lot for a twelve-year-old girl to go through and the topic is a heavy one. But heavy topic or not, this novel is important. There are families out there dealing with situations like the one in this book and it would be great to have something for kid’s Cassie’s age to turn to and feel like they’re not so alone.
I won’t sugarcoat it. This is a sad book. I knew it going in because I’d first been introduced to Sandy’s work with EXTRAORDINARY BIRDS. I do remember writing in my review that I could not wait to see what else she had in store for her readers and let me tell you, I was not disappointed. She crafted a heart-string tugging, sad and hopeful book, and I am honored to be able to review another one of her books before their release date.
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