I haven't disappeared, it just seems that way! I started graduate school last fall and it has almost eliminated my entire time to read for pleasure! Seriously cramping my style, but sometimes life gets in the way.
I did dive into a book two nights ago as a way to unwind from a day of non-stop studying. My brain was too fried to continue, so I picked up Songs for the missing. What I miss most about reading is falling into a book and loosing all sense of reality. It's better than drugs. It happened with this book.
Kim was a regular teenager in a boring Ohio town who recently graduated high school. I remember those days well. On her way to work at a Conoco, Kim disappeared. The story is less about Kim and what happened to her, and more about her family and how they coped. I liked this family so much. The writing is awesome. I kept trying to force the book to turn in a direction I wanted it to go; towards more of a murder mystery story. It's really a family drama under the guise of a kidnapped teenager, which is so much better. I surrendered by own desires for the book and let it take me where it wanted to go.
The star of the book isn't Kim at all, its her younger sister Lindsey who spent her whole life in the shadow of her younger sister. As Kim slowly recedes from her life, Lindsey finds a new identity and a new strength in herself. She struggles with being the sister of the 'famous missing girl,' but handles it well. She makes a promise with herself that she will be perfect until they find Kim, and ends up excelling her whole way through high school.
Kim's parents hit a (predictable) rough patch after Kim is gone, but in the end their craziness prove one thing: they will both do anything for their daughter, regardless of time or cost. Aside from the tragedy this is a golden family.
After I finished the book, I stayed up late, laying in my bed in the dark and wondering about Kim and Lindsey. Stewart O'Nan really nailed the emotional plot line.
