The Shape of Lost Things

Starred review from October 15, 2024
Grades 4-7 *Starred Review* Four years ago, Skye's world was turned upside down when her dad kidnapped her brother, Finn. When Finn is found, Skye's new normal shifts yet again. But the Finn who comes home is quite different from whom she's been missing. Her spectacular, funny, always-knows-what-to-do brother is gone; in his place is a secretive, thieving, generally suspicious 14-year-old who doesn't remember their inside jokes, hasn't used her old nickname, and whose behavior is just Not-Finn. Skye grapples with missing her brother, even after his return, as well as processing the hurt that their father didn't try to take her, too--all while regular life goes on. This emotionally resonant novel captures the highs and lows of sixth grade and is steeped in loss, grief, and the pain of missing. Everett acutely captures the struggles and nuances of changing friendship dynamics, shifting family roles, walking the line between truth and loyalty, and handling big emotions. Skye's therapy sessions offer accurate mental-health representation. The use of physics and photography as Skye's lens to understand the world is sure to spark new interest in these topics. A cast of gorgeously developed characters and realistic dialogue, layered with the emotional arc and relatable middle-school struggles, makes for an engaging and unputdownable read.

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September 1, 2024
Big changes come to a 12-year-old's life. Skye Nickson, who's Black, has lived with her mother ever since her father kidnapped her brother, Finn, and fled 4 years ago. Her life has fallen into a steady routine of celebrating his "MIA birthdays," taking photographs to preserve everyday moments, and listening to daily science facts from her physicist mom. One day, everything changes: First, Skye learns that her mom's boyfriend plans to propose, and a few hours later, she finds out that Finn, now 14, has been found. But it's soon obvious that the boy who's returned home acts very differently from the one she used to know. He's much quieter and doesn't seem to recall any of their inside jokes. Strangely, the unusual scar Finn had on his elbow is missing. Using her passion for photography, Skye decides to take matters into her own hands and investigate, hoping to prove that the boy who's returned isn't her real brother. At the same time, she wrestles with her complicated feelings about gaining a stepdad. Everett skillfully explores complex themes of grief, loss, and change through the eyes of a child. Skye battles with feeling like an outcast within her family--like the only person who's "un-special." She also explores what it means to learn to accept reality and understand that change is necessary in life. The strong pace will keep readers interested as the story unfolds. A well-wrought account of a journey toward truth.(Fiction. 8-12)

COPYRIGHT(2024) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

August 12, 2024
Every September 3, Rowland Waters Middle School student Skye Nickson, along with her physicist mother, celebrate her missing 14-year-old brother Finneas’s birthday. Skye rationalizes her father’s kidnapping of her brother four years ago by trying to determine if he loved her differently than he loved Finn. Her world turns upside down when Finn is found; Skye has difficulties navigating her estranged brother’s arrival and the media circus following his return. She’s also convinced that this Finn is not the real Finn: this new Finn likes olives, doesn’t talk much, and his skateboarding scar is in a different spot than she remembers. Skye decides to write to the now-retired officer who worked on her brother’s case, laying out the facts she’s gathered about the possible impostor. Simultaneously, Skye and her family attempt to repair the wedge that time has driven between them by attending therapy in this emotionally driven novel. Everett (The Probability of Everything) unravels the Nickson’s harrowing situation through the eyes of
amateur photographer Skye, who’s unique perspective is often informed by her ever-present Polaroid camera. Via the siblings’ tense relationship, Everett depicts the trauma caused by the aftermath of divorce and its impact on family dynamics and mental health. Ages 8–12.

January 1, 2025
When Skye was six years old, her parents, both physicists, divorced. She and her brother, Finn, spent alternate weekends with their dad, but he became increasingly obsessed with physics and would forget to feed and interact with the kids, leaving them to fend for themselves. When the book opens, Skye (now twelve), her mother, and her mother's kind boyfriend are celebrating Finn's "MIA birthday," because Finn was kidnapped by their father and has been missing for four years. Miraculously, he is found soon after and returns home: "And then he's there. A tall Black boy with short, tiny dreads, fat headphones looped around his neck. Finn. My brother. My Finn." Skye is excited that her brother is back, but she realizes that the boy who has returned is a different person. This Finn is "so sad and lost, like he carries so much pain inside"; rather than accept the fact that her brother has changed, Skye believes that he is an imposter, whom she calls "Not-Finn." Skye must come to terms with some tough and tangled truths, including admitting to herself that she feels rejected because her father didn't kidnap her. This engaging coming-of-age story gives voice to complicated and traumatic feelings caused by divorce and estrangement, to changes in family and friendships, and to the difficulty of accepting the inevitability of change. Julie Hakim Azzam

(Copyright 2025 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

Starred review from January 10, 2025

Gr 5 Up-Twelve-year-old Skye Nickson doesn't trust her first instinct. As an avid photographer, she relies on being able to look back at a situation through her pictures to process what happened. Using these impartial clues is how she has been dealing with the absence of her family members. Four years ago, her father kidnapped her brother, Finn, and they haven't been heard from since. She and her mother have found a new rhythm, including a new boyfriend, when Finn is suddenly back in their lives. Skye doesn't know whether to trust this older, quieter version of her brother. Part mystery, this emotional roller-coaster will have readers hoping for the best but waiting for the other shoe to drop. Fans of Everett's debut, The Probability of Everything, will appreciate her masterly ability to build mounting dread through the (seemingly) ordinary. Readers will inevitably have a pit in their stomachs as events unfold. VERDICT A recommended first purchase for all libraries serving tweens and teens.-Monisha Blair

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