Anatomy of Lost Things

The lives of three preteens in a small Maryland town intersect in this quirky novel about loss by Stout (The Impossible Destiny of Cutie Grackle). Tildy, whose father owns an auction house, has lost the amber necklace that her mother—home after abandoning her family for 186 days—gave her, and cannot shake the fear that she will leave again unless Tildy finds it. Leon, raised by tavern-owning grandparents, is trying to regain the psychic powers he discovered after his grandfather’s death so he can guide his grandmother in an important decision. Nell, randomly in town with her mother, who decided to flee in a camper after a hurricane destroyed their Florida home, is protesting her parent’s actions while grieving the death of her other mother. Interwoven throughout the tweens’ stories are the histories of objects important to them: Nell’s late mother’s bugle, Tildy’s necklace, and a crooked brass candlestick Leon believes will help him communicate with his deceased grandfather. Folksy third-person prose renders the characters’ alternating perspectives as well as varying digressions, making for a leisurely paced narrative that builds toward credible—including one fittingly offbeat—resolutions. All characters read as white. Ages 8–12. (June)