The Lovely and the Lost

Kira's earliest memories are of surviving alone in the wilderness for weeks before she was rescued.  She doesn't know why no one ever came looking for her, but she does know her adoptive family saved her in every way possible. 

Kady Bennett has spent her life training dogs and working search and rescue.  She and her son, Jude, are possibly the only people who could have coaxed Kira back from the feral child she appeared to be.  Their family, along with best friend, Free, and the dogs have a close bond. 

The Kady's estranged father shows up asking for help to find a lost girl.  The kids have never met Bales Bennett, and it's clear Kady has not forgiven her father something from the past, but they load up the dogs and head to the mountain in search of Bella.

Kira expected this search might bring up some old memories, but the experience is triggering her more than she expected, keeping her on edge and bringing out the ferocious lost girl who was more animal than human.  She is desperate to find Bella herself as a way to make amends with the past. 

The longer the search continues, the more desperate the situation becomes.  Will they find Bella alive?  And is this more than just a case of a little girl wandering away from her campsite?

I was not expecting Jennifer Lynn Barnes's new mystery about a lost girl and buried secrets.  This is not only a great mystery but also a meditation on how traumatic events from childhood can remain beneath the surface.  Recommended for grades 7 and up for more mature characters and storylines.