Apparently my older sister Mallory was perfect. That’s not how I remember her, but it’s what my mother tells me when I’m doing something wrong. My sister certainly looks perfect in all the photos mum has plastered her bedroom with … But I guess it doesn’t matter whether she was perfect or not. It’s impossible to be as good as someone who’s just a memory.
Ryan feels the weight of his sister Mallory’s disappearance on his shoulders. Instead of hanging out with his bestfriend Alex he has to babysit his younger sister Gemma all the time. It kind of cramps his style when trying to chat up Kim – the girl he has set his sights on. Mallory has been gone for a couple of years now. His father left home not long after and his mother still hasn’t given up hope Mallory is still alive. Ryan stopped believing that ages ago.
Was she murdered, abducted or did something else cause her disappearance? Will Ryan’s life ever return to normal? And does it have anything to do with that stranger who watches him at the skate park… Author Melinda Szymanik keeps you guessing right until the very end in this contemporary thriller for 11 – 15 year olds. An exciting read for boys and girls, and for parents who’d like to know how a 15 year old boy thinks. (I have a 15 year-old-son and I thought Melinda got into the head of a teen boy very convincingly.) One of the first books from the new Pear Jam Publishing House. Watch out for the website, audio book, and printed books coming soon… E-book available now through Amazon and Barnes & Noble now for $6.85.Paperback available 1st December. A must buy!
The very talented Melinda Szymanik writes picture books (her second picture book The Were Nana won the Children’s Choice in the New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards, The House that went to Sea came out in September), chapter books (Jack the Viking), short stories (for numerous Australian and New Zealand Anthologies), including educational stories for Learning Media. She has a Masters in Zoology but chooses to write children’s books full-time.
