Missing Matthew (Northern Lights Young Novels) - Softcover

Dunnion, Kristyn

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0889952787 ISBN 13: 9780889952782

Publisher: Red Deer Press, 2003

Synopsis

Matthew Stein is a recent arrival in a small town. Nobody really cares where he came from or even that he's showed up, except maybe Winifred (Freddie) Zoron, who's in Matthew's class and who also happens to belong to the Rebel Rescue Squad.

When Matthew doesn't make it home after school one day, the evening news reports that he's been kidnapped. What could have happened? Where could he have gone?

It takes the initiative of the Rebel Rescue Squad to really get the search underway. Weasel, the squad's fearless leader as well as Freddie's best friend, soon discovers that most of the assumptions about the boy's disappearance are wrong. The rescuers have to deal with a far more challenging mystery than expected - a mystery that lies at the center of the adult relationships in the town.

Missing Matthew is by turns hilarious, thoughtful, poignant and ultimately wise about the ways in which kids relate to one another and to the adults in their lives. Throughout, Kristyn Dunnion, a hip and cheeky new writer, charms you with her in-your-face attitude and savvy insights into kids' lives.

About this title

About the Author

Kristyn Dunnion is a saucy tart. Her first book, Missing Matthew, was published by Red Deer Press in 2003. Mosh Pit is her second book. She likes big boots, shaved heads, and loud music.

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-7-When 10-year-old Matthew Stein disappears on his way home from school, the little town of Rockwell is thrown into an uproar. His classmate Freddie finds herself thinking a lot about the missing boy, and how he was the target of constant bullying. Freddie, her friend Weasel, and her younger sister decide to try to find Matthew as a mission for their Rebel Rescue Squad. All three girls imagine they are facing dangerous risks, since even the police suspect a kidnapping, but when they stumble upon Matthew hiding in an old root cellar, they learn that he has run away. He tells them that he hates being bullied, and that he misses his mother, who has disappeared. This book opens with a premise that is sure to hook readers. They may be disappointed, though, when the immediate suspense evaporates with the early discovery of Matthew. The story is told in the fresh, irreverent voice of Freddie, and most of the novel revolves around her own concerns: the essay she is struggling to write and her confusion when her best friend suddenly turns on her over something that wasn't her fault. She is a clever and sensitive character who seems keenly aware of other people's feelings. She figures out that Matthew's mother has died, leaving both the boy and his father grief stricken. This discovery and the book's resolution come a bit too quickly. Still, readers may appreciate the wild antics and original perspective of Freddie and the rest of the Rebel Rescue Squad.
Ashley Larsen, Woodside Library, CA
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Edition details

• Publisher: Red Deer Press
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0889952787
• ISBN 13: 9780889952782
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 112