I couldn’t get into this book. I tried multiple times and it just didn’t grab my attention. I skimmed through hoping something would grab me but nothing ever did.

I'm not missing is an amazing emotional rollercoaster. The characters are well written, the story is great, and I just wanted to keep reading this book. I fell in love with it within the first chapter.

I really enjoyed this book. I loved the MC's voice and her relationship with her father. I loved the way things unraveled and how the MC grew so much in the absence of her best friend. The writing was solid and I just really really enjoyed this!

This was billed as a young adult novel, but I'm not sure it should have been. It was definitely more of an older teen book than young adult in my mind. It dealt with a whole host of topics (coming-of-age, being abandoned, teen relationships, physical relationships, leaving home and more) that I don't know is right for many kiddos.

It was a great read though.

I enjoyed this book immensely because the writing was beautiful, well detailed and witty. The characters likable and fun. There were some interesting twists but it ends up in a pretty good place.

I don't love poetry, but I might check Carrie Fountain out now that I've read her prose.

https://www.statesman.com/news/20180703/austinite-carrie-fountains-first-novel-dives-into-teenage-uncertainty

I’m gone, I’m not missing.

This was a compelling story about Miranda’s search for her best friend and in doing so finding herself... A heartwarming and heartbreaking story full of friendship, family, and love....We really had a comprehensive look at love in this book, familial love, platonic love, romantic love, and first love... A beautiful romance wrapped up in a mystery with the perfect drizzling of family on top!

Miranda and Sid are BFFs a friendship built on the fact that they both have lost their mothers, not to death, but from abandonment... Sid’s light shines bright and Miranda is always a bit in the shadows.... but then Sid goes missing with no explanation, and now Miranda needs to find her own light... The friendship between these two girls was complicated, and it was not always clear to me why Miranda was so loyal... Miranda was just so sweet and likable, and Sid seem so self absorbed.... I liked the mystery that this added to the story and I liked how this forced Miranda to become her own person! But she never stop looking for her best friend!

There is also the sweetest love story in this book between Miranda and Nick, nothing like first love! I loved how tender and true this relationship was... they were so able to communicate with one another and the development of the relationship was perfectly paced.... but perhaps the sweetest love of all in the story was that of Miranda and her father, I really appreciated how strong the father daughter bond was in this book...

A beautifully told young adult book that will appeal to people of all ages, absolutely recommend!

*** many thanks to Flatiron Books for my copy of this book *** ***

This thrilling romance would be a perfect, exciting summer read. Miranda's adventure to solve the inexplicable disappearance of her best friend with the romance along the way was constantly pulling me in as I continued to read the story. I highly recommend this book.

I'm Not Missing by Carrie Fountatin is good, not great, suspenseful YA title. There are a lot of twists and turns that would appeal to students and the romance is well done throughout. I can see this appealing to many of my high school students.

Part mystery, part hard hitting contemporary, part adorable, awkward romance - this book has a lot going on, but it doesn't feel all over the place. It's really heartfelt and interesting and it definitely took me by surprise. It's a quiet, slow book and I really liked following Miranda's journey - both internal and external to find Syd. I wanted a little more from the ending, but I'm really happy I read this. I'll be thinking about this one for a while.

Honestly, I didn't finish this book because I couldn't get with the characters and agree with them or anything. I felt no pity for them and I honestly thought they were all whiny and annoying. I got to the middle of the book and was ready for it to be done.

I read this on a business trip, and could not put it down. What an unexpected balm; so beautifully written and one of few to move me to tears in 2018.

A very suspenseful, young adult book about romance, friendship, and broken relationships. Many twists and turns, A great summer read for young adults.

This book was both NOTHING like I thought it would be and pretty stinking cool at the same time. Big surprises and very cool relationship dynamics all around. I dug it! I especially enjoyed the setting, which was a bit bleak, but which acted almost as another character in the way it effected absolutely EVERYthing in the book. Nicely done.

I'm Not Missing by Carrie Fountain is an exciting suspense romance young adult book. Miranda is trying to find out why her best friend Syd ran away, and where she is. Miranda mother abandoned her, and she is being raised by her father, just like Syd was. Nick Allison, Miranda's long time crush re-enters her life, after standing her up at last years prom. This book had more twists and turns, that kept me guessing until the end. Looking forward to reading more from this author.

I received this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This was such a beautiful story of love. Platonic love between best friends, familial love, and first love.

The friendship between Syd and Miranda was built on a foundation of shared pain. Both were abandoned by their mothers at young ages, but their circumstances were quite different. While Syd lived in a home devoid of love, Miranda was lucky to have a father, who adored her, and attempted to fill in those holes left by her mother. Though I do believe Syd held Miranda back some, I did not question her love for her at any point.

Like I said, Miranda was fortunate to have a fantastic father. He was forced to grow as a parent, when Miranda's mother left, and he more than rose to the occasion. They had an incredible relationship, which was so genuine and heartwarming. Despite all the affection, Miranda still struggled a little with her identity, because she looked more like her Latina mother, than her white father, and this was something that burdened her throughout the book.

I saved my favorite "love" for last, because I am such a sap and love a good romance, which Fountain so wonderfully delivered. Watching these two navigate their feelings was such a treat. They were terribly adorable, and the way they fumbled through many of their interactions was so endearing and realistic. I adored that they talked to each other, like really talked to each other about important things, and I was especially pleased with the way Fountain navigated the physical side of their relationship. Consent was explicitly discussed, and I think it was extremely important in the context of this story.

There was a lot of exploration of different kinds of love, but there was also a little mystery infused via Syd's disappearance. Miranda searched for Syd on and off throughout the story, and she stumbled upon clues, which eventually revealed the real reason why Syd fled. But, what I enjoyed most was how Miranda found herself as she was searching for Syd. Without Syd running the show, Miranda was forced to rely on herself more, and as a result, she grew a great deal. She came to terms with some things from her past, which had been haunting her, and because of this, was able to look forward to her future.

Overall: A heartbreaking and heartwarming story of first love, facing change, and finding yourself in the wake of huge losses.

I freaking loved this book. I picked it up with the intention of only reading a few pages before returning to the other book I was reading and could not put it down. I fell in love with the characters so fast and wanted nothing more than to keep living in their world.

This story focuses on two girls, Miranda (the protagonist) and Syd (her best friend). As you may have guessed based on the title of the novel, Syd goes missing, but she's not missing. She leaves a note instructing Miranda not to look for her. Of course, Miranda, being the anxious little cookie that she is, can't help but want to find her best friend, as I'm sure I would in her situation. New truths rise to the surface, drama ensues, and Miranda quickly finds herself in a series of new situations she never thought she'd be in.

Surprisingly, this coming of age novel was unlike many that I've read. The mystery elements mixed with shocking truths coming to the surface took felt necessary to the story and yet for me were rather unexpected. The author has a way with foreshadowing where the foreshadowing is definitely there in the book, but is not overbearing, as can sometimes be the case particularly with YA.

Miranda was a character that I can relate to, as someone who prefers not to make decisions and feels anxious about weird things. I'm not sure I would be friends with her, but I saw a lot of myself in her and found her thoughts and feelings generated more empathy and understanding from me. This was also true about almost all the other characters - Fountain did an excellent job of showing readers many sides of each character and demonstrating clearly through each character's actions what they were feeling.

I grew to love Nick so much. His character development is stellar and I love that Fountain put so much work into his character. I was surprised by the side characters she chose to develop based on the introduction to the story. The beginning chapters felt like setting the scene for Syd's disappearance, which was fitting as readers are aware of her departure based off the back cover of the book from the very beginning.

Transitions throughout the story felt smooth, and Fountain was able to keep the pace rolling along, timing the slow sections just right and moving to the next important plot point just as it felt like the scene was reaching it's end. I don't often notice myself feeling so satisfied with authors' transitions as I did with this book, although perhaps I am more in tune with this since I've been reading slower paced books lately.

Normally I am put off by YA that talks as much about school and college as this one did, but this felt so warranted and essential to the plot. Fountain used school and college to draw out each characters' insecurities and strengths. This felt like possibly the most relatable example of the uncertainties that occur with high school and college that I have ever read.

I loved the setting, the NM desert was integral to the plot. Also I don't think I often read YA from the Southwest, and this story was all the more rich for that very specific culture that was intrinsic in Miranda's family. Miranda's Latina heritage is rich and beautiful, and Fountain focuses mostly on positive elements of her culture. Miranda has had her own set of struggles with coming from a mixed race background, but the author does a fantastic job of personalizing and universalizing Miranda's problems so that they are not just her problems but are also very much owned by her. In other words, her problems are not hers because of her race, but rather in addition to all her other problems that stem from her identity of who she is and the choices that those she loves have made.

The discussion of sex in this book is perfect. The consent, the insecurities, the enjoyment, the confusion, the rejection, all of it was so good. The characters actually talked about their experience openly with each other!! The author gave them room to think about and talk about their emotions and insecurities.

The more I think about my experience reading this book, the more I fall even more in love with it. The best part about all of this is that none of these fantastic elements felt forced in any way. These were not added in by the author to check boxes, these were just genuine parts of these characters that made them who they were.

I'm Not Missing by Carie Fountain (July 10)
Overview: Syd always kept Miranda afloat. She was the loud voice to triumph over all of Miranda's insecurity. She was her guide to the world and the ultimate decision maker for every facet of Miranda's life. She was going to Stanford and getting out of her trailer park.
And then she's gone. Missing with no trace except for a note to make it clear she doesn't want to be found, Miranda tries to figure out what happened all while falling into a new life complete with her long time crush as her new boyfriend now that Syd is out of the way. Will Miranda find Syd? Should she even bother looking now that she knows what Syd's done? Overall: 5

Characters: 5 The secret sauce to good characters is authenticity. Fountain nails that. Every character in the story is so genuine to themselves and to each other. Miranda makes for an interesting lead as she's always been Syd's side kick. She has to learn how to lead her own life, and some reflection makes her realize that maybe Syd wasn't always looking out for her best interest.
Miranda's single dad also makes a great character as he's the parent every child deserves. Nick, Miranda's boyfriend is kind and super considerate while also being hilarious. And Syd, even though we don't get to see much of her on the page, comes out to be a well rounded, gray character.

Plot: 5 I was surprised I enjoyed this book so much. Usually a thriller/mystery like this turns out to either be predictable or maddening. The storyline with fining Syd followed the perfect arc for me. There was a satisfying ending, far from a bow but nicely concluded. I also liked the evolution of Miranda's family and romantic relationships.

Writing: 5 I loved the writing in this book. The story was gripping. The characters were complete. I felt satisfied with the twists and turns, and I genuinely came to care about the characters. I'm so happy that I stumbled upon this book.

I want to start by saying this book was unlike anything I’ve read recently. It did remind me a bit of Since You’ve Been Gone by Morgan Matson, but while that book had a cute, summery feel, I’m Not Missing felt more raw.

This story was just beautifully written. From Miranda’s relationship with her father, to her big lovely family I could not get over how wonderful this story was. Carrie Fountain takes on some serious topics here but it is all done really well.

The main character Miranda was incredibly relatable for me. I was almost always in her corner rooting for every decision she was making. And her relationship with her father was what completely sold me on this book. Most YAs I read either don’t include parents because they’re somehow out of the picture or the parents are barely around for most of the shenanigans. However, in this book, Miranda and her father are close and she confides in him for all of her decisions, big and small.

Such a beautiful book. I absolutely recommend it to contemporary readers!

Thank you so much to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for sending me an ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

When I first picked up this book, I read 2 chapters. The next time I picked it up I finished it. I kept saying, “One more chapter and I’ll put it down”, but those are famous last words for all readers. This book tore my heart to tiny pieces and stitched them back together again. It is gorgeous. It made me want to look up at the sky and find the Milky Way even more than I already do. I usually live for romance in novels and the relationship is this book is cute the way all 18 years olds dating are (as a jaded 20 something I can’t take High School= FOREVER relationships seriously). The romance in this book is NOTHING compared to the other relationships. Syd and Miranda have such an intense friendship the way only teenage girls with secrets can. But it’s the father/daughter relationship that struck me to my core. The relationship of a daughter who doesn’t look like her father, who wonders what their relationship looks like to others, a relationship built on a fierce, unconditional love and protection. I cried in the middle and for the entirety of the last chapter. My heart just felt so big. This book is one of those that is going to stay in my heart for awhile.

In I'm Not Missing, Miranda Black deals with losing her best friend Syd when she runs away.

As a YA book, this is nothing special. The twists coming seem obvious and centering the book on this one event seems to just drag. You wait until the very end of get it resolved and the conclusion isn't very satisfying.