When Mimi Went Missing by Suja Sukumar is an engaging narrative which tells the story of Tanvi, a high school sophomore who is taken in by her aunt and older cousin Mimi after the death of her parents. Tanvi’s mother is rumored to have been responsible for the car crash that killed both her and Tanvi’s father. As the story opens, Tanvi is 8 years old trying to adjust to her new surroundings while feeling homesick for her parents. Mimi, her older cousin, feels responsible for her and often comes to her rescue when Tanvi falls victim to school bullies. The story then flashes forward to Tanvi as a sophomore in high school where she is rumored to be crazy like her mother. Beth, Mimi’s best friend, claims to have an incriminating video of Tanvi and is threatening to release it. Tanvi enlists her best friend, Krista, in a scheme to blackmail Beth into giving her the video. Tanvi, an uninvited guest, plans to catch Beth drinking and taking drugs at a party in hopes of exchanging the video for the photograph. Tanvi discovers Mimi doing drugs with Beth and snaps an unsuspecting picture. As Tanvi arrives home from the party, she is muddy, dizzy and achy from a bump on the head but cannot recall how she got that way. Furthermore, Mimi never makes it home from the party, which sets off a series of events to try and find her. Tanvi cannot remember what happened that night; however, as she slowly starts to regain her memory, she learns more and more about Beth, Mimi's so-called friend, and others who may have had reason to want Mimi out of the way.

Middle school girls will find this book appealing because it has elements of teen drama, suspense, betrayal, psychological manipulation and violence, yet I find the plot line very cliche and predictable. The characters are flat, uncomplicated and stereotypical; the rich girl who is neglected and starving for attention, the drug-addicted boyfriend who gets expelled from school, the clueless aunt who is in need of rescue, and the incredulous police detective who accuses Tanvi of hiding something all leads the reader on a never-ending maze of who’s who. Many times Tanvi finds herself in precarious situations, and like a cat with nine lives, she avoids death too many times to be believable. It is revealed that Tanvi’s mother suffered from mental illness due to the grief of miscarrying a child and was taken advantage of by a healer who turned out to be a fraud. This story angle sheds light on a very real and relevant issue. Overall, there is an attempt to create a gritty, mind-game thriller with twists and turns; however, it only left me feeling confused. I will purchase this title for my classroom library because the readability is accessible and the content high-interest.

This book delves into the high school dilemma's with a massive twist, dealing with people changing is hard enough but it takes is a darker intense level and Tanvi is caught in the crossfire.

A great keep-you-on-your-toes thriller! I did not want to put this book down as I wanted to know what happened. The author, Suja Sukumar, captured the essence of high school reality with the popularity and the cliques and the damage that can be caused. However, the amount of power or influence is scary and although high school was some years ago, I am both glad and scared that I am no longer having to deal with the insanity of high school popularity but many others still do. Be careful who you befriend and the lengths you go to fit in. It is not worth it.

This book was exactly as good as I expected it to be. I couldn't stop thinking about when I wasn't reading it and before I finished has already convinced so many friends to buy a copy when it's out. I loved it.

Tanvi and Mimi are cousins but they feel like sisters; Mimi’s mother raised both girls after the death of Tanvi’s parents. Mimi has always been Tanvi’s protector, up until recently when she became aligned with Tanvi’s biggest tormentor, Beth.

Then Tanvi takes an incriminating photo of Mimi and Beth and a party and, that same night, Mimi vanishes. The next morning Tanvi wakes up with injuries and no memories of how she got them. The police are investigating Mimi’s disappearance and Tanvi decides to do the same, hoping to regain her memories and discover what happened to Mimi.

This was a bit of a mess in that the timelines for what happens with the girls don’t seem clear. Several times Tanvi talks about how she, Mimi and Grace were inseparable…but what about Krista, who seems to be Tanvi’s great and wonderful friend who would do anything for her. Did she just appear from nowhere? The book makes it appear as if she did. And were Mimi and Beth friends for about three weeks? That makes no sense to me.

Then there’s Tanvi’s investigation. She does incredibly stupid things, over and over again. She breaks into people’s property. She returns to a place WHERE SHE HAS ALREADY BEEN PHYSICALLY ATTACKED AND COUNTS ON THE SAME STUPID ROPE TO SAVE HER A SECOND TIME?!?! She is nearly killed multiple times. And she’s supposed to be the hero of this book? Nope. Just didn’t care for it.