Review: INTENSE!
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 30, 2014
WOW… this book is intense. There were so many good aspects of this book and the writing style that I don’t know where to begin.This story is told through an amazing point of view, it is the point of view of the main character Sophia. However, Sophia is no longer amongst the living. After a seemingly normal beginning to an average day in the life of a 17 year old, everything Sophia knows changes in an instant. She is swept into a world of violence, sex for sale and drugs. She becomes another missing girl, who will soon be forgotten. This book is Sophia’s recollection of events; it’s her story, told through her eyes and her words. Sophia explains her actions, emotions, and choices. Told with hindsight, we the reader get to experience all that Sophia goes through and it’s utterly heartbreaking. There wasn’t a moment in this story that I didn’t feel with every fiber of my being for Sophia and those in the same circumstances as her.I even felt for the characters you didn’t get to see, like Sophia’s mother or her brother all grieving and scared for their daughter and sister whom is missing. Piper Punches does an incredible job of describing Sophia’s environment, the crime, poverty, depression, sorrow and desperation. In a short span of time, as this book is not long at all, Punches gives us more character depth in Sophia’s words and actions as well as through other important characters like Lizzie then some full length novels I have read. There is so much angst and reflection that Sophia expresses that even though as a reader we already know the outcome, you find yourself hoping that it’s not true or it’s all some bad nightmare.This book was gut-wrenching and amazingly written. Sometimes with short reads you don’t get to connect as much with the characters or storylines, this issue is absent with Missing Girl. During this story you feel invested in what Sophia is going through. Missing Girl is a brutal read about a severe, scary and very real-world problem. It’s conveyed and told with true emotion and insight. I give much kudos to Punches for tackling such a sensitive topic and doing a remarkable job.