Member Review

This book gripped me so much. It looks at the ways media reacts when someone goes missing and how colour of your skin and your hair can influence the amount of attention you receive. In the book. Malcolm is struggling due to the fact that his twin sister has been missing for years and no one seems to care. Meanwhile, a young girl, white and blonde, has recently gone viral after she disappears. This quite rightly infuriates Malcolm.

Malcolm's best friend, Ri, has her own problems. She is able to hear the needs of those around her and feels compelled to meet them. If someone needs a stick of gum for example, she must find the stick of gum for them. However, when she hears her boss needs a nail file, she doesn't imagine that it's going to result in the death of a man. The guilt she feels makes her question whether her compulsion to meet people's needs is actually harmful rather than good.

This book gripped me. The premise of Ri's ability to hear people's needs, but not the needs of those closest to her was fascinating to me. I don't want to say too much about the other storyline as I don't want to give any spoilers but that was equally well written, engaging and intriguing. There is some drug use in this book which is why I wouldn't recommend it to younger audiences but the late teens, I think the concept in the book would create some really interesting discussion opportunities. As always, I would recommend reading it first if you are considering using it in the classroom.