Missing Girls - Hardcover

Metzger, Lois

3.16

80 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0670877778 ISBN 13: 9780670877775

Publisher: Puffin, 1998

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During eighth grade, Carrie moves in with her grandmother--a Holocaust survivor--becomes friends with Mona--an indrawn classmate--and, with Mona's help, comes to terms with her mother's death. By the author of Barry's Sister.

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Review:

Thoughtful readers and their parents will find this multi-layered story of mother/daughter tensions hauntingly real, and a great discussion book. Ever since her beautiful red-haired mother died of cancer four years ago, Carrie, 13, has been a "missing girl" to her own life, veritably sleepwalking through each day. She has a recurring dream: her mother sits at the kitchen table, alive but unsmiling and remote. When her new friend Mona offers to teach her about lucid dreaming--"being awake while being asleep"--she is powerfully attracted to the idea. Could she possibly talk to her mother in her dreams?

But Carrie can't bear to face her confused feelings about her mother's death, especially with her friends, who are loud about their dislike of their own mothers. So where can she find a dream she is willing to share? She has always resisted hearing her grandmother's stories of the Holocaust, but now she begins to listen avidly, and passes off the images of rats and terror from her grandmother's recollections as her own dreams which she describes to Mona.

As she hears these horror stories with fresh ears, her contempt for her immigrant grandmother turns to compassion, and Carrie comes to a fuller understanding of her mother's childhood. When she at last has a lucid dream, the dream-figure turns away from her daughter's attempts to communicate with an apologetic smile, making it possible for Carrie to accept that her mother no longer exists--and to wake up to her own life. --Patty Campbell, Amazon.com

From the Publisher:

Lois Metzger's most ambitious book to date
. . ."Dreams, memories, and haunting tales of the past surge through the pages of this story and bring the reader deep into Carrie Schmidt's awakening heart. In strong, fresh language, Lois Metzger has written a unique story, remarkable for its insights and original in its characterizations of teenage girls, who are surprising and yet completely recognizable. We know these girls, we know their fears, angers, and desires, and under Lois Metzger's sure hand we want to know more." --Norma Fox Mazer, author of WHEN SHE WAS GOOD

Lois Metzger is the author of the acclaimed novels BARRY'S SISTER and ELLEN'S CASE (both Atheneum/Puffin).

Praise for Lois Metzger:

"Few if any novels [for teenagers] revolve around court cases and none have the zest and impact of this captivating, sophisticated, and poignant tale, full of riveting testimony and high suspense. . .Lois Metzger is a master of the young adult novel." --The New York Times Book Review on ELLEN'S CASE

"Masterfully written and well-researched, this accomplished novel deserves space on teen bookshelves." --Publishers Weekly, starred review on BARRY'S SISTER

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