Rachel fell asleep stressed about school, a typical night for her. But this time, she wakes up to find herself in a ditch and with no memory of the last year. Her entire look has changed, and she can suddenly fight...something she never even thought of before. It turns out she is the only missing girl in her area to come back. As she tries to figure out what happened to her, and where the other girls might be, she must also decide who she is now and who she wants to be.

LOST GIRLS has one of the most interesting concepts of girl gone missing I've read. I'm always intrigued by premises involving amnesia or temporary amnesia, but I never expected what happened in the memories Rachel was missing. This is a fresh take that engages your curiosity and demands you keep turning the page. The building suspense works well with quick chapters and puzzles pieces that slowly start to make sense.

My favorite part of Merrie Destefano's novel is Rachel's characterization. Navigating her present character arc while doing a sort of reverse character arc through uncovering Rachel's memories is no small feat. Destefano masterfully explores just how much someone can change in a year and how multilayered those big changes are. I love Rachel's journey in discovering a new (or new to her) side of herself that initially scares her but ultimately makes her reconsider herself in a new, more balanced light. Accompanying this is a delicious, hot romance that has just the right amount of angst and a healthy dose of realism.

YA mystery lovers will devour Merrie Destefano's LOST GIRLS which carefully juggles a unique premise, tough topics, a sexy romance, and the winding road of discovering who you really are.

Book Summary

Yesterday, Rachel went to sleep listening to Taylor Swift, curled up in her grammy’s quilt, worrying about geometry. Today, she woke up in a ditch, bloodied, bruised, and missing a year of her life.

She doesn’t recognize the person she’s become: She’s popular. She wears nothing but black.

Black to cover the blood.

And she can fight.

Tell no one.

She’s not the only girl to go missing within the last year…but she’s the only girl to come back. She desperately wants to unravel what happened to her, to try and recover the rest of the Lost Girls.

But the more she discovers, the more her memories return. And as much as her new life scares her, it calls to her. Seductively. The good girl gone bad: sex, drugs, and raves, and something darker…something she still craves. The rush of the fight, the thrill of the win—something she can’t resist, that might still get her killed…

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