It / Stephen King / 1,138 pages

It is a 1986 horror novel by Stephen King, and is one of his longest books written to date.

Georgie Denbrough was always afraid of what could be lurking in the basement, but when he was playing outside after a heavy rain in Derry, Maine in 1957, he learned too late that It was not in the basement, but in the sewer drain; he was killed as a result.  27 years later, in 1985, after a man named Adrian Mellon was said to be killed by something that looked like a clown, a resident of Derry calls his childhood friends-- "The Losers"-- to come to Derry to destroy It once and for all. Jumping between summer of 1958 and 1985, The Losers have to deal with the psychological tortures It puts them through, a psychopathic childhood bully and escaped convict, and the reasons they forgot EVERYTHING that happened in Derry, including the very existence of Derry.

There were a lot of ups and downs in this book, and I mean a lot; therefore, I'll start with a few of the downs.

Downs:
First off, I wasn't agreeing with Richie's character voices, as a lot of them come off as racist.  I mean, okay, one could argue that It was 1958 when nothing was politically correct, but still.

Another flaw is that the book sometimes flows away to another story almost irrelevant to the plot, mostly backstories to minor characters, but on the flip side...


Ups:
... they all manage to connect to the same problem that is It.

Okay, as someone who usually listens to audio books, I don't really review the narrators, but I'm going to say It right now: Stephen Weber's performance was phenomenal.  I'm serious.  I haven't heard a narrator that really kept me at the edge of my seat since, well, ever (I guess it's my first time).  As for the voices, he gives a distinct voice to each character (especially "Stuttering Bill" Denbrough) that would make Jim Dale proud.

Also, this book isn't really about a scary clown--if I could describe this story using a pie chart, only 9% of It would show the clown.  I'd say a more appropriate definition is that It's about one's worst nightmares, whatever It may be, coming to life to kill them.

Another part that I had both ups and downs about was the ending.  It became a lot more supernatural than just something with various forms, and I almost asked myself, "This is the same book, right?"  But that's kind of the fun of It.

Overall, I'd recommend It to anyone who either has the time to read the whole book or has the time to listen to all 35 CDs (I promise, the latter is worth It).

Then She Was Gone/Lisa Jewell/356 pages (European Setting)

     Ellie Mack was a typical 15 year old girl when she went missing.  It has taken her mother, Laurel, almost ten years to recover from the shock, the betrayal and the loneliness of Ellie leaving but she has finally found a man she is interested in (her marriage ended shortly after Ellie went missing) and she is finally starting to realize what she did to her family and her life when she so totally shut down waiting for Ellie to be found.  The tragedy comes in the form of the man she is seeing, his family, his daughter and the strange twist of fate that brings closure to the story.

     I have to admit that I am not sure I really liked this book but I was fascinated by the story and had to keep going to see how it ended

The Child Finder/ Rene Denfeld/ 273 pgs

In many ways, this is not an easy book to read. However, the writing is terrific. It's spare but much is said in those few words. Naomi is the titular child finder. A missing child herself--one who was never able to reconnect with her family--has made it her mission in life to find other missing children. Sometimes she's successful, sometimes she's not. In her current case, she's investigating the disappearance of a 5-year-old girl in extremely rural, mountainous Oregon. We also get the perspective of the little girl, and it's unsettling to say the least. This book reminded me a little bit of Room. There is also another story line involving a missing infant. Obviously, the book is full of children in peril and can be difficult to read at times, so fair warning. Nonetheless, I thought this was very well written and quite in depth, despite the spare writing style.

Arrowood/ Laura McHugh /288pgs

Arrowood is the story of Arden Arrowood, a young woman whose twin toddler sisters disappeared while she was playing with them in the yard. It's now almost twenty years later. Her father recently died and Arden is finally returning to the house, called Arrowood, where the twins were kidnapped. Her mother has since remarried and moved away. Arden has always felt guilty that the twins disappeared while she was watching them, even though she was only 8 years old at the time. With the help of a stranger who investigates unsolved disappearances, she sets off on a path to discover exactly what happened that day (in this, it reminded me of Gillian Flynn's Dark Places, though Arrowood isn't nearly as violent). I enjoyed this story, the way the past and present are woven together, and the look into how things are never exactly as they seem, even when we have vivid memories.

The Daughter/ Jane Shemilt/ 341 pages

The Daughter written by Jane Shemilt examines what happens to a family when 15 year old daughter Naomi goes missing.  Told in present time and flashbacks the story is slowly unveiled to the reader.  Jenny and husband, Ted, are both doctors.  They seem to have life well in control with their twin sons, Theo and Ed, and younger daughter Naomi.  Then one day Naomi does not come home after the school play.  Slowly Jenny retraces what has been happening only now seeing the clues that her daughter has been revealing.  While in present time, Jenny begins to examine her own life.  The ending is not what the reader would expect. This book will appeal to readers who enjoy family drama as well as mysteries.  For more information and read a likes see the SCCCLD website.