All the Lost Things

April 1, 2019
Seven-year-old Dolly embarks on an exciting road trip with her father only to realize that they aren't really heading anywhere--it's more of an escape. At first, it's her best day. Dad picks Dolly up unexpectedly, and they drive through several new states. When they stop to eat, she can choose any junk food she wants, and the hotel has a fantastic soaking bathtub. Dolly and her best friend, toy horse Clemesta, are relieved to be leaving Mom behind, for some mysterious reason that has to do with Los Angeles and YOU KNOW WHO. But as the adventure stretches on, Clemesta's unease affects Dolly, who begins to miss the routine of home and rules. Clearly, there is a reason for Dad's increasingly irrational behavior, even as the word abduction starts to echo in Dolly's head. Everyone recognizes that the fragments of a child's conversation directly echo the words and thoughts of the adults around them. It's very possible that, if one were to transcribe a youngster's internal monologue, there would be a mix of childish enthusiasm and weary adult awareness. However, reading almost 300 pages of this kind of transcription, with words frequently written in ALL CAPS for emphasis, drags on one's patience and, paradoxically, makes it MORE apparent that this is an adult assuming a child's voice because it is so stylized. What are the odds that Dolly may be parroting words and ideas that she does not fully understand, and what are the chances that this misunderstanding might be important to the unknowns of the plot? I'd bet on it. It's possible to write well from a child's perspective, as Emma Donoghue did in Room, but Sacks (You Were Made for This, 2018, etc.) doesn't pull it off. A story that could have been riveting from a different perspective. Instead, an unending loop of childish prattle.

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April 29, 2019
Sacks (You Were Made for This) delivers another gripping domestic tale, but doesn’t quite pull off the challenging task of telling it from the point of view of seven-year-old Dolly Rust, whose father suddenly takes her on a life-changing road trip. From the moment their so-called “adventure” begins, a sense of foreboding permeates; as they get farther from their New York home, Dolly’s constant companion, a toy horse named Clemestra, becomes less of a comfort and more of a purveyor of uncomfortable truths as she begins speaking to Dolly. For Dolly, there’s joy in doing something so unexpected and fun, staying in a nice motel, eating junk food and having her father to herself. But her dad starts acting angry and frustrated, gets drunk, and they stay in seedier and scarier places as they head farther south and off the beaten path. Using such a young narrator becomes tedious as Dolly continually makes observations in capital letters, which are sometimes beyond her years and other times too childish. Unfortunately, the dénouement and the quick resolution comes off as pat and unsatisfying. Still, the author is adept at generating tension and showing the inevitability of the past (and the law) catching up, making this a passable family suspense novel.

May 1, 2019

Sacks (You Were Made for This) tells of the exciting adventure undertaken by seven-year-old Dolly and her best friend Clemesta, a plastic horse, after her father scoops her up and whisks her away. Dolly is thrilled to be with her father, to miss school, and to travel out of state for the first time. However, the longer the trip lasts, the more Dolly misses her mother, who is away on a girls' weekend, and the less elated she is to be sleeping in hotel rooms and eating junk food. Clemesta is even less content than Dolly and doesn't like the experience at all. Eventually, Clemesta helps Dolly remember what she wants to forget and realize what isn't right with this big adventure. VERDICT This relatively short novel will keep readers hooked from the first sentence to the last. Sacks's use of Dolly's voice as narrator allows events to unfold from a child's perspective and encourages readers to try to piece together the secret behind the "big adventure," which is ultimately unexpected for readers and life-changing for Dolly.--Lisa O'Hara, Univ. of Manitoba Libs., Winnipeg

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2019
Sacks' (You Were Made for This, 2018) second novel is another family drama tinged with psychological suspense. Dolly is a precocious seven-year-old with what her teacher calls a very advanced brain. Her father has surprised her with a trip to a special place and this begins the best day, according to Dolly, who narrates. Her bags already packed, all Dolly needs is her best friend, Clemesta, a toy horse. She is excited to leave her mom, who's been making secret plans with you know who, but after several days of driving, gas-station food, and angry dad moments, the sheen begins to wear off. Clemesta whispers to Dolly that she thinks dad has done something very bad. It is to clear to readers that more is going on, but Dolly's unreliability as a narrator, owing to the simple fact that she is a child, adds suspense and results in a surprising twist. While this will inevitably be compared to Emma Donoghue's Room (2010), Dolly's voice doesn't achieve the realism that young Jack's did, ultimately straining credulity.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)