Read/Skip:
Read.The book is called Lost Girl, but the protagonist, small-town investigative reporter Shelby Day, is anything but; she has a good job, a goal, a healthy dating life, and a dream. As a journalist, she is relentless, she may act foolishly here and there in pursuit of a story, but at least she knows precisely in which direction she is moving. She is the very opposite of lost. Still, Lost Girl implies halfway through that Shelby is indeed 'lost.' She is away from home, her dad is diagnosed with cancer, and multiple people accuse her of being selfish. It's here that I wish Holly Kammier would have stood up more for her creation. Seeing that this is a Young Adult book, I kept hoping her naysayers would be proven wrong. Instead, Shelby has to rely on her backbone solely; I was rooting for her, but I had the feeling that the writer liked her a lot less than I did.
I didn't see anything wrong with her, other than being bossy and smoking up a storm—what's up with that? Shelby has a terrible mother who plays the blame-game and a potential beau that continuously checks her every move, demands a lot of her time, and accuses her of being too focused on doing her job. I kept thinking he was a bad guy because he seemed disturbing, so possessive; he displayed all the warning signs of an emotional abuser. But no, in the end, he is Mr. Right, and he and Shelby smooth their differences out somehow. Listen, I didn't see anything wrong with Shelby; she was a bit naive, but better open and committed than cynical and stuck. Shelby doesn't want to get cemented in a relationship at her age, and why would she; yes, she put herself in danger but got more results than the police. Let the girl breathe and find her way instead of having to fight not only a bunch of awful men, one that goes around murdering women but also a moralistic worldview that she is trying very hard trying not to internalize. More Kinsey Milhone, or less Bridget Jones, and the next Shelby Day book will be alright.
