abduction

Sundown Girls by L. S. Stratton – Book Recommendation

| Tasha

Sundown Girls by L. S. Stratton

  • Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
  • Publication Date: January 27, 2026
  • Reviewed from Edelweiss e-galley
  • ISBN: 9798217004942

Naomi has been returned to her biological family after living until recently with the woman she thought was her mother but who actually abducted her. Her family calls her by a different name and adjustment has been rocky. That’s why they decide to take a long summer vacation together in the Shenandoah Valley. However, the town they are near used to be a Sundown town and still holds some of the same beliefs about Black people living there. Naomi starts seeing a young Black girl outside her window who suddenly bursts into flames. As Naomi learns more about the history of the region, she realizes that it may not just be girls from the past who are in danger there.

Incredibly gripping and tense, this is a layered thriller for teens that speaks directly to the Black experience in sundown towns across the country. It also looks at how girls are exploited and ignored on multiple levels, becoming missing girls. Naomi is a great protagonist, strong and resilient while still struggling with her past and her current situation. Her messy relationship with her family is shown with empathy and honesty, adding to the questions of what is due to previous trauma and what is real.

A dark thriller full of personal trauma, history and ghosts.

Review: If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch

| Tasha

if you find me

If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch

Released March 26, 2013.

Carey’s mother has been gone for over a month, leaving Carey alone with her little sister, Jenessa.  They live in a large woods and sleep in an old camper with no heat.  Her mother had left them before, but usually not this long, just long enough to get more meth.  But this time, their mother was not the one who came to their camp, a man and woman arrive, claiming that the man is Carey’s father.  They take the girls back with them.  Carey and Jenessa have never had a hamburger, never watched TV and never really been cared for.  Carey was the only reason that Nessa had survived at all, often serving as the only love she had.  But now the girls were expected to live with Carey’s father, his wife and their stepsister in their home.  It’s a new life filled with challenges that Carey will only be able to accept if she can see the truth of why her mother took her away and also the truth of what she had been forced to do in the woods.

Murdoch has written a book that has a very compelling premise and happily, she is able to make the book about far more than that first bit ripped from the headlines.  She writes about the power of music to heal, the ability of family and love to make things right again, but also the agony of betrayal, the ferocious power of abuse, and the building danger of lies.  Carey is a heroine who has undergone real tragedy in her life, but here is she far from being a victim.  She is instead immensely resourceful, caring and desperate to do what is right for her little sister.

Murdoch also weaves into so much of the book Carey’s connection with nature.  It is the place she turns when in distress, moving even to the outdoor courtyard at the high school in order to find solace outdoors.  Her love of music in also part of it, having played her music under the open sky for so long.  When Murdoch writes of nature, she is part poet, creating a depth in this novel that lifts it to another level.

This story is one of a tough heroine who has to be strong for both herself and her little sister.  It is a tale of survival but also one of recovery and honesty.  I’d think this one would booktalk extremely well thanks to its strong premise that will nicely tantalize teen readers.  Appropriate for ages 15-18.

Reviewed from digital galley received from Macmillan and Netgalley.