By james art 
Publisher description
Five years, three months and twelve days.
That’s how long Ren’s mother has been missing.
In her dreams, Wren can see her again: her eyes, her hair, her smile. She can even hear her laugh. Her mother, one of the hundreds of Native Americans believed to be missing or killed in Oklahoma. Sometimes it seems like Ren and her grandmother are the only people still looking. Even more disappointing is that Ren’s overprotective father doesn’t want to talk about it.
However, Ren refuses to surrender. And being able to find lost pets seems like a real way to hone her detective skills. But everything changes when one of the missing pets is found seriously injured. There are more coming soon.
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With the help of an unlikely friend, Ren vows to expose whoever is behind animal abuse. If she can do that, maybe she can do the same for her mother’s case. She’ll just have to keep it a secret from her father, who is sure to put an end to it everyone her search if he finds out.
Find her explores the missing Native women crisis from the perspective of a sensitive young Cherokee girl longing to find her mother while navigating a chilling urban mystery, a new friendship, and a family in need of healing.
Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
Amanda’s thoughts
Wren, 12, who is Cherokee, lives in Oklahoma. Her mother has been missing for more than five years, making her one of the countless Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG). Wren, whose white father is a police chief, is doing his best to continue living his life despite this horrific loss. After all, what choice does she have? But between volunteering at an animal shelter and going to high school, she spends as much of her free time as possible searching online for any possible clue to her mother’s whereabouts. Ren has always been good at finding lost things, so not being able to DO something about her missing mother is extremely disappointing. Her mother disappeared outside of her father’s jurisdiction, but Ren can’t understand why he isn’t doing more to find her. Is he hiding information from her? And then there’s the fact that Ren, of course, is aware of all the news around the world, and she sees how missing white girls and women seem to get so much more coverage and seem to get so many more resources to help. It’s maddening for her, but she’s just a kid, and her mom’s been gone that long. What can he do?
Interspersed with this main story is the story of Wren and her classmate Brantley, who are brought together for a class project. Together they begin trying to solve a different case – who is abusing and killing local pets? And as the two grow closer, Wren reveals some more secrets, this time about Brantley’s home life. As part of the wolf clan, she is a protector, but how much can she really do? And how many risky choices can he make while staying safe?
This story is not an easy read, but it is an important one. I suspect that for many young, non-native readers, this may be their first time learning about the MMIWG. Ren does have a glimmer of hope for finding her mother, but it’s slim – and readers will probably understand that finding her after all this time is a long shot. But even the tiniest drop of hope is important, and Ren will never give up looking for his mother. A powerful story of loss, justice, hope and perseverance. The back matter gives more information about the movement of the MMIWG. An important addition to library collections.
Review copy (ARC) courtesy of publisher
ISBN-13: 9780823454808
Publisher: Holiday House
Publication date: 10/15/2024
Age range: 10 – 12 years
Filed under: Book Reviews