The Missing Season

Gr 9 Up—Dragged from place to place by her dad's job, perennial new kid Clara Morrison has landed in Pender, a dying New England mill town where the guidance counselor warns her "things may seem a bit off" because of a student's recent death. The official story is drugs, but the guys at the skate park tell chilling tales of a child-killing creature called the Mumbler that lives in the marsh and is blamed for the Halloween disappearances of troublemakers over the last two decades. Clara dismisses the rumors as urban legend—she's more worried about her fledgling friendship with aloof Bree and the magnetism she feels toward Kincaid, the elusive skater boy whom Bree also has a crush on. But as tensions rise over a series of Halloween pranks orchestrated by Clara and her friends, another student disappears and Clara begins to fear that she is the troublemaker the Mumbler is after next. French's most recent YA mystery brims with lyrical prose and striking imagery but is much less frightening than the premise suggests. It may have stronger appeal to fans of contemporary YA than frequent mystery readers: Clara's anxieties about her new friendships and romance with reckless, lonely Kincaid take center stage for much of the book. Although the climax feels rushed and slightly forced, the foreboding atmosphere, rich setting, and gorgeous prose make for a rewarding read.