Once Was Lost

Author: Sara Zarr
Pages: 217 pages
Rate: 10 out of 10


As a pastor's kid, it's hard not to buy into the idea of the perfect family, a loving God, and amazing grace. But lately, Sam has a lot of reasons to doubt. Her mother lands in rehab after a DUI, and her father seems more interested in his congregation than his family. When a young girl in her small home town goes missing, the local tragedy overlaps with Sam's personal one, and the already worn thread of faith holding her together begins to unravel. 


This novel was about Sam, the daughter of a pastor. Her mother has just gone to rehab after having an accident. Sam's father now seems more interested in his work than he is with his family. When a well loved girl in their small community goes missing, her father seems to slip away from her more and more, and the community goes with him. With her father nearly always at church and summer coming to an end, Sam isn't sure her town will ever go back to normal.


Honestly, I loved this novel. I think the cover is absolutely adorable and the story was fantastic! It made me realize that there are children disappearing like the girl did (I'm not going to say her name because that would give it away!) everyday. Families and communities have to suffer like Sam's community did. This novel really makes you think about that. You'll be shocked at the outcome of this novel- my predictions were way off. 


I would recommend this novel to anybody who loves young adult novels. This was one of the best young adult novels I have ever read in my lifetime! I rated this novel a ten out of ten (and I don't think I need to explain why because I obviously loved it!). I will definitely read this again in the future.