Lost & Found - Brooke Davis

 Summary: Millie Bird is a seven-year-old girl who always wears red wellington boots to match her red, curly hair. But one day, Millie’s mum leaves her alone beneath the Ginormous Women’s underwear rack in a department store, and doesn’t come back.

Agatha Pantha is an eighty-two-year-old woman who hasn’t left her home since her husband died. Instead, she fills the silence by yelling at passers-by, watching loud static on TV, and maintaining a strict daily schedule. Until the day Agatha spies a little girl across the street.

Karl the Touch Typist is eighty-seven years old and once typed love letters with his fingers on to his wife’s skin. He sits in a nursing home, knowing that somehow he must find a way for life to begin again. In a moment of clarity and joy, he escapes.

Together, Millie, Agatha and Karl set out to find Millie’s mum. Along the way, they will discover that the young can be wise, that old age is not the same as death, and that breaking the rules once in a while might just be the key to a happy life.  (Summary from goodreads.com.  Image from Penguin Random House.  I was provided a copy in exchange for an honest review.)

My Review:  You know, last year's reading ended with a bang for me.  I have a list of books I need to review on my phone, and it turns out that the vast majority of the books I read at the end of the year I quite enjoyed.  I like that.

That being said, Lost & Found was a huge part of that.  This enchanting book was pure and honest.  It was naive where it should be and sagely wise at the same time.  The story felt fresh - a child, abandoned in a department store by a grieving mother decides to find her on her own.  She ends up with three unlikely compatriots (one is a mannequin), and just tries to find her mom with their assistance.

At one point in the book, Millie's companion Karl the Touch Typist is arrested and accused of improper behavior.  Davis has done such a good job crafting her characters' innocence and kindness that I found myself offended for him -- couldn't they just see he's a good man trying to help a little girl?!  I  assume that is precisely the emotion Davis was trying to evoke, and it surprised me to feel so strongly for the character so early on.

This book really charmed me.  It was kind, it was sweet.  It had action but it was quiet.

My Rating:  Four stars

For the Sensitive Reader:  There are a few sex scenes, one implied, one stated (although respectfully).  There are also a few muggings.  And the whole book is centered around childhood abandonment.