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Dec 23, 2008

Edan rated it:

I was going to give this book only two stars because it didn't seem particularly innovative or enthralling, but then I thought about the sad family in the book, and how they'd be hurt by such a low rating. The fact that they feel so real warrants another star.

0 comments like (7 people liked it)

Sep 08, 2008

Linda rated it:

Just weeks from leaving for college, Kim feels herself on the brink of an exciting new life. Like most teens, she keeps secrets from her parents, but she’s a good kid. Then, one summer day, she vanishes. She’s simply gone.

Songs for the Missing is less about Kim herself than about those destined to struggle in the aftermath of her disappearance. Told from the varying perspectives of her mother, father, and younger sister, and her boyfriend and two best friends, the narrative takes the More...

0 comments like (3 people liked it)

Nov 22, 2008

Ron rated it:

When Stewart O'Nan decides to tell the story of a teenage girl's disappearance, don't go looking for a traditional suspense story -- instead, he chooses to focus on the emotional impact of that disappearance on the girl's family and her closest friends, and almost everything that pertains to the "crime story" takes place off-screen. The result is a quietly devastating set of "snapshots" that relentlessly chip away at our expectations of resolution and closure... while proving More...

0 comments like (7 people liked it)

Jan 20, 2009

Judy rated it:

A few weeks before leaving for college, Kim Larsen disappeared on her way to work in a small town in Ohio. This book deals with the aftermath of her disappearance on her family, friends, and on the residents of the town itself. Despite the usual reactions--desperate searches that go on for days, television appearances and pleas--this book examines the effect of living with the unknown. As a family begins to unravel and each person dealt with the tragedy in their own way, questions are raised More...

2 comments like (4 people liked it)

Sep 28, 2008

Jackie rated it:

This is the story of a family whose teenage daughter disappears one day on her way to her summer job. It's packed with all sort of family dynamics, showing how one family learned to cope with the anxiety, uncertainty, horror and loss of the event. It was a really intense book for me because it takes place in small town Ohio, where I grew up, and I recognized the people, the places, held some of the same jobs and certainly had all of the same feelings as these teenagers on the brink of somethin More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 27, 2009

Janet rated it:

I read this over a long weekend--I hardly ever do that, as I get distracted or something only grabs my interest sporadically. But this one kept me interested enough to want to keep coming back each spare moment I had until I finished it. While so much happens in the external meat of this story, the real tale is in the day to day mundane that stays the same, even as a whirlwind occurs. The details are stunning and never boring.

2 comments like (2 people liked it)

Feb 11, 2009

Jenny. rated it:

I'm really not recommending this book; it explores a family's nightmare. Their oldest daughter, Kim, disappears one day on the way to work. At first of course they think she's run away but there's no reason to- she's off to college in just a few weeks. And so the book unrolls from various people's perspectives- the mom, the dad, the sister, the boyfriend, the best friend and he does a good job of mining the different experiences of loss. When did I give up hope? When did they? But as everyone kn More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Jan 20, 2009

Carrie rated it:

This book really wasn't worth my time. It had the makings of a great book but really never went anywhere. I found the family a little creepy and at the same time couldn't really get into their characters.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Nov 15, 2011

Kim rated it:

I wasn't sure whether to read Songs for the Missing by Stewart O'Nan. It just seemed not to be my usual type, but I have been known to step outside my usual literature and like what I have read. Such was the case with Songs for the Missing. This was an excellent book.

Kim Larsen is an 18 year-old resident of Kingsville, Ohio. Like most 18 year-olds, she has just finished high school is getting ready to leave Kingsville for college. She disappears on her way to work one afternoon, More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 20, 2008

Anne rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Nov 20, 2008

Victoria rated it:

I read about this books in my on-line upcoming book release newsletters and in Entertainment Weekly. What drew me to it mostly was because when I was in college, a woman my age vanished. She, nor her remains, sadly, has never been found. I felt such compassion for her family and some of her friends, who I worked with at my summer job. I thought maybe reading it would help me process even my very removed sadness for all they went through, and what a community goes through when someone is kidnappe More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 04, 2009

Glen rated it:

So far I'm pleasantly surprised 'cause this wasn't recommended to me by a buddy. I like the dialogue, the descriptions, narration. The thing that's missing for me is some emotion... I'm reading about a crisis, and everything seems a little too pat. Stay tuned. 1/3: I'm really enjoying this book, and that's rare for one I selected myself (without a personal recommendation from a friend). It's in the same vein as A Year of Fog or The Deep End of the Ocean (subject is missing person). This b More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Nov 02, 2008

Betty rated it:

This was a very well-written book following the story not of the missing young girl but of her family and friends. The disappearance, the loss, the helplessness, the hope, the eventual acceptance, all are there and we live it with them. It is a book about relationships as well. Every step was believable. Having been through sudden emotional trauma myself (albeit not the same trauma), I know that as time passes and you start to notice the rest of the world, it's a tremendous shock to find out More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 19, 2008

Wendi rated it:

Best Read For: Personal reading, book club reading, great for discussions

In a nutshell: Stuart O'Nan has written a fictional book that reads like non-fiction in that it explores the events and emotions experienced by friends, family, neighbors and volunteers as the search for a missing girl progresses, providing the reader with great insight into what experiences might be like surrounding a missing person. I found myself viewing events going on around me a little differently after reading this b More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 04, 2008

Carey rated it:

Meet Kim Larsen. She is eighteen years old, pretty and popular, and about a month away from leaving for college and the wider world. She can hardly wait. Like most small town kids, she and her friends chafe from the sameness and boredom of daily life. They drink more than they should and experiment a bit with drugs. But they are good kids at heart and are so looking forward to going away, being on their own, growing up.

Then, somewhere in the short distance between her home and her wo More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 31, 2008

Karen rated it:

MY REVIEW OF SONGS FOR THE MISSING BY STEWART O’NAN

Although Stewart O'Nan's book SONGS FOR THE MISSING gives the hope and impression of a fast paced, highly anticipated read, it falls short. Instead, the readers are the ones who will find themselves missing...missing out on a better book.

Kim Larsen, preparing to enter college, goes missing the summer before she is to leave. The story introduces Kim and her friend’s characters fairly well and also leaves little clues of w More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Nov 09, 2008

Diane rated it:

What would do if your teen aged daughter disappeared without a trace? When—if ever—do you stop looking for her?

This is exactly what happens to Kim Larsen, age 18, popular, a small town Ohio girl just weeks before she is to leave for college. She spends an afternoon at the lake with her friends then never shows up for work that evening and is never seen again. It is not until the next morning that her parents, and 15 year old sister, realize Kim is missing.

The book starts More...

2 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 17, 2008

Elaine rated it:

Kim Larsen is simply enjoying the summer before she heads off to college - just an all-american teen. Then one day Kim fails to show up for her shift at the local Conoco, and the nightmare for her family begins. The police think she has run away, but her family knows better. They organize search parties and television appearances to bring attention to Kim and her plight. But as the weeks wear on, and the tip line brings in one dead end after another, Kim's family has to face the fear that th More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

May 27, 2008

K rated it:

i had been longing to read one of stewart o'nan's books for a long time...he's a friend of stephen king and i had always heard good things about his books. i'm so glad i was chosen to read Songs for the Missing as part of the Barnes and Noble First Look Book Club. this book was wonderful. i tend to lean toward mysteries and thrillers and historial fiction, or the latest best seller, not all of which lend themselves to great writing. while the subject matter of Songs was depressing and sad an More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 29, 2009

Maeser rated it:

Great, GREAT book! The story of Kim and her family. Kim is 19 years old, getting ready to go to move away from home. She is from a small town, with friends she has grown up with. One day near the end of the summer, Kim vanishes...

I can't say to much more, but the story focuses on Kim's family and friends, and how they are left to deal with her being gone. Your heart aches for her Mom and Dad.

Don't start this book before going to bed becuase you will end up staying awake More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 17, 2008

Skye rated it:

Wow, what a tough book to rate. I loved how it was written, and the voices of the characters. Beautiful language and honest description of the teenagers.
But somehow a lot of it range false, almost from the moment Kim went missing. Cops stepping into high gear for someone who's technically an adult? The mother perkily making flyers? I couldn't buy it. Maybe that's how some people react in a crisis, but if someone I loved vanished into thin air I'd be a wreck. And it seemed that they accept More...

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Dec 18, 2008

Bogydog rated it:

Stewart O'Nan continues to be one of my favorite authors of all time, and this book is a fine addition to his canon. Although it focuses on the kidnapping of a teenage girl, this is a book of small, revealing truths (instead of getting lost in the lurid details). When Kim Larsen is kidnapped, her family is predictably besieged by the American media (what, with Kim being a popular, pretty white girl). But, we stay with the family once the media starts to lose interest. And we still stay once More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 08, 2009

Bookmarks Magazine rated it:

Stewart O�Nan has quietly written his way to the top rank of American novelists working today, and Songs for the Missing showcases his skill for molding character-driven novels remarkable for their clarity of vision and an unflinching eye for situations that lay bare human emotion. There is little spectacular here, save for O�Nan�s storytelling abilities and his uncanny knowledge of how one event can send out ripples that affect everyone in a small Midwestern town (incidentally, the author�s old More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 09, 2008

Mel rated it:

I read this book as an ARC. I really enjoyed the author's writing style (very detailed and realistic), but found the characters to be lacking. It is the story of a recent high school graduate who goes missing during the summer before she leaves for college. The way the book is structured is that the situation unfolds through the perspectives of her family and closest friends. I found this technique quite novel and interesting, though in the end it just didn't do it for me. I just couldn't relat More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Jan 16, 2009

Jennifer rated it:

I thought that this was a great read. What's interesting is that I read this so soon after reading Francine Prose's Goldengrove. Both novels are doing essentially the same thing -- creating portraits of grief as families negotiate the absence of a daughter. But Songs of the Missing had a splash of mystery that made it a real page turner. My only critique is that the ending seemed too easy, like the author was trying to give an audience-pleasing wrap-up. But still, this was a very satisfying nove More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 09, 2009

Augusta rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 22, 2009

Dana rated it:

This is a very well-written story about a teenager who goes missing one summer evening. I thought it was going to be more of a mystery in terms of people finding her. However, it's really good because it shows the aftermath for all of her family members and friends. It does have some mystery to it, and though I don't think the reader will ever learn what happens to her, that's okay. The story is still very compelling, and I find myself eager to read it every night (as long as I can stay up, More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jan 10, 2009

Joyce rated it:

The story of the three remaining family members after the college-bound, 18 year-old daughter simply disappears. I thought this was an interesting, even compelling, story of family dynamics and differing reactions after an unfathomable event has occurred. There were times I could not put the book down and HAD to read the next chapter. It also provided an different view of what happens when someone goes missing than what we see on tv shows, whether reality-based or fiction. I gave it four sta More...

1 comment like (1 person liked it)

Jun 29, 2008

Pamela rated it:

I should clarify my 2 star rating. I only rate this 2 stars simply because these types of story lines are very hard for me to deal with. I rarely tend to like them. I had the same type reaction to Lovely Bones. This was read as an ARC for BN bookclub. The story is less about the one who goes missing but focus purely on those the missing leaves behind. The writing was straightforward (always a big hit with me) and easy to read. It seemed like there were many subtle meanings behind many of the pas More...

3 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 17, 2009

Tj rated it:

This book took me much longer to read than most books do. I liked the characters and I liked the story line, but found myself bored with the repeativness of the telling of the story. It could have been condensed into a short story for me.

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

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