I told myself I was not buying any more books at the moment, and then bam, a new Sarah Crossan book comes out and that promise I made myself is out the window. Combine that with Waterstones offering me double points, and we all know that ‘Gone for Good’ by Sarah Crossan was going to make it onto my shelf.
Now, in my defence, I read it immediately after purchase, so it has not been sitting on my tbr pile at least. It was, not surprisingly, a binge-worthy book. And, as it is free-verse, easy to read, I sped through it – as I usually do with Sarah Crossan books, as I can’t stop reading them once I start.
A girl goes missing from a school for troubled teenagers, sending those residents of the school into turmoil as they try to work out what happened to her – and causing them to start to mistrust those they believed were their allies, and the questioning the care they are being given by the responsible adults. Who, of course, should be the ones to keep them safe.
This is such a fascinating book, because alongside the mystery/thriller element, it is an interesting social study. Connie, our lead character, who has ended up at Silver Lake out of loyalty to her sister, questions so much about the institution and what exactly it is that forces all these young people to be there together. And then there is her determination to find out what has happened to the missing girl…
So, it is safe to say that Sarah Crossan has done it again. She has given us another wonderful free-verse novel that is an incredible story, with an incredible message and is a real page-turner. As usual, I am already ready for another book from Sarah Crossan because, for me, she always seems to hit the mark, and remind me why free-verse is such a fantastic style of storytelling for us all to read.