The Last Child

Book 22 of my 2020 Reading Challenge

read from March 21 - 28

The Last Child

by John Hart

Summary (via the book jacket)

published 2009

Johnny Merrimom was thirteen when his twin sister disappeared. Now, one year later, she is presumed dead. His mother is devastated, his father gone, and life will never be the same. But Johnny has a map, a bike, and a plan. He's going to find his sister, even if he has to track down every dangerous character in the county - a do-or-die mission that troubles police detective Clyde Hunt. He's also been searching for Johnny's sister, and he knows to what dark places a case like this can lead. But even Hunt can't imagine how far Johnny will go to learn the truth - or what he will find when he gets there.

My Opinion

3 stars

This book was unsettling and I wanted to read quickly because so many things and I was so uncomfortable and wanted resolutions now!  It bogged down a little for me as more plot points were added but that also helped some of the twists; I had no idea what was going to happen.

I debated between 3 and 4 stars on this and ended up rounding down for a few reasons.  There were too many coincidences, especially when factoring in Johnny's age and actions, and the plausibility of every plot point wrapping up and every mystery unraveling was too much of a stretch.  I also didn't like the ending, both because it was heavy-handed on religion and because where the characters ended up didn't make sense (not enough time had passed for some of the relationship developments).

I see there is a second book featuring this character and I will probably read it even though I'm not sure where the story can go from here.