Book Review: Find Her by Ginger Reno

Publisher’s description
Five years, three months, and twelve days.
That’s how long Wren’s mother has been missing.
In dreams, Wren can see her again: her eyes, her hair, her smile. She can even hear her laugh. Her mother, one of hundreds of Native Americans considered missing or murdered in Oklahoma. Sometimes it seems like Wren and her grandmother are the only people still looking. Even more frustrating, Wren’s overprotective father won’t talk about it.
Wren refuses to give up, though. And an opportunity to find lost pets seems like a real way to hone her detective skills. But everything changes when one of the missing pets is found badly hurt. Soon, there are others.
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With help from an unlikely friend, Wren vows to unmask whoever is behind the animal abuse. If she can do this, maybe she can do the same for her mother’s case. She’ll just have to keep it secret from her father who will certainly put an end to all her sleuthing if he finds out.
Find Her explores the crisis of missing Indigenous women from the perspective of a sensitive young Cherokee girl who yearns to find her mother, while also navigating a chilling town mystery, a new friendship, and a family in need of healing.
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
Amanda’s thoughts
12-year-old Wren, who is Cherokee, lives in Oklahoma. Her mother has been missing for more than five years, making her one of the countless Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG). Wren, whose white father is the police chief, is doing her best to continue to live her life despite this horrific loss. After all, what choice does she have? But in between volunteering at the animal shelter and going to middle school, she spends as much of her free time as she can searching online for any possible clue as to her mother’s whereabouts. Wren has always been good at finding lost things, so to not be able to DO something about her missing mother is extremely frustrating. Her mother disappeared outside of her father’s jurisdiction, but Wren can’t understand why he isn’t doing more to find her. Is he withholding information from her? And then there’s the fact that Wren is, of course, aware of all the news in the world, and she sees how missing white girls and women seem to get so much more coverage, and seem to get so many more resources for help. It’s infuriating to her, but she is just a kid, and her mother’s been missing for so long. What can she do?
Mixed in with this main story is the story of Wren and her classmate Brantley who are paired up for a class project. Together, they begin trying to solve a different case—who is abusing and killing local pets? And as the two grow closer, Wren uncovers some more secrets, this time about Brantley’s home life. As part of the Wolf Clan, she’s a protector, but how much can she really do? And how many risky choices can she pull off while still staying safe?
This is not an easy story to read, but it is an important one. I suspect for many young readers who are not Indigenous, this may be their first time learning about MMIWG. Wren holds a small flicker of hope about finding her mother, but it’s just that—small—and readers will probably understand that finding her, after all this time, is a long shot. But even the smallest shred of hope is important and Wren will never give up looking for her mother. A powerful story about loss, justice, hope, and persistence. Back matter gives more information on the MMIWG movement. An important addition to library collections.
Review copy (ARC) courtesy of the publisher
ISBN-13: 9780823454808
Publisher: Holiday House
Publication date: 10/15/2024
Age Range: 10 – 12 Years
Filed under: Book Reviews

About Amanda MacGregor
Amanda MacGregor works in an elementary library, loves dogs, and can be found on Twitter @CiteSomething.
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