Book Review: Once Was Lost by Sara Zarr

Once Was Lost is just how Sam feels right now.  She used to believe in God and in family.  Now, her mother is in rehab and her father takes better care of his congregation than his only child.  When a shocking kidnapping takes place in her small town, Sam is forced to think deeply about what she believes and what exactly that belief means.

Things I Liked:
This was such a thoughtful and complex book.  I was really drawn into not only the story of the kidnapping and all that entailed, but the emotional and spiritual feelings Sam experiences.  Her thoughts and the logic of her thinking felt very real.  I think many teens and twenty-somethings will see a part of themselves in Sam.  At some point, people who have been brought up in a religious home will have to think through and even question those things.  Zarr shows this in a realistic way.  As Sam deals with the problems and continual bad things happening to her, we feel just what she does and understand why she feels that way.  I'm completely impressed with Zarr's ability to write a book about religion that isn't sappy or preachy.  Here are some thoughts that really struck me:

Most of all I want to believe - in him, in God, in our family - the way I used to.  It used to be that there was always one of them I could count on.  If Dad was lost in his work, Mom and I had each other, even if it wasn't perfect.  If Mom was lost in her drinking, Dad would pull us together and get us back on track.  And I was always sure God hovered around there among us, somehow. p100

It's not words, so much, just my mind going blank and thoughts reaching up up up, me wishing I could climb through the ceiling and over the stars until I can find God, really see God, and know once and for all that everything I've believed my whole life is true, and real.  Or, not even everything.  Not even half.  Just the part about someone or something bigger than us who doesn't lose track.  I want to believe the stories, that there really is someone who would search the whole mountainside just to find that one lost thing that he loves, and bring it home. p199

Things I Didn't Like:
I really can't think of anything I didn't like.  It's not a super fast read or something you can rave about (see Hunger Games 3 post), but it will really make you think.

Read-alikes:
The Dark Divine by Bree Despain (in some ways)
Evolution, Me & Other Freaks of Nature by Robin Brande
The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams (a little bit)

BOOK CONTENT RATINGS:
s-factor: !
a very few

mrg-factor: none

v-factor: ->
nothing is described, but stuff about the kidnapping is sometimes intense

Overall rating: *****

Which do you prefer - fast-paced, action-packed or slower, thought-provoking books?

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