The Year of Fog by Michelle Richmond

Oh, this, The Year of Fog, was a sad delight. Sad, because of the story, but a delight because of the writing. I love books like this!

Abby, a photographer, takes her soon to be stepdaughter, Emma, for a walk along the beach. The book jacket talks about her "greatest error." But in truth, she looks away for a few minutes, not long, and the girl is gone when she looks back. I don't think she made an error. She does, of course. The dad, her fiance, does. But no one can watch a child 60 seconds a minute, 60 minutes an hour, 24 hours a day. The fact is someone else had a plan and implemented it in those few minutes.

Regardless of what I think, Abby and the fiance blame her looking away.

Most of the book is from her perspective, trying to make amends, trying to find Emma. The exploration of experiences, of what parents and loved ones of missing children go through seems very well done, but I have no direct experience.

It's a sad but lovely story. And very well written.