This was a fantastic thriller. Twists, suspense, tension. The mystery was riveting. I . Right away, I was hooked with how odd this situation was, and things only increased, which had me on the edge of my seat.

An absolutely wrenching story of twelve-year-old Wren who is constantly wishing for her disappeared mother's return, while searching her police officer father's files for any clue.

Wren's mother disappeared without a trace five years, three months and twelve days before the story opens, and this event has affected Wren, her father and her Cherokee grandmother deeply, leaving them grieving and lost. Wren dreams of her mother, and spends huge amounts of her time trying to find any clue online, or in her secret perusal of police missing persons reports.

Wren has been helping people find lost pets on her own time, then decides to make the arrangement a little more formal on her grandmother Elisi's advice, with any pay she receives going to the local animal shelter, where she volunteers. Wren is well liked and respected for her hard work and caring for the inmates by Landry, the manager. He tells her of a rise of abused strays he's been finding, and Wren decides not only will she continue to search for her mother, but she's also going to search for the animal abuser. This leaves her little time in her day between school, volunteering, spending time with the loving and very cool Elisi, and endlessly searching.

Consequently, she neglects the possibility of friendship with anyone else, until a school project forces her to work with a fellow student, Brantley Sims. Unlike the school bully (and mayor's daughter) and her gang, Brantley immediately treats Wren, and when he meets her, Elisi, with respect. This is so unexpected and shocking in many ways to Wren, who is used to bullying, dismissal and derision from schoolmates.

Wren had decided to make discovering the identity of the animal abuser her project, and Brantley is eager to help, and the two begin looking hard around town. Wren also notices that Brantley is showing signs of beatings, which he dismisses, until he reveals that his mother walked out on the family, and his father has not been coping well.

The two kids make a formidable pair on their hunt, and in the process, become good friends, and fulfill Wren's desire to be a protector of the vulnerable.

This is a fantastic book; Wren is brought to life beautifully by the author. The book is steeped in grief and pain, as not only is the author dealing with the issue of the countless missing and murdered indigenous women through Wren's family's loss, but also with bullying, and with the way animal abuse is a sign of greater problems, and must be taken seriously.

And though there is much darkness in this excellent story, there is also humour, particularly apparent in Wren's and Elisi's interactions, which frequently brought a smile to my face.

The author also infuses the story with hope, as Wren finds hope through her searching, but also through helping others and friendship.

I loved this book, and author Ginger Reno's strong, caring and capable main character.

Thank you to Netgalley and to Holiday House / Peachtree / Pixel+Ink for this ARC in exchange for my review.

I would say this book is on the upper end of middle grade. It deals with some heavy topics, such as missing persons, death, animal cruelty, and abuse. It was very well written and handled these topics with care. The story itself is full of grief, mystery, family dynamics, and developing friendships. Along with some humor thrown in for balance. I would definitely read more from this author. Thank you to NetGalley and Holiday House for this arc.

I think this is an approachable book about the difficult topic of MMIW. The mystery is well done and drew me into the story overall, which acknowledges a lot about following true crime podcasts. I definitely appreciate this kind of book for a younger audience!

I have never read any middle grade books and this was my first. The characters were unique and quite well written.
It is a book about how life goes after trauma and how to be supportive of each other.
a short yet powerful book which not only talk about grief but how to go through and support each other. While at the same time it has some mystery element to it as well.
Perfect for middle grade.

**Review of *Find Her* by Ginger Reno**

Ginger Reno’s *Find Her* is a taut, suspenseful thriller that grips readers from its opening pages and refuses to let go. Set against the backdrop of a quiet suburban town, the novel follows Detective Callie Harper as she races against time to uncover the truth behind a missing woman’s mysterious disappearance.

Reno masterfully builds tension, weaving a narrative that balances sharp procedural details with deeply personal stakes. Callie Harper is a compelling protagonist, both flawed and fiercely determined, making her a character readers can root for. Her relentless pursuit of justice is matched by the cleverly crafted twists and turns of the plot, which keep the audience guessing until the very end.

The writing is crisp and evocative, with Reno painting vivid scenes of both the chilling crime and the emotional fallout for the characters involved. Themes of trust, resilience, and the hidden complexities of human relationships are skillfully explored, adding depth to the gripping storyline.

While some secondary characters could have been further developed to enhance the narrative, *Find Her* remains an unputdownable read for fans of crime fiction. Reno’s talent for creating edge-of-your-seat suspense ensures that readers will eagerly anticipate her next release.

This book balanced the heavy, important topic of missing indigenous women with the light-heartedness and approachability of being a middle-grade novel really well. I appreciated it as an introduction to the topic and want to continue seeing these types of books written and promoted to all age ranges in the future!

This is one of the best middle grade books I've read this year! The characters are well written and unique. The pacing is perfect. It's an extremely well written book that brings awareness to the MMIWG movement. I highly recommend this! Special Thank You to Ginger Reno, Holiday House and NetGalley for allowing me to read a complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.

Wren is aided by her grandma and raised by her avoidant father after her mom goes missing, and she is hell bent on finding her, and in order to get better at investigating she starts a side-quest of finding missing animals who turn out to be displaced by human cruelty. So, in trying to help the animals she searches for the person behind the heinous acts.

First and foremost, I know its important to educate the next generation about the bloody past even if it was not so long ago.
However, I find it a horrifying thought to give them something so graphic where a series of animal abuses should be mirroring the first nations systematic erasing, and used as a metaphor. Please, for the love of everything that's sacred leave animal abuse and animal deaths graphicly written as a plot forwarding/character developing device in 2024.
The writing in itself was fine and would have been a 4 star book , but the animal abuse is a one star in my book making it out to be a 2 star, but because my grandma and I are suckers for first nation people its a 3.

This is a book that straddles middle grade and young YA. It will be too intense for some middle grade readers, although Reno is careful not to be too graphic when describing violence. Wren's missing indigenous mother, the mystery of abused animals, and family violence are handled carefully, with spiritual underpinnings that offer comfort. There is no happy ending. Wren's mother is still not found, but the book ends with some hope as Wren, her grandmother, and her father share more openly about their grief, and as she is able to help stop a potential tragedy and help a friend. Not necessarily a book I enjoyed but one I recommend.

Find Her was a heartbreaking but powerful story about a Cherokee girl named Wren whose mom has been missing for over five years. This story addresses the issues behind MMIG (Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls) like violence, lack of media coverage and police investigation, and bullying (towards Wren). Wren has never stopped searching for her mom and decides to investigate the case of missing and hurt/murdered pets in her community in hopes she can use it to her advantage while looking into her mom's case. I loved Brantley and Landry's characters but Wren and Elisi (Wren's grandmother) were my favorites as they shed light on the whirlwind of feelings of Indigenous family members who are yearning for some type of answer and closure. Thank you NetGalley for an ARC.

I swear I say this with every book, but as soon as I saw this cover I knew it needed to be mine. This image is so striking and pulled me in immediately. The illustrator did an amazing job, because this was definitely one of the ones that I added it to my TBR without knowing anything else about it lol

So in this we meet the main character, Wren. She’s been on the counting the days since her mother’s gone missing. She’s one of the many Native women missing where she’s from. With so many of them missing, Wren doesn’t feel like enough is being done… Which makes the fact that her dad is a cop even more frustrating.

But, Wren actually has a knack for finding pets, so she thinks she might be able to assist with her mother’s case. But in the midst of looking into that case, she walks right into another. Someone is hurting animals. She makes a friend and they work together to try finding the person hurting the animals as well as her mom. This of course is just asking for trouble. And of course it finds her. In many different ways. I was actually pretty surprised at the way it presents itself too.

Her friend was actually part of the trouble. I thought it was handled in a pretty decent way, although I do wish it had went into a little more detail into what was going on at the friend’s house. I felt really bad for the friend and I wanted to see in detail what happened after they got help. It would have helped to know the process of things like that for kids.

The ending was really good tho. It could be used in two different ways and I enjoyed that. On the one hand it can leave it open for another. On the other hand it, left things like reality does, with no answers. I love that this book is a MG book talking about the MMIP. I hate when people say kids are too young for something. If they already know its happening, how are you REALLY keeping it from them?

The characters in this kind of worked my nerves, but I was more happy with them as they began to show that they were including her more. This was her way of grieving her too. She was keeping herself busy and had some pretty real realizations because she was able to process her feelings through doing things. HOWEVER, the way that she was running around and getting into all this trouble like that, I don’t understand how there was no reprimanding?! She kept telling all these adults what she was doing, “for a good cause” and everyone was so accepting. If I had done that I would have gotten into a world of trouble.

This was a book I don’t think I’ll ever forget. Tho i had a few tiny issues, for the most part I really enjoyed my read of this. I hope this review will help to tie more people to this book.

Ginger Reno is coming to the 2024 ALAN Workshop, so I was so excited to read Find Her, and it did not disappoint. It is so multi-faceted. First and foremost it was about Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG). We learn early on that Wren’s mother has been missing for 5 years with no leads. The author then also intertwines everything else about Wren’s life as she learns to continue to navigate a world where her mom is not there. I loved dynamics of Wren’s family, especially her grandmother Elisi. My other favorite character is Brantley who is the perfect friend for Wren and Wren is the perfect friend for him. And also within the book is a story of bullying, abuse, and animal abuse. It is a huge feat to fit so much into one book, but the author did a fantastic job, and I couldn’t put down the book.

After I requested this book I suddenlyn wasn't sure I was going to like it = turns out I really did. The problem of missing Native American women and girls is one that I have read several books about - it both interests me and saddens me that most of these cases are not resolved either in the books or in real life.
The main character in this novel, Wren is half Cherokee and half White. She works tirelessly to find out what happened to her Cherokee mother who went missing when Wren was a young child. She is frustrated by the lack of information, but even more about the lack of importance that is placed on the missing woman.
Wren is really good at finding lost things, especially lost animals and she gets involved in a series of truly horrible attacks on local animals. Along with her new friend, Brantley, they investigate the case without telling anybody they are doing it.
While that is the main plot of the story, a lot of the book examines the effects that her missing mother has on Wren and her family. Her relationship with her father is complicated and frustrates Wren. One of the other side plots is the issue of bullying. Wren is bullied by a high school girl and eventually she discovers that Brantley is also being viciously bullied.
The threads are deftly woven together into a cohesive novel that is entertaining as well as thought provoking. You get to know the characters of Wren, her grandmother Elisi and Brantley very well and they are extremely relatable.
I am so glad that I received the ARC of this book - it was really enjoyable.

Ginger Reno’s debut middle grade novel Find Her brings the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two Spirits crisis to the forefront in an accessible, engaging story.

Wren has a special gift for finding lost things. Neighborhood pets, her grandmother’s keys– if it’s lost, Wren can find it. Except, that is, for her mom. Wren’s mom has been missing for more than five years, a loss deeply felt by Wren, her dad, and her grandmother. While Wren tries as much as a seventh-grader can to find her missing mom, she has a second mystery to contend with: animals in her town keep getting hurt, and Wren thinks they abuse cases are connected. Her frequent volunteer shifts at the animal shelter give her an inside scoop on the situation, which she uses to help solve the case.

As a Cherokee citizen myself, I’ve been anxiously awaiting this title. Reno, a Cherokee Nation citizen, includes Cherokee language and culture in Wren’s story. It was delightful to see Cherokee language on the page, to see our culture woven into Wren’s story, into the characters. This is the exact kind of book I would’ve loved as a kid. I’m grateful that kids today will have access to stories like Wren’s.

The strong relationship between Elisi and Wren is a highlight of the novel for me. Elisi supports Wren’s burgeoning friendship and detective-like work to solve the mystery of the abused animals, yet still sets boundaries and expectations. Theirs is a healthy relationship, one that is growing and changing as Wren becomes more independent. Elisi gives Wren space to feel her feelings, but still holds her accountable for her actions.

This novel addresses many tough topics in an accessible way. One major emotional hurdle that Wren faces is the difficulty of balancing her mixed emotions toward the police, as her dad is a police chief but she’s angry at the police in general for not finding her mom. Her dad’s position also provides him more information than can be available to Wren and Elisi, driving a wedge between them as Wren resents that he won’t bend the rules and share what he knows about her mom’s missing persons case.

Reno offers excellent MMIW/MMIWG2S/MMIP representation as well as an explanation of the crisis for those unfamiliar with it. Her approach is gentle but heartfelt, offering an unflinching portrayal of the hardship of missing people, especially when other missing people get more media attention. Wren’s grief over not knowing what happened to her mother is palpable.

Wado to the author, Holiday House, and NetGalley for a digital ARC such that I could share my honest opinions.

Find Her is available now!

This is such a heavy, but important topic. While there is the main issue of the missing indigenous women, there are other intense topics: animal abuse, bullying, and child abuse. The story is well written and though slow at the beginning while the scene is set, it is captivating and encouraging with themes of friendship and family.

Wren’s mother has been missing for 5 years. We follow her as she tries to use her finder instinct to both help find her mother and to solve what is happening to animals in their town.

This book addresses two difficult topics in a way that is appropriate for 5th - 8th graders. This book tackles the topic of animal abuse, without going into the gory details.

Also importantly, it addresses the topic of Missing and Murderer Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG). MMIWG is a topic that has been addressed very little for young readers. When Indigenous women go missing they often don’t get the same level of police investigations or news time to try to find them.

I thought that the message and themes of this book were so important and so well-written. It’s important for the youth of the world to understand what else is happening around them, even if it’s upsetting and hard to understand. I think that I felt the pace for the first third of the book was a bit too slow and I even considered putting it down, but I’m glad that I continued reading. I’m interested in what the author will write next.

What an incredibly powerful middle grade book focusing on people and situations that are often forgotten. I wish I taught middle grade so I could teach this book, but I will be happy to recommend it and get it in my library system.

I was very interested in reading this. And it was interesting. Not fully what i expected, but i still enjoyed reading. Thought the focus would be more on her trying to find her mom. But that wasn't really the case, it started with that and then went to a different mystery. The mystery about the animals was good, but also a little messed up tho. How can someone be like that, no matter what happened in your life. It's just messed up. But the story was good, just expected more about the search for her mom. I also expected that at the end they would find her, but that was not the case. I love the characters, they are nice and fun, especially Elisi. Did not like M.J. tho. Curious if there will come a second book.

4,5 stars