Thank you Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. These opinion are completely my own.

I'd like to start this review with a warning: you will cry.

Missing Mike is an amazing, yet heavy read. It deals with many types of loss, but also with many types of love and families.

I enjoyed the crossword aspect of the book, highlighting certain words and adding a definition. I also enjoyed the list of different words for home, I think everyone would be able to add a word that uniquely means home for them.

Thank you to NetGalley, Pajama Press, and Shari Green for the opportunity to read Missing Mike in exchange for an honest review.

Missing Mike is a hi-lo novel written in a poetic verse structure. While there are older release covers, this release is being featured with the most adorable cover with Mike running behind Cara on her bike. How cute is this depiction of a true survivor?

This novel follows Cara and her family as they must evacuate from Pine Grove due to a very nearby local forest fire. In the chaos of evacuation, their dog, Mike Wosowski, goes missing. When they end up at the evacuation center, all ten-year-old Cara can think about is finding Mike, hoping someone would come along and pick him up, the way they pulled over for someone's cat.

Cara does everything she can to spread the word about Mike, hoping someone will find him. Their family worries that they won't have a home left to go to, but at least they have each other, and hopefully Mike will make it. The story is heartwarming, but also very real in the fears that fire brings to those that must evacuate their homes, waiting with no semblance of control over what might happen. From the perspective of a ten-year-old, the worry of a pet and the idea of what "home" might become makes for an incredible story for younger middle grade readers.

Missing Mike is a wholistically enjoyable read that has my heart aching along with the characters, but tells a tried-and-true story worth reading.

Six years ago dear friends survived massive California fires with their two dogs. So when I learned about Missing Mike, I just HAD to read it. It hit me straight in the heart, as a young girl finds that her beloved dog has run away while the family is being evacuated due to wildfires. Kids and adult will love this poignant, beautifully written tale!