The Year of Fog by Michelle Richmond

I read about this book on someone's blog, and as someone who loves children and is somewhat obsessed with missing child cases this book sounded like the perfect read for me. I give it a B+.

From Amazon:
Life changes in an instant. On a foggy beach. In the seconds when Abby Mason—photographer, fiancée soon-to-be-stepmother—looks into her camera and commits her greatest error. Heartbreaking, uplifting, and beautifully told, here is the riveting tale of a family torn apart, of the search for the truth behind a child’s disappearance, and of one woman’s unwavering faith in the redemptive power of love—all made startlingly fresh through Michelle Richmond’s incandescent sensitivity and extraordinary insight.Six-year-old Emma vanished into the thick San Francisco fog. Or into the heaving Pacific. Or somewhere just beyond: to a parking lot, a stranger’s van, or a road with traffic flashing by. Devastated by guilt, haunted by her fears about becoming a stepmother, Abby refuses to believe that Emma is dead. And so she searches for clues about what happened that morning—and cannot stop the flood of memories reaching from her own childhood to illuminate that irreversible moment on the beach.Now, as the days drag into weeks, as the police lose interest and fliers fade on telephone poles, Emma’s father finds solace in religion and scientific probability—but Abby can only wander the beaches and city streets, attempting to recover the past and the little girl she lost. With her life at a crossroads, she will leave San Francisco for a country thousands of miles away. And there, by the side of another sea, on a journey that has led her to another man and into a strange subculture of wanderers and surfers, Abby will make the most astounding discovery of all—as the truth of Emma’s disappearance unravels with stunning force.

I had so many mixed emotions while reading this book. At times I wanted to hate Abby and other times I wanted to hate Emma's father and throughout most of the book I hated the police. The Year of Fog is so well written and really tugs at the reader's heartstrings. When I picked this book up from the library, the librarian told me it was a tearjerker but such a wonderful book, so I was somewhat warned. Most of the times I hate reading something that will make me cry, because if I take a look around the world there are tons of real life things that can make someone feel down and depressed and when I read it is to escape. That being said, this book was an exception to the rule and I quickly read it. I have a hard time classifying this book but really can not recommend it enough.

I have been following the Caylee Anthony case since it broke in July. If you haven't heard, she is a missing three year old girl who is presumed to be dead by the police and by the hands of her own mother. Her mother never reported her missing and it finally took the grandmother to call it in a month after someone last saw Caylee. There has been evidence released that shows there was a decomposing body in the mother's trunk, a hair with a death band around it, a trunk that was saturated with chloroform and searches on the mother, Casey, computer three months before Caylee went missing on chloroform, neck breaking, and household weapons. With Casey behind bars facing murder charges, the grandparents are holding on to the fact that this little girll may still be alive. A lot of people have been crucifying the grandparents and I can't imagine how they can live their lives each day, not knowing where their precious granddaughter is. I will admit that I am somewhat afraid to have children because of all the bad that is out there in the world today and I think this book just goes to show that there some good can come out of horrible things.

The ending of the book left me somewhat disappointed, but without giving away spoilers, I really can't discuss more about it. It was a heavy read, and I admit I did little else today but curled up on the couch reading it. I really believe this book will be with me for awhile. Happy Reading!