Libby Lost and Found is a heartwarming story steeped in fantastical elements yet starkly realistic in its depictions of loss, loneliness, and the power of caring.
Stephanie Booth's debut novel opens with a list of titles in the iconic Falling Children fantasy series by author F.T. Goldhero. The list is followed by a brief scene from the penultimate book, which depicts children seeking their "enchanted world," then abruptly shifts to a very unenchanted Princeton, N.J., where the real Goldhero, 40-year-old Libby Weeks, bemoans her protagonists' fate and muses that she "isn't cut out to have children, even fictional ones."
Libby is desperate. Her outraged fans are demanding the series' final installment, but she's just been diagnosed with early-onset dementia and has lost her inspiration. While scouring her fan mail for ideas, Libby finds 11-year-old Peanut Bixton, Goldhero's self-professed "biggest fan... in the UNIVERSE," and contacts her, pretending to be Goldhero's assistant. After a hilarious journey to Blue Skies, Colo., where Peanut lives with her quirky family, Libby continues her ruse, but the secrets in Blue Skies are as surprising as Libby's identity. Peanut is as bright and savvy a hero as any of the Falling Children, and while the impact of Libby's dementia is ever present, Peanut and her family offer Libby paths to her future. Hair-raising escapades and zany situations, including a very funny episode involving her publisher's marketing plans, lead one character to ask Libby: "Aren't you the one who writes happy endings? Write one for yourself." Libby Lost and Found is a fantasy wrapped up in a novel that's sweetened with the magic of love. --Cheryl McKeon, Book House of Stuyvesant Plaza, Albany, N.Y.