Week Nine: Mystery: The Night My Sister Went Missing

The Night My Sister Went Missing by Carol Plum-Ucci (cover image from Amazon.com)

Bibliography: Plum-Ucci, C. (2006). The night my sister went missing. Orlando, FL: Harcourt, Inc. ISBN: 978-0152047580

SUMMARY
Kurt and his sister, Casey, are having fun at a typical beach party in their tiny island community of Mystic. However, on this particular night, one of their friends brings a gun and the teens take turns passing it around while commenting how much it looks like a toy. Later that evening, the gun goes off, Casey falls off the edge of the pier and disappears. The police arrive and spend hours questioning the party-goers to determine who fired the gun, what was the motive and where Casey went. During their investigation, they uncover bitter rivalries and grudges between the families on the island, as well as a shocking conclusion of what really happened that evening.

MY IMPRESSIONS
This was an intense, mature book. In addition to crafting a taut mystery, Plum-Ucci weaves in a deft exploration of personalities within an insular community. She creates a believable cast of characters ranging from townies to outsiders, popular kids to scorned mothers. She also captures the ennui of senior year in high school, when Kurt and his friends stand on the cusp of the next phase of their life. He's grown weary of the judgment and emotional upheaval of high school, of the same-old-same-old drama and gossip from the same group of people he's hung out with for years. As the police force searches for Casey, Kurt inadvertently gets to listen in on the police chiefs questioning the attendees of the party. He learns more than he wanted to know about his friends and neighbors as they bend the truth, rehash old emotional wounds and make startling confessions on who they are and what they know.

Older teens, especially those who live in a smaller town or suburb, will enjoy this story. It is not a conventional mystery (especially since Casey doesn't die), but it is very interesting to "listen in" on the differing experiences of the same event through each of the character's eyes and to witness the shift in Kurt as he learns the truth about what happened before, during and after the gun went off on the pier. The Night My Sister Went Missing is not overly graphic and doesnt have foul language, but it does contain themes of incest, teen pregnancy and suicide. It is a potent novel that sticks with you long after you've finished the book and I highly recommend it.

ACTIVITIES
This book would be appropriate for a discussion with grades 9 to 12.
1. In what ways does the small community of Mystic deal with people who are perceived as outsiders?
2. Describe Kurt and how he changes from the beginning of the book to the end.
3. Have you ever felt guilty for something that happened to someone you knew, even if you weren't responsible? Why did you feel that way?
4. Give an example of when your opinion of someone else was proven to be false. What did you learn from that experience?
5. Is Stacy Kearney a sympathetic character? Why or why not? Were you surprised by the ending to the book?
6. Why do you think that Stacy was villainized by her friends and her community? Do you think they were justified?
7. Do you believe that the ghost of Kenny Fife played a part in Casey's survival? Why or why not?
8. Discuss the behavior of the Mystic Marvels at the funeral. Were they being honest in how they reacted?

In this book, there are different versions of the "truth" based on people's biases and histories. Write a short research paper on the reliability of witnesses and how memory isn't always correct.

Pair The Night My Sister Went Missing with The Body of Christopher Creed. Compare and contrast the victim, the narrator and the crime. What were the similarities between the two stories in terms of setting and community?

ALA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers
Finalist for Edgar Allan Poe Awards
Finalist for Mystery Writers of America

REVIEWS
"In classic crime-fiction style, Kurt pieces together the night, eavesdropping on statements, questioning key figures, and trying to make sense of Stacy's increasingly disturbing backstory--all the while questioning human nature, his friendships, and his post-high-school plans. Plum-Ucci struggles with pace early on, and her supporting characters are one-dimensional. While the mystery is engrossing and the dramatic ending satisfying, if overdone, it is Kurt's emotional growth that forms the heart of the story and has the most to offer readers. Fans of the author's novels or crime fiction in general will welcome this addition to the genre."
School Library Journal

"There's no doubt Plum-Ucci can tell a heck of a story. But there are chinks in the narrative's armor: characters tend to sound the same, and the one-way mirror in the station that enables Kurt to spy on the witnesses sticks out like the device that it is. Still, readers will be turning pages as new information is dispensed in each chapter, moving and changing the story in unexpected ways. They'll race to the ending and won't guess it until they get there."
Booklist, October 15, 2006, vol. 103(4), p. 41.