‘Damaged. Deceptive. Dangerous. Darling. Are they labels or a warning? The answer could cost Sera everything.
Murder, justice, and revenge were so not a part of the plan when Sera set out on her senior camping trip. After all, hiking through the woods is supposed to be safe and uneventful.
Then one morning the group wakes up groggy, confused, and with words scrawled on their wrists: Damaged. Deceptive. Dangerous. Darling. Their supplies? Destroyed. Half their group? Gone. Their chaperone? Unconscious. Worst of all, they find four dolls acting out a murder—dolls dressed just like them.
Suddenly it’s clear; they’re being hunted. And with the only positive word on her wrist, Sera falls under suspicion…‘
Natalie D. Richards is at it again! Another YA Mystery that is filled with quite a thrill and intrigue. Once I found out that this story was indeed a Thing™, I wanted to read the story ASAP. And then one day I was at the library and SHABAM, there it was. On the shelf, like it was there waiting for me.
There’s only one point of view in One Was Lost, and that point of view is from Sera. We definitely get to know her deeper thoughts during this book. Things that she herself thinks about a lot, yet doesn’t voice. This leads to Sera having some troubles in her life. Sera works through it, yet will sometimes even avoid it completely. Aside from that, Sera has a good head on her shoulders.
While reading I found that there was a definite creep factor to the book; which I enjoyed. And I also found myself wrapped up in the drama from when the kids are figuring out who exactly wrote those daunting words on the kids wrists.
I like how action packed One Was Lost was, I mean. It doesn’t seem like the book is very action packed. At least, not in the action novel way, and the kids are almost always on the move, so the scenery changes a lot. With the scenery changing, their emotions change as well. I like how Richards’ made it clear (at least to me) how the kids struggled through both their head spaces, their physical struggles and as well as the others’ paranoia.
One Was Lost was not what I initially thought the story would be like. I expected someone to be hunting Sera, and her alone and that she’d be hysterically scared. While the actual story is a teeny-tiny bit like that..for the most part the characters reacted fairly well to everything considering their circumstances.
I wanted to be able to not predict the outcome and ending of this story, but unfortunately, I also have to say that I off-handedly made a prediction/remark in my notes and the prediction came true! Which is bittersweet since I didn’t want One Was Lost to be predictable. For the most part, it wasn’t, which was nice.
The ending to One Was Lost was pretty good. I’m satisfied with it, but I feel like you could expect the ending that this book has. I’m not saying that that’s a bad thing, the ending –to me– just seems too good to be true.
Overall, One Was Lost was a pretty entertaining novel. The realistic diversity in characters was great. I enjoyed getting to know them through Sera’s eyes, and even get to know of their homeliness, their fears, their annoyances.
I feel like the story could have been even better if there were the views of the other three kids thrown into the mix as well, but I’m glad that the four of them had formed a bond that meant that they could talk to each other without barriers. All of these kids are survivors. They survived this ordeal through thick and thin, together. And for the rest of their paper lives they’ll be forever different. Forever they will be linked together through this…man hunt, I guess you could call it.
I ended up giving One Was Lost, 3 of 5 stars on Goodreads.
Have you read One Was Lost? What did you think of the story? I’d love to know!
Happy Reading!
Adele
