This story is framed around a mystery but really comes down to the love of a close-knit family. 

When Mia’s fourteen year-old, non-speaking brother, Eugene, races home after a day at the park with their dad, she’s just excited to see him running. Later that night, when realization sets in that their dad never returned home, the family goes into survival mode: find Dad at all costs. I was very quickly invested in the family, the missing person case, and the characters’ growth. 

There’s so much in this book. The slow burn mystery, told from future tense, keeps you on your toes. Eugene’s character, who has autism and Angelman syndrome, begs us to reevaluate how society—and you and I—equates intelligence. The missing person element questions if it’s better to be realistic or positive. The father’s pursuit of happiness asks what it means to be happy and if there’s different aspects to happiness. All of this (and more) were surprisingly deep. I love when a book makes me philosophical!