Have You Seen This Girl by Nita Tyndall (review)

Reviewed by: Have You Seen This Girl by Nita Tyndall Kate Quealy-Gainer, Editor Tyndall, Nita Have You Seen This Girl. HarperTeen, 2024 272p Trade ed. ISBN 9780063305885 19. 99 E-book ed. ISBN 9780063305908 10. 99 Reviewed from digital galleys Ad Gr. 7-10 When their father was locked up for killing five girls in their small town and throwing their bodies in a nearby lake, nonbinary Sid became a social pariah, cast out by a grieving community. Now, however, the looks of disgust have turned to looks of accusation after another body was pulled from the lake, killed in the exact manner as the previous girls. Obviously, Sid's dad couldn't have done it from behind bars, so the town blames Sid, who then has to find the copycat killer as more girls go missing. Sid's short on leads, and the spirits of the dead girls who haunt them are more hostile than helpful, but Sid gets some support from new girl June, who is as cute as she is mysterious. When it becomes clear that Sid themself might be the next target, they have to go talk to the one man who can give them some insight into the killer's motives—their father. The book is at its best when it leans into the horror elements with gruesome descriptions of the girls' ghosts and the possibility that something supernatural is amiss. The resolution is much more mundane, unfortunately, and the villain is an easy spot early on, thus muting the tension and rendering any red herring useless. The slowly developing romance between Sid and June, however, is a sweet and wholesome addition amidst all the murder and violence, and June's angst-free acknowledgement of Sid's nonbinary identity in a town that refuses to validate Sid in any way makes for the book's most emotionally resonant moment. Copyright © 2024 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois