The Lost Girl by Anne Ursu

The Lost Girl by Anne Ursu

Three starred reviews

A Publishers Weekly Best Children's Book of 2019

Anne Ursu, author of the National Book Award nominee The Real Boy, returns with a story of the power of fantasy, the limits of love, and the struggles inherent in growing up.

When you're an identical twin, your story always starts with someone else. For Iris, that means her story starts with Lark.

Iris has always been the grounded, capable, and rational one; Lark has been inventive, dreamy, and brilliant--and from their first moments in the world together, they've never left each other's side. Everyone around them realized early on what the two sisters already knew: they had better outcomes when they were together.

When fifth grade arrives, however, it's decided that Iris and Lark should be split into different classrooms, and something breaks in them both.

Iris is no longer so confident; Lark retreats into herself as she deals with challenges at school. And at the same time, something strange is happening in the city around them, things both great and small going missing without a trace.

As Iris begins to understand that anything can be lost in the blink of an eye, she decides it's up to her to find a way to keep her sister safe.

Breadcrumbs, by Anne Ursu, was named one of the best books of 2011 by The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, Amazon.com, and the Chicago Public Library, with Kirkus Reviews calling it a changing tribute to the power of friendship. It was also featured on NPR's Backseat Book Club and was on the IndieBound Next List. She also received the McKnight Fellowship Award in Children's Literature in 2013. Anne is an MA in Writing for Children and Young Adults instructor at Hamline University. Her son and four cats--all monster fighters--live with her in Minneapolis.