Finding Mariah (Twin Spins Young Adult Series #3)

Eloise Barton
Hard Shell Word Factory (2001)
ISBN 0759910022
Reviewed by Jeanna Smith (13 years) for Reader Views (4/07)

Mariah is seventeen-years-old and her family is moving again.  It seems she has never had a permanent home because she was always moving from one military base to another.  It was hard for her to make new friends because by the time she makes a friend she has to move again.

Her step-brother asks her to spend the summer with him and help take care of the children while his wife is in the hospital.  Mariah is excited because she will be able to spend the last summer there with friends before she has to move again.

Mike, Mariah’s step-brother, lives in Morrel Creek in a small town. She finds out there are secrets in Morrel Creek and she is determined to find out what they are.  It’s a small town and everyone knows everyone but no one wants to talk about the secrets.

In her curiosity, Mariah finds out something that puts her in a mess and even learns about a murder. 

“Finding Mariah” is an exciting book because it has a lot of mystery to it.  Lots of things happen at the same time and I had to really concentrate to keep them straight in my mind.

Reviewed by Lynn Downs for Reader Views (4/06)

Finding Mariah is about a young girl on the cusp of adulthood. Seventeen year old Mariah has never had a permanent home. Her mother and stepfather move her from military base to military base, and she feels as if she has no real roots, no connection to a family. So when she is asked by her step brother Mike to come to his small town to help him care for his four children, she jumps at the chance to do something different. Once she gets to Morrell Creek, however, she finds that she just may be in for a little more than a peaceful summer in the country. For there are secrets in Morrell Creek that no one wants to reveal, especially to Mariah. Some secrets could even be deadly.

Eloise Barton weaves a fast paced, entertaining tale that grabs not only the young adult reader for which it was intended, but the adult reader as well. I have not read anything recently where so many different plot twists were happening at the same time, and especially not in a young adult novel. With two distinctly interwoven story lines, Ms. Barton captures your attention and you feel compelled to read on to find out the next predicament that will be encountered by young Mariah.

In my opinion, Finding Mariah is a wonderful example of young adult fiction that centers on something more than the standard fare of summer love and teen angst. The title character is a young woman who is believable and the situations she finds herself in are ones teenagers can relate to. The title is appropriate as this novel is one of self discovery and finding the things that truly matter in life.

Make comment on weblog