Book Review- Once Was Lost

By Sara Zarr

Published by Little, Brown

Released in Paperback on January 4, 2011

Source- book from publisher to review

4 Stars- Enjoyed it a lot!

Synopsis (From Little, Brown): Samara Taylor used to believe in miracles. She used to believe in a lot of things.

When your father's a pastor, it's hard not to buy in to the idea of the perfect family, a loving God, and amazing grace. But lately, Sam has a lot of reasons to doubt. Her mother lands in rehab after a DUI and her father seems more interested in his congregation than his family. When a young girl in her small town is kidnapped, the local tragedy overlaps with Sam's personal one, and the already worn thread of faith holding her together begins to unravel.

Once Was Lost was an emotional story that felt very sincere and pulled at my heartstrings and fed my inner teenage angst. This is the first novel I read by Sara Zarr and one that has made me want to go and explore the rest of her books, because it was such a great story and kind of beautiful despite its very heavy subject and painfully emotional plot.

Sam our main character is a pastor’s daughter but seems to have lost her faith in god and everything that her father seems to believe, she’s gone through a lot, her mother is an alcoholic and her father despite the fact that he’s a pastor, does not seem to put into practice what he preaches, so you can totally understand where she’s coming from. I know that the mere mention of religion and god in a book might deter a person from picking up this wonderful novel but don’t let that stop you, trust me, because even though it is a big part of the story is not a book that will preach at you about religion or going to church. Yeah, it’s a huge part of Sam’s journey in this one and her doubts in her church and god are a big part of the plot but it's also about her family and her life, and how what everyone including her, thought that what once was a perfect family seems to be falling apart right in front of her eyes and she can't figure out how to fix it, her confusion and frustration are definitely understandable.

Not only do we have Sam trying to figure out what’s going on with her family and her world falling apart but then a girl that she knows goes missing and she begins to feel the hopelessness increasing and her faith lessening, she wonders how people can keep hope when horrible things are happening around her and also feels guilt at even thinking about her own problems when this terrible thing is happening. Sam’s feelings and emotions were so vividly described thorough the story that I felt her anger towards her oblivious father, I hated him, and really felt the rage and confusion she was feeling while reading this. The ending definitely leaves you with a sense of hope but also wondering about some unanswered questions that might be way too painful to know the answers to. Even though I didn’t cry through Sam’s emotional journey while reading it, at the end and after closing it I did let a few tears slip out, my emotions were all in trumoil. The ending might not seemed completely finalized, but it leaves you satisfied with a resonating imprint that leaves you thinking about it for a while. The writing in Once Was Lost flows easily and beautifully that I was immediately immersed into the story and finished it in one sitting. Definitely recommend it.