Lost and Found by Sharon Ledwith is an excellent read for YA readers on several levels. It teaches kids about leadership and responsibility, and it sets a fine example for us humans who have the responsibility of caring for the animals in our environment.
Whiskey, a fifteen-year-old calico cat, is the only link of communication between the cat floor and the dog floor at the Fairy Falls Animal Shelter. Nobel, a part Husky-Doberman-mutt mix, is the dog pack leader. On one fateful day Whiskey reports to him that the Bossy One complains about Shelter money problems and the possibility their home, their sanctuary will be forced to close.
Her father entrusts Meagan Walsh, also 15, to Aunt Izzy for the summer. (The animals at Fairy Falls Animal Shelter know Meagan’s aunt as The Kind One.) When Meagan is caught stealing a pack of cigarettes from Mrs. Arbuckle, she is assigned 200 hours of community service. If she refuses, Aunt Izzy will be forced to report the theft to the police.
Whiskey first meets Meagan when the young human sneaks behind a shed to smoke a cigarette. Upon seeing the girl suck on the white glowing stick, the calico thinks, “Silly, stupid human.”
Insulted, Meagan says, “I’m not silly, and I’m certainly not stupid.”
Whiskey is astonished. No human has ever understood her before, nor actually communicated with her. This revelation was no surprise to Meagan, who has had the unique ability to communicate telepathically with animals all her life.
The old feline is wise enough to know that Meagan could become the needed “Chosen One” to save the shelter from ruin. Thus begins a very special relationship between Whiskey and a teenage girl searching for her place in the world.
Author Sharon Ledwith does a wonderful job of characterization getting into the minds of all sorts of animals including cats, dogs, mice, birds, and deer. Readers will also thrill at how Meagan and her friends—Reid Robertson and Natalie Knight—uncover a plot to destroy the shelter as well as its animals for personal financial gain.
Lost and Found is a psychic mystery with realistic characters and setting, and a plot that could easily be contrived from a newspaper article. Also, one character, Natalie Knight, is confined to a wheel chair, but her indomitable spirit is inspiring.
Book 1 in the Mysterious Tales from Fairy Falls, Lost and Found, needs to be on everyone’s “to read” list.
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