Some things are lost forever, but what if they could be found?
“Anatomy of Lost Things” by Linda Davenport follows 12-year-old Tilly as she navigates the sudden absence of her father; weaving together themes of grief, family secrets, and self-discovery. This middle-grade novel traces Tilly’s journey from confusion to resilience as she uncovers letters revealing her father’s struggles with mental health. Secondary characters like her pragmatic grandmother and a cryptic neighbor add layers to the story, while the rural Appalachian setting grounds the narrative in tactile details (rustling cornfields, the scent of woodsmoke) that anchor abstract emotions. The plot avoids tidy resolutions, instead modeling how small acts of courage can rebuild fractured connections.
Davenport’s intentional design makes this novel uniquely accessible. Amil Chen’s graphite sketches punctuate key scenes, offering visual footholds: a half-finished portrait of Tilly’s father mirrors her fragmented understanding, while recurring moth imagery provides symbolic resonance without heavy-handedness. Sentences lean short and direct (“The letter trembled. So did I.”), with complex emotions conveyed through physical sensations EAL students can parse. Tilly’s wry observations (“Grown-ups are just kids with better hiding spots”) keep prose engaging. Teachers will appreciate the chapter lengths (8-12 pages), ideal for sustained silent reading, while discussion-worthy gaps between text and illustrations invite inference practice. A 2024 Schneider Family Honor Book for its nuanced portrayal of intergenerational trauma, this story transforms vulnerability into strength, showing reluctant readers that “lost things aren’t gone—just waiting to be found again.”
