Misplaced by Lee Murray

Reviewed by Jenny Argante

Tauranga writer Lee Murray began her engagement with the reading public with a fast-paced beach read, A Dash of Reality, based on the heroine’s involvement with a reality marathon show and located in Mount Maunganui. Great fun, and she added value with instructions for novice runners.

Her next offering was junior fiction with Battle of the Birds, which won the Best Youth Novel in the Sir Julius Vogel Awards for 2012. Here the reader joins homesick Annie as she flies back on a mythical eagle from Wisconsin to the New Zealand of a thousand years ago and there helps humans and flightless birds overcome the evil raptor Te Hokioi.

Besides writing many published and prizewinning stories and compiling best-selling anthologies with fellow Tauranga writer Piper Mejia, including Baby Teeth: Bite Sized Tales of Terror, Lee also began work on Misplaced, now published by Leapy Sheep Press.

This is the heart-wrenching story of how 17-year old Adam must learn to cope with his mother’s sudden and mysterious departure. The narrative is compelling and Lee has created in Adam a character that young adult readers of either sex will easily relate to.

How does a teenager deal with the turmoil of an insoluble mystery and the loss of emotional security he was able to take for granted throughout his growing years? In the case of Adam he relies on various strategies, the support of his two best mates, and the emotional warmth of his burgeoning relationship with Skye who, it seems, has also misplaced a parent.

In spite of the tragic mystery at the heart of this book, it is not all doom and gloom. Lee Murray has an intelligent understanding of young people, and a keen ear for dialogue. Nor does she back away from taking us into the heart and mind of her hero, making us understand both his vulnerability and his strength. It is not often we get to see behind the facade young males so often assume.

I read it at one sitting, and immediately read it again. This is a writer to watch out for - she offers strong storylines, well-realised characters and faultless prose. Who could possibly ask for anything more?

I shall follow Lee Murray’s burgeoning career with the keenest interest.

Misplaced is currently available from Amazon, Smashwords, and Createspace. It will be available in New Zealand bookstores from late January 2014. RRP $24.95. 

About the reviewer:

Jenny Argante is a published writer and a professional editor, with 30 years experience in the teaching of creative writing.