Bone Gap by Laura Ruby

Every now and then someone disappears in Bone Gap.  Finn's mother went off on her own but Rosa was kidnapped.  No one believes him when he tells them about this man he saw and what happened.  Even his brother has quit looking for her.  But Finn hasn't.

Balzer + Bray and Edelweiss gave me the opportunity to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published March 3rd.

This story has the flavor of a Ray Bradbury story.  You don't quite understand what's going on, the dark man flits from one world into another, and anyone that does know anything isn't talking.  What seemed a bit incongruous in the story was Finn's romance with Priscilla.  It mellows the story out a bit, which is good, and you get to watch Finn growing up as he continues his search and defends his relationship with Priscilla (she prefers Petey).

While this is pretty much a horror story, there's an underlying message in the story about bullying, gossip, and true beauty.  The final standoff at the end of the story was amazing.  I suddenly knew what they needed to do and the next sentence made it happen.  

I felt like I'd walked into a house of mirrors while reading this.  I'm glad I got out OK.