Lost Girl: A Shelby Day Novel

Lost Girl, A Shelby Day Novel is a book about following your passions, kicking ass and letting yourself feel things deeply.

This book was different from all others I've read before because it featured a young reporter going after her dreams, despite being mentally ill. It's so important to see positive representation of mentally ill women.

Shelby Day is a Jewish twentysomething suffering from PTSD who comes from a rich family but wants to make it on her own. That's why, she leaves LA and her family home to pursue her passion as reporter. In a small town where nothing important really happens, a murder of two teenage girls in their home shock the community and changes Shelby's life. Aside from being the most important story of her career, Shelby feels a strong connection with the murdered girls and can't let go of the story, even when she starts receiving death threats. But she must unravel the mystery fast or she'll be the killer's next victim.

I really loved the character of Shelby, her being headstrong and passionate but also incapable of sharing her true feelings. I have to say I found a lot of myself in her and it honestly feels so good when a few pages in, you can already see that you're going to get attached to a character.

My favorite part of the book was a dialogue that Shelby was having with Jack about her mental illness. It felt so raw and real and it's so important to normalize this and try to eliminate the stigma.

“Did something I say trigger you?”
“No, sometimes they just happen.”
“How often?”
[...] “Often enough. Meds help, but it's always there. My whole family is the same way. I swear it's like Jew disease. PTSD is in our DNA. We're all carrying on the suffering of our ancestors.”
“Why'd you pick such a stressful job if you're anxious all the time?”
“I'm a mess no matter what. Might as well do what I want.”

I'll never stop screaming about how perfect this whole scene is. Thank you, Holly Kammier.

The story is quick paced and unpredictable, and I really enjoyed following Shelby in her adventures and seeing her finally open up to the possibility of love.

I wish we could have known more about her past, especially about her relationship with her mother but I get that the book was relatively short and focused on her resolving the murders, rather than her past. Shelby wanted to let go of her past and be brand new, so it kinda makes sense that we only know who she is now.

To sum up, I really loved both the plot and the characters, and the writing style was fluid and it kept me hooked. I would recommend it to anyone who loves a good mystery story and badass female characters.