Child abductions appear in the headlines from time to time and capture the attention of the public. The media outlets interview distraught family members and flash pictures of the missing child on our TV screens or in the papers. The public imagines the living hell of the parents and family members as they search in anguish.

The Year of Fog takes the reader into the lives of adults left searching and wondering in the aftermath of a sudden child abduction. The story opens on a foggy morning in early summer, on a San Francisco beach, when photographer Abby Mason turns her attention for a few seconds away from her fiancee Jake's daughter, Emma. Was the six year old swept out to sea? Was she snatched by strangers? As the months pass, and even Emma's father has given up the search for his child, Abby's quest for answers and atonement for her failure to keep Emma safe continues, as she walks the streets of the city by day or night, reliving the fateful moment and calling up emotional memories of her own past. The novel reads like a mystery as Abby tries to piece together the events of that morning with the help of her spotty recollection, hypnotists, the local surfing community and the photographs she snapped as Emma ran ahead of her on the sand. Silicon Valley Reads selection, 2011.

The Buddy Files: The Case of the Lost Boy by Dori Hillestad Butler

King is a dog.  He’s also a detective, solving mysteries with his human, Kayla. But right now, there is a serious problem, King’s family is missing, and King, well, he’s in the P-O-U-N-D. It looks like he will need to solve this mystery by himself. First of all, like any good detective, King makes a plan. Kayla writes her plan on paper, but King will keep his in his head. And where should he start? Number 1:  Escape from the P-O-U-N-D.

By using his nose and being friendly, King accomplishes the first step – he leaves the P-O-U-N-D with a boy named Connor and his mother. They are the perfect humans for King to adopt, at least temporarily since they live in King’s old neighborhood. And so, King sets off to find his family.

Events intervene, and King must adapt his plan to his new circumstances. But even as he solves the current mystery, he never forgets his main objective – find his family.

I was sorry to come to the end of this delightful book, but pleased to see we have two more books available in this series.  This book would be a good choice for children transitioning from series titles like Encyclopedia Brown and Katie Kazoo to other juvenile fiction titles. 

This is the ninth year of Silicon Valley Reads, Santa Clara County's one book-one community program. The Santa Clara County Library, the County Office of Education, and the San Jose Public Library Foundation present the program each year, with the sponsorship of a number of local foundations, organizations and Friends of the Library groups throughout the county.

The Year of Fog, a novel by Michelle Richmond, is the selection this year. You will have a number of opportunities to hear her talk about the book and her work as a writer, as well as to have her sign your copy of the book. She will be at the Dr Martin Luther King, Jr. Library on Saturday, February 12 at 1 PM, at the West Valley Branch on Wednesday, March 9 at 6:30 PM, the Cambrian Branch on Wednesday, March 16 at 6:30 PM, the Berryessa Branch on Wednesday, March 23 at 6:30 PM, the Almaden Branch on Saturday, March 26, at 3 PM, and the Santa Teresa Branch on Wednesday, March 30 at 6:30 PM. The  Silicon Valley Reads website lists all author visits and numerous other events.

The library has copies of the book in paperback and also in audiobook and eBook formats.

My book club, like many others, read the book this month. We had a lively discussion about memory and loss, among other themes explored in the book. I'm curious -- what did you think of the book? Did you read the end at some point to break the tension or did you read straight through?