Lost and Found

Witherwood Reform School #2

by Obert Skye, Keith Thompson (Illustrations)

Lost & Found by Obert Skye, the thrilling second installment of the Witherwood Reform School series, is an unforgettable story full of dark humor and adventure.

Tobias and Charlotte Eggers are not on vacation. Well, I suppose they are on a vacation from everything they once knew. Locked within the walls of Witherwood, high upon a mysterious mesa, they are still looking for a way out. There are distractions, however. The very ground is shaking, and the creatures that protect the school are revolting. When one of their only friends goes missing it leads to a devastating secret. But there is hope. There are other students who have clear minds and are also fighting to get out. Luckily for everyone, Tobias has a plan. It's a dangerous one, but if it works, it could forever change their fate and Witherwood's future.



Praise for Lost & Found:

"Readers who enjoy a bit of sarcasm with their adventure will eat this series up." --School Library Journal

"Another suspenseful romp for kids who like dark humor." --Kirkus Reviews

Genres: Middle Grade, Fantasy, Childrens, Fiction, Adventure

288 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2016

About the author

Obert Skye read his first book at age two. He wrote his first story at age four. And he was nearly trampled by a herd of water buffalo at age six. For a short time, he lived on the Isle of Skye in Scotland, where he spent time as a candy-taster. Several years ago, Obert Skye says, he discovered the existence of Foo. Publishing his story as a fictional series was not Obert’s first choice. Nevertheless he is content that the “history” is being told.

Hobbies and other interests: Collecting old maps, water polo, roller coasters.

Reviews

[Carly · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you read this book you would know that another one is coming out but goodreads doesn't have it recorded. Ummm? Hello???

[Faith Detwiler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kids never get out of danger. Very Lemony-Snickett-ish.

[Rachelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

2020 Book Nerd Your Way... Book #45
Did not fit an available category in the EBN Challenge.

I had read the first book last year and saw this one on the shelf when I was looking for something else. Well... I had to know what happened after the cliffhanger in the first book, so I picked it up. Was a quick read for me and again, another cliffhanger. I will have to find book 3 much more quickly this time. I did like it, but it is very dark.

[Chloe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think that this was a really good book. It left off with a cliffhanger, so I´m a little bummed about that. But it was still a really good book. I don´t like the whole brain-washing things though, it sort of freaks me out. But Obert Skye, those are some pretty good books you wrote there.

[Gloria · Rating 3 out of 5]

It would have been nice to know that there wasn’t a part 3 to this series in the works even though the title for it is listed at the end of this book. I really, really hope it isn’t left this way, and he doesn’t pull what I call “a Henry Neff”! I’d love to finish it.

[Doris · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the book would be interesting for the younger set, although it had some really good moments also.

[Val K · Rating 5 out of 5]

This one ended on a cliff hanger and the next one is out yet!

[Dawn Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

My only complaint? I don't think book 3 was/will be published. :(

[Magiccats · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love his books. Easy to read, great characters, fun story.

[Lillian Clark · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book I’m very sad that the third book never got released I hope to at someday the third/rest of the series gets released so I can get an ending to this great book series

[Stephanie | Books_and_Steph · Rating 3 out of 5]

{Rated G} I was really hoping that The Witherwood Reform School was just a duology, but nope. This book left on the biggest cliff hanger and there is not even a mention of third book on Goodreads or anywhere else, even though this book was published 3 years ago. So, is there even going to be a third book? So maddening!!

Overall, this one way okay. There were more plot twists and turns in this one, but it still left me with more questions than answers. Lots of secret passageways, weird creatures stealing children, and a school full of brainwashed kids. Both book 1 and book 2 have given me major Lemony Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events vibes.

[Texjim · Rating 2 out of 5]

Don't eat the pudding! This tale of good and evil follows the activities of two young children, Charlotte and Tobias and their father, Ralph Egger. The book is a sequel and no summary of prior events is provided forcing the new reader to speculate about the immediate past. The family has apparently been in an automobile accident in the AZ or NM desert that seems to have left Ralph without any memories of his recent past. In the immediate aftermath, he has unknowingly left his children in the care of the staff at an isolated and sinister boarding school. The school which caters to orphans and unwanted children rests on a geologically unstable mesa and is guarded by strange mythical creatures both cute and overtly threatening. The cruel faculty and staff have developed a method for extracting the youth from these abandoned and missing children in order to sell the elixir to the world's wealthy elite. Once processed, all that remains of each child is a helplessly fragile octogenarian. While awaiting processing, the children are maintained compliant in a hypnotic/drug induced stupor. Most of the story involves how the children learn to combat the mind control and then become aware of their imminent peril. Tobias, Charlotte and several others who have cleared their minds, secretly team up and plan an escape all the while pretending to remain stupefied. The adventure includes attacks by strange creatures, lost comrades and lots of secret passages and tunnels. A parallel narrative describes their father's struggle to recover his identity and his relation to the children in a photo of Charlotte and Tobias. As parts of the plan of escape unfold the action accelerates, success looks to be near at hand but this episode ends abruptly much like a fifties cliffhanger.

I believe teen or preteen readers would enjoy this story which clearly has a Harry Potter feel to it. The plot however moves very slowly for the first half of the book. If you have not read the previous episode, you may be confused at times by the absence of the prior context. The main character Tobias and the overbearing taskmaster cook are reasonably well developed. The cook's mild aphasia provides some "punny" levity. We really don't learn a lot about the others beyond the stereotypical good kids and bad staff. Many of the chapters also have interesting preludes that are combined with subtle philosophy and humor. There is a substantial skill required to write serial mystery or adventure stories that provide sufficient resolution to satisfy readers while remaining interesting enough to have them return for more. This story ends far too abruptly for me with many unanswered questions and loose ends remaining. Though the author, as narrator, humorously endeavors to deflect this obvious criticism, I found the conclusion very disappointing. I suspect the young readers in the target audience might be similarly disappointed being told they have to wait for the next book to "possibly" find out what happened to Tobias and his friends.

[Tessa McMillan · Rating 5 out of 5]

While lost in their Marvin-mindset, Tobias and Charlotte are attacked in their room by a creature who supposedly protects the Witherwood grounds. Soon after Charlotte is whisked off to the girls’ dormitory leaving Tobias imprisoned in his confining cot accommodations. However, Tobias stumbles upon his secret notations and injuries himself out of Marvin’s mental hold. With a clear head, Tobias searches for his sister and a way out.

Lost & Found in Skye’s Witherwood trilogy will have readers rolling on the floors with laughter but glued to their seats in nail-biting suspense. Skye’s brilliantly quirky narration at chapter beginnings may be hilarious, but these nuggets of insight do two things: foreshadow events for Tobias and Charlotte and give empowering advice to young readers. Skye exacerbates the story’s tension by making Tobias and Charlotte pretend to be submissively clueless kids as they secretly gather clues to comprehend Marvin’s demonic scheme. But behind the humor and adventure, there is also real heart to Skye’s story regarding the Eggers family. Anger, loss, and misbehavior may have driven them to fall apart in Book 1, but the foundational love of being a united family drives each to find one another again, no matter the odds. A magnificently written series no reader should pass up.

(Review found on Children's Compass Chronicle: childrenscompasschronicle.blogspot.com)

[LeeAnn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sometimes you can jump into a series without having read the previous installments but reading book two of this series (Witherwood Reform School) without having read the first book is not recommended. This is one of those series that is one long story cut in three pieces and you are going to want to have all three books available to read one after the other so that you can get the whole story and not be left hanging in mid-action. Personally, I prefer a series to have an overall, connecting arc while each book of the series has its own story arc with a distinct beginning, middle, and end. (Think The Lord of the Rings or even A Series of Unfortunate Events.)

What this series does have going for it is a decent mystery--just what is really going on at Witherwood and can Tobias and Charlotte save not only themselves but all the other students as well? And who doesn't love exploring secret passages or avoiding science-experiment-gone-wrong creatures? The narrator who obviously studied at the Leony Snicket Institute? A mad choice.




I received an ARC of this book via a Goodreads giveaway.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

* I received this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
So, I really, really loved the style, characters, setting, narration...almost everything.
Almost.
I did not love this was always meant to be a tiny piece of a larger story.

If I had known, before I read this, how much I was going to love it, I would have waited and read the whole series, once it has been published, one after another like crack cocaine.
If you haven't read either of these, and you feel like you might need an NA meeting to get over not having your next "fix" right away, you may also want to wait until the series is finished, to start.

If not, read on. It is GREAT!
4 stars (not 5) only because I am already jonesing for more.

[Sadie Cole]

I love Obert Skye's books, but this was a huge disappointment. It was so boring! After receiving this book from a giveaway, I quickly placed a hold on the first one. But I could hardly get through it. I read this book for the sole purpose of reviewing it, and even then I just skimmed through it. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.

[Melody · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received this book via Goodread Giveaway

I found this book quite enjoyable. This was a very good sequel to the previous book and continues to unravel (though not much) the mystery of Witherwood Reform School. I am quite interested to see where this is going. I recommend this to anyone who liked the first book.

[Naomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't sure if there was a book three, but there is! So yes, he left us hanging...and The New Order, book three, is not even out yet. You can't even really google it or anything yet. oy, so we wait...meanwhile, reading lots of other lovely books. Go Obert!

[Ivie Isler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still a lot of questions as to what is going on. Ending is very abrupt.

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Lemony Snicket-ish but with less humor.

[Abriel · Rating 3 out of 5]

So, maybe they have skillz? Cover is still great, though.