The Night My Sister Went Missing

by Carol Plum-Ucci

A tiny pistol, passed from friend to friend at a party on an abandoned pier, suddenly fires, and Casey Carmody falls into the water below. Kurt, Casey's older brother, endures a seemingly endless night at the police station while the coast guard searches for his sister and his friends are questioned, one by one.    Who was foolish enough to pull the trigger? Was the gunfire accidental or deliberate? Or was the whole drama one of Casey's practical jokes? And where is Casey--or her body--now?    Dark secrets are revealed and petty jealousies rear their ugly heads as each eyewitness comes to the questioning room with his or her own version of "the truth."

 

Genres: Mystery, Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Crime, Fiction, Thriller, Death

224 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 2006

About the author

Carol Plum-Ucci is a young adult novelist and essayist. Plum-Ucci’s most famous work to date is The Body of Christopher Creed, for which she won a Michael L. Printz Award in 2002 and was named a finalist to the Edgar Allan Poe Award. Describing her subjects as "the most common, timeless, and most heart-felt teenagers," Plum-Ucci is widely recognized for her use of the South Jersey shore to set scenes for engaging characters embracing suspense themes.

Reviews

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my goodness. This was an absolutely amazing book. I am still thinking about the events that unfolded and feel like I was apart of it, like I was there. I couldn't put this book down! Length wise, it was relatively short, only 200 pages, but I just flew through it. 10/10 would recommend.

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm giving this a 4 because through most of the book, I was riveted in suspense, and only put it down because I had to get some sleep! It was a fast read. However, the ending seemed confused to me-- I wasn't as clear about what was going on as I had been through the rest of the book. I think that may have been because I didn't get to read it all the way through in one sitting, not through any fault in the writing. I'd be interested to hear what someone else thinks.

[Rylie Vowels · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I saw this book, and read the back of it, I thought that this would be a book that I would love to read because I love mystery. But I was very underwhelmed with this book. I found the book very hard to follow and for it being a mystery, there was little suspense and thrill.

[*Brielle* · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was pretty good, it moved kinda slow in the middle, but overall I liked the plot and mystery

[Linet L. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything always starts as a normal well in this case night. A story with theories, accusations, and mysteries. A party for graduation and a gunshot whose holder is unknown. The cause of the event is unsaid. Witnesses claim various things when the trigger was pulled. Some of the testimonies are silly and make no sense while others are meaningful with white lies. Kurt, whose sister is missing, drives his head in circles with all the discussions between the witness tell Officer Lurtz during the confession room. Throughout the book, the story of how it would have happened is being developed ‘till the very end where it all closes. It is an enjoyable book, the author made amazing theories to keep the readers clicking with the book and it explores themes of disappearance and how lies can affect people’s lives.

[Jacquie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a fun, single day read-- but nothing more.

The story line was overdeveloped and the writing was a bit heavy-handed. Some of the small details I found hard to believe; like a high school senior who suddenly finds his romantic side while his sister is missing/presumed dead; like how the entire plot hinges on the fact that the protagonist hears every single witness statement; like how the "surprise angel" of the story kills herself knowing full well she was not under suspicion and that her rapist would be caught; like how the rapist is a relative who is clearly in poor physical condition.

Don't get me wrong, some of the details got me by surprise and I WANTED to know how it ended. This would be a solid B+ summer blockbuster, and they do have a time and place.

[Felix · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was so emotional. I felt such power throught the characters. This book is why I ask books on my Birthday. I loved the mystery. I almost cried reading this. It gave me such an understanding of how hard it is to feel as if it is to be alone. I want more books just as good. If you love books that show eveyone's true colors then read this. (HINT Question Everything)

[Alexus D · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the novel, the author writes a really good twisted ending. When you think the book is just about over, the author surprises you with an incredible ending. The whole book is mysterious, and you can tell who is lying and who is telling the truth. In the beginning, it is kind of slow. However, it quickly pick up pace as you begin to discover the truth about the incident.

[Alyssa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure what I was expecting from this book. I was offered it through an app as it was a best-seller so I decided to give it a try. Definitely did not follow the linear path that I expected, but I lacked an emotional connection with any of the characters due to how the story was told.

[Anni de kaste · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome page turning read

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it kept me turning pages even though I knew I had to go to work early the next t day. The characters are well written and the plot keeps moving along at a great pace. Highly recommend.

[Roxanne · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay. Skimmed parts of it. Just didn't draw me in.

[Ashlyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven't read the full book but the first part is really hitting me about her sister gone
missing

[Melissa Hartwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick teen drama read with enough twists to keep you reading.

[Jordis Powell · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars because it was too entertaining, I finished it just to finish it. Ir still had a dyrpring end tho and I was stunned.

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed by Mark Frye, author and reviewer for TeensReadToo.com

Carol Plum-Ucci is a phenomenal writer who mixes elements of thrillers, mysteries, and problem novels with great success. In her latest, THE NIGHT MY SISTER WENT MISSING, she covers familiar territory from earlier novels without costing the story a suspenseful edge or satisfying conclusion. With her usual cast of sympathetic characters, readers are drawn into the story and feel as if they have a stake in the outcome.

The narrator, Kurt Carmody, learns the details of his sister's disappearance while eavesdropping on an interrogation room at police headquarters. Although there were many people there when Casey Carmody vanished, including Kurt himself, each witness' testimony is limited by personal bias against the main suspect, Stacy Kearn. Stacy and her father appear to be guilty of several crimes as well as an assortment of inappropriate personality quirks. Yet readers are wise not to rush to judgment in the story. No one and nothing is as it appears, neither those under suspicion for Casey's disappearance nor those who rush to help her and claim innocence. Like her earlier novels, particularly THE BODY OF CHRISTOPHER CREED and WHAT HAPPENED TO LANI GARVER, Plum-Ucci creates a realistic sense of community guilt for the mysterious, tragic events in
the lives of teenagers. Those who are viewed as outsiders and are made to feel unwelcome suffer for the intolerance of others. This message rings through the novels closing chapters without overpowering the reader.

As in previous novels, the author tackles community myths and legends in order to show that there's usually a logical reason behind so-called paranormal events. Although the ghost of a suicide victim is given short-play in this novel, this subplot is engaging enough to leave the reader in doubt about the nature of Casey's disappearance until the novel's conclusion. There may be no better mystery writer in today's market for maintaining tension without sacrificing realistic endings than Ms. Plum-Ucci.

Five stars. Highly recommended.

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Carol Plum-Ucci has again written a compelling young adult novel about the possible shooting of the protagonist's sister. The reader is enticed to follow the events about the incident of the missing girl with flashbacks about her friends, the party that they attended, the need to reach their parents, and the current slow progress of the police investigation. Deepening the tragedy of the story, we learn about the possible incest of one of the characters and the depression that many of these teens have during their high school years. Living in a wealthy upper class town, all are expected to attend prestigious universities when they graduate. At the conclusion of this realistic fiction mystery, one learns what happens to the characters afterwards. Hard to put down, this story has been written for youth & adults, ages 12+.

[Tranna Foley · Rating 3 out of 5]

When his sister goes missing under mysterious circumstances, seventeen-year-old Kurt spends a night at the local police station overhearing statements from a variety of witnesses that reveal the deep prejudices and shocking secrets of his small beach community. - Summary from library catalog

This author always writes interesting stories. This is no exception. The entire book takes place over one night and reveals a lot of secrets about this small community. The insight into teenage friendships (or are they really?) feels accurate.

Review from School Library Journal:
Up-It's the middle of the night in a small New Jersey beach town, and Kurt Carmody, 17, has questions about what happened minutes ago at the pier, when a shot was heard and his 15-year-old sister, Casey, plunged (or dove?) off and disappeared. Why did erratic Stacy Kearney bring a gun to the pier-and why are so many of Kurt's friends eager to point the finger at her? What does any of it have to do with rumors that Stacy is pregnant and that Casey's boyfriend may be the father, or that Stacy's pig of a father is a blight on the town and her rich mother a cheating drug addict? Kurt's hour-by-hour narration takes readers from the town's police station to the pitch-black beach, where choppers search the waters. In classic crime-fiction style, Kurt pieces together the night, eavesdropping on statements, questioning key figures, and trying to make sense of Stacy's increasingly disturbing backstory-all the while questioning human nature, his friendships, and his post-high-school plans. Plum-Ucci struggles with pace early on, and her supporting characters are one-dimensional. While the mystery is engrossing and the dramatic ending satisfying, if overdone, it is Kurt's emotional growth that forms the heart of the story and has the most to offer readers. Fans of the author's novels or crime fiction in general will welcome this addition to the genre.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Let me start off by saying that I really like the plot and summary of the book because I'm a sucker for mystery/crime type books. I think that this book brought a tv like feel to paper in that different points of view were heard through one narrator. I'd never read a book like this and it was definitely refreshing. The crime aspect was also nice in that it allowed me a break from the fantasies I usually read.

However, I was a little disappointed in the way some of the major plot twists and story overall were revealed. While the plot twists were definitely surprising at times, I felt that they came out of left field half the time. Yes, I was able to follow the story and twists for the most part, but it was definitely hard to decipher the reasoning behind particular twists.

Also, I felt that the book dragged at times and was redundant. While reading, I felt that some of the interviews conducted by the police as they tried to solve the case dragged--and I get interviews are long--but I felt that the book could have presented the interviews with varying dialogue and made them more interesting. Since the interviews were a bit redundant and prolonged, I felt that it led to a slow pace in the book at times. I expected somewhat of a slow pace since I figured there'd be interviews, but the pacing--slow to fast--seemed quite disproportionate as some parts felt perfect, some were fast and kept me on edge, but a few were quite slow when I felt they could have been more fast paced.

Overall, I really liked the story behind The Night My Sister Went Missing and would recommend it to people who are into light crime/mystery novels. However, I felt that the pacing and revelation of plot twists could have been more seemless.

[Carmen Yeung · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is one of the books that i read after when i finished all my homework, because i was really captured by it. When i first read the blurb it was really interesting. It started off with a harmless party that held a person with a gun. Kurt's sister got shot when Kurt was having fun during the party. Casey dropped off the pier and Kurt as a brother tries to search for the "murderer". Over the finding, everyone was suspicious of one another, because they all are Casey's friend and really wants to find out the truth. But they realize Casey's not dead she was only injured a little. They all blamed Stacy, becaue she was the one who brought the gun there. But when stacy had passed away. Right after she passed away, Kurt figure out that it was DeWinter who shot the fire by accident. So in the memorial, they all asked for frogivness and hope she will never forget their good time as friends. I don't agree to go to a party with harmful objects like guns, metal knifes or even something sharp. If there is no gun in the first place, there wont be so many mistakes in the first place and Stacy wont lose her life either from the process of being blamed she was ashame. I wouldnt blame anyone until i am really sure who did the real deal. As a reader, i enjoy this book and their conflicts and context. Although it is a bit violet, but it has a mystery type behind it and it is the kind of book i like to read. Not as much as i enjoyed this book, i feel really proud that i actually check this book out of the library, because it was on the floor i was barly about to pick it up. I am so glad in the end everyone forgive each other and were friends again.

[Madeline Ellis · Rating 2 out of 5]

This mystery is about finding Casey, a girl who went missing at a party late one evening. Her brother, Kurt, is desperate to find answers, and throughout the story, different individuals are interviewed by Lutz, a cop at the local police department, about their side of the story. Lots of secrets are uncovered, and plenty of information is dispelled, which all comes together by the end of the novel. Plum-Ucci keeps the reader guessing as they try and discover the unknown.

I thought that this book had the potential to be great, but failed due to multiple reasons. I had a hard time connecting to the main character. I didn't understand who he was until far too late. The author is somewhat all over the place; I had a hard time when she jumped from one scenario to the next, and it was as if she was just letting her mind take the story to different places in a relatively unorganized manner. There was a bit of language, but it was not terrible. There is a bit of sexual content as well, and some difficult matters that the characters deal with, but I felt that it still was an appropriate read. It was not my favorite novel, and i will probably never pick up another book written by this author, but I did like the mysterious element that was conveyed. She kept me guessing.

[Lala · Rating 3 out of 5]

"If nothing else, in all these words, I have a memorial to Stacey Kearney that tells as much as you can tell about somebody whose life was a mystery, an endless secret, and yet, you know you're right to love her forever."

This wasn't a bad story, although with only 202 pages it took me quite a while to feel connected to any one character. It wasn't until Chapter 13 that I was truly connected with Kurt. Stacey surprised me as did the rest of this book. I was riveted, saddened and quite moved by the latter half of the story. All in all it was an interesting story with a most thoughtful and insightful lead character in Kurt. My heart just broke for both him and Stacey. "It's too late."

"Kurt, stop being romantic. You are about the dumbest shit I've ever met. With that, she brought my knucles up to her mouth and kissed them absently. She was still gazing off into the north sea. 'The things you're looking for are right under your nose!' Turn your fool head, she hollered."

[Mcgowan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title, “The Night My Sister Went Missing” by Carol Plum-Ucci, caught my attention and my 14 year old daughters right away. The cover has a real picture of teens hanging out on a pier. My daughter actually read the book before me. I thought that was a good sign. She can be very picky when it comes to picking out a book..
The jacket blurb gets you interested in the first two paragraphs. Makes you want to know what’s going to happen. Talks about teens hanging out on an abandoned pier, smoking, drinking and someone brought a gun. All of a sudden there's a pop and Casey drops into the ocean.
The first page tells you that his sister is missing, there was a gunshot and no one has washed up on shore yet.
This author has a real insight on how teens think and talk with each other and adults. She seems to know they way teens think.
I would recommend this to high school students.

[Tracie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kurt's life suddenly and brutally comes into focus for him after his sister disappears from a party on an abandoned pier. A party where there was a gun and a shot. Was Casey shot? Did she dive off the pier or fall? Who had the gun last and why was it at the party anyway? Will Casey's body wash ashore or is this one of her pranks?
Waiting for his parents at the police station, Kurt and his best friend overhear everyone who comes in to give their statement. The secrets and judgements revealed in those statements open their eyes to the real tragedies of their small town - and lead to accusations, betrayals and shocking consequences.
The topics of drugs, sex and abuse are at the center of this disturbing but riveting and realistic story.

[Hazel · Rating 3 out of 5]

One night on a pier in the dark, Kurt Carmody and his sister, Casey, are hanging out with their group (whom they call the Mystic Marvels) and passing around a little pistol someone had brought. Suddenly everyone hears a shot and Casey Carmody falls off the pier and into the black ocean. A whole entanglement of jealousies and lies comes out as everyone is questioned by the police through the early hours of the morning about the shot, the now missing pistol, school, their group Mystic Marvels, and the new girl to the island Stacey Kearney. This story reveals who Stacey is and her mysterious life. The night my sister went missing is a haunting tale told eerily by an established mystery author Carol Plum-Ucci.

[Jaemi · Rating 3 out of 5]

t was just another dune party on a slow night in Mystic…until Casey Carmody went missing off the side of the pier and no one was sure whether she’d been shot or not. Suddenly everything was a question and all the gossip was hot.

Stuck at the Police Station waiting for his parents’ flight to get in, Kurt Carmody was helpless. So he did the only thing he could: eavesdropped with his best friend on the statements given by their friends. An experience that turned out to be more eye-opening than he’d expected…and not in the ways he’d expected.

By the end of the night, his sister’s story had become hopelessly entangled with that of Stacy Kearney, another Island girl, and Kurt didn’t know if he’d be able to save either of them. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to try.

[Medeia Sharif · Rating 4 out of 5]

Casey Carmody disappears into the dark waters at a night-time party in a small town. It’s unsure if she dove, was pushed off, or fell off the pier after gunfire was heard. Casey’s brother Kurt, who was at the party but didn’t see what happened, wants to get to the bottom of things, hoping his sister is alive somewhere. All fingers are pointing to Stacy Kearney, who brought a derringer to the party. Stacy’s pregnant and Casey’s boyfriend may be the father. Also, Stacy has secrets swirling around her which involve her seedy family. When I was reading this, I couldn’t wait to see whodunit and if/when Casey would reappear. Carol Plum Ucci’s THE NIGHT MY SISTER WENT MISSING is a solid YA mystery with delightful twists and turns.

[Christina Getrost · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very suspenseful mystery, that takes place all in one night! Kurt tells the story of what happened on the town pier during a summer night party, as he waits in the police station to learn if his missing sister has been found, dead or alive. She was at the party on the offlimits pier when a gun was passed around among the teens, and someone fired it, and his sister fell (or dove?) into the ocean. Kurt learns a lot of town secrets that night as he listens in to the interrogations of his friends and enemies from high school. Lots of twists and turns in the plot as more info is revealed as you go along in the story.

[Haley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was fabulous!!! It kept me on the edge of my seat from the very beginning to the very end! This book is all about a boy named Kurt. One summer night Kurt and his younger sister,Casey go to a party on the beach. Just a typical summer night until they find out that someone brought a gun. A loaded gun. Kurt doesn't really care about it until he hears it go off along with the scream of his sister's name.
The book is all about Kurt and his desperate attempt to find his sister. Throughout this book you will hear Kurt's thoughts on who fired the gun and why. Along the way deep dark secrets of the suspects will be revealed getting Kurt closer and closer to his answers.

[Allison Renner · Rating 1 out of 5]

The description on the back cover and rave review excerpts made me think this book would be suspenseful, but it was pretty boring. Kurt Carmody is at a party when his younger sister, Casey, is shot by a gun most party-goers thought was a toy. She fell from the pier - or did she dive, being such an athletic prankster? Everyone heard and saw different things, and there are crazy rumors going around about the gun owner, Stacy. The story was too jumbled and didn’t have a clear focus. None of the characters were developed enough to feel anything for. This book should have been drastically shortened and used as a jumping off point (no pun intended) in a longer, different novel.

[Maggie MacGirr · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book while scrolling through Pinterest, so it was a "shot in the dark". Much like this book unfolded to be. I thought the mystery itself was very intriguing and I very much enjoyed Carols writing style. In the dedication page it reads:

TO:
All of my English students.
ALL of you.
You're all NUTZ.
I love you.
You're gonna make it.

I thought this dedication page was inspiring to many young authors and creators, as an encouragement to do more and be more.

Carol also gives helpful advice in the end of the book to help you whenever you get writers block, which I sometimes have, but differently in my art projects.

Carol, overall is very insightful.