Missing at 17

by Christine Conradt

In this suspenseful and romantic teen thriller based on the “can’t pull your eyes away” series on Lifetime, o ne girl discovers that no matter how far you run from your problems, they will always find you.

For most of Candace’s life she never felt like she completely belonged. But nothing could prepare her for the shocking discovery that her parents have been concealing the truth about who she is and where she came from her entire life.

Feeling like her world has been turned upside down, and unable to trust the people she’s closest to, Candace runs away...right into the arms of an alluring stranger.

But while Candace and Toby have an undeniable connection, it's less certain what the future holds for them as Candace’s family and Toby’s less-than-legal lifestyle threaten to rip them apart.

As things start to spiral out of control, Candace must fight to understand her own identity...and who she can truly rely on.

Genres: Young Adult, Thriller, Contemporary, Mystery, Romance, Teen

300 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 1, 2018

About the author

Originally from Nebraska, Christine Conradt moved to Los Angeles at eighteen years old to attend the University of Southern California, where she obtained a BFA in screenwriting. She worked briefly in development before making a name for herself as a screenwriter, producer, and director. Focused on writing thrillers and crime dramas, Christine went on to receive an MA in criminal justice from Boston University. She has penned more than sixty movies, which have aired on USA, Lifetime, LMN, Fox, and Showtime. She is the primary writer behind some of Lifetime Network’s most successful franchises, including the At 17 series. When Christine is not writing or directing a film, she enjoys traveling and has been to sixteen countries throughout North and South America, Europe, and Asia. She resides in Los Angeles with her husband and their two rescued cats.

Reviews

[Sarahdactyl ♥ · Rating 3 out of 5]

• Find my reviews here: Literary Meanderings

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* 2.5 stars *

**THIS REVIEW WILL CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS**

Missing at 17 is quite a misleading title when it comes to the actual story within.

Candace, our MC, does not actually go “missing”, as such—she runs away from home and her parents report her missing. She is found after two to three days. It isn't all that dramatic, lol.

So, this story is about Candace, as stated. She finds out some upsetting news—something her parents have been hiding from her her whole life—and runs away in the heat of her anger and confusion. She meets a boy, of course, because we really need some male to save the day; to make this good book. *eyeroll* .. The guy in question is Toby, who is 22 years old. Keep in mind, Candace is only 17. Not a huge age gap in my personal opinion, but statutory rape is a thing. Just saying. Not to mention, Candace is vulnerable upon meeting this guy and it just seems as if he takes advantage.

This book is pitched as a thriller. It wasn't very thrilling to me. There was a little bit of thrill or suspense nearing the end of the book, but it was very short-lived and felt very rushed. It was almost as if it was an afterthought and just had the purpose of tricking you into thinking the book had a great ending, when it really doesn't. If anything, the little scene where a drug dealer goes wild with a gun just serves to make this book a little silly; because the scene doesn't really match up with the rest of the story. It was a clear case of trying too hard.

Was there anything good about it? Sure! I did enjoy the family aspect of the story. Candace is, understandably, upset when she discovers her parents' secret. She is also bitter due to their divorce and blames her mother for it. Over the course of the story Candace learns to better understand her parents and eventually forgives them. She even finds new people to enrich her life. It was a sweet story if you were to leave out the parts with Toby. He sort of ruined it for me. It was a weird instalove thing and it wasn't done well.

Overall, this book was just alright. It was entertaining enough, even if some of that entertainment came from laughing at the ridiculous romance and drug-dealer story line. It was a book I read at night while trying to settle in to bed (I have trouble sleeping) and it did keep me hooked, corny as it was. It's a fast read and I'd say it'd be worth a shot for the HEA and family drama.

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Book source: From the publisher for review
Publisher: HarperTeen

• For more of my reviews, check out my blog!

[Heather Jenkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Omg. I picked this book up because it said Lifetime on it and thought I would give it a try. I'm glad I did!

It was a little bit of a slow start but super good. I am ready to read the other ones. Candy runs away from home ready to be an "adult." She finds love with Toby but he leads a questionable lifestyle that has consequences.

[Emily Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

**SPOILER ALERT**So I assumed this would have the same basis as the face on the milk carton book. As in, Candace aka Candy would find out she was kidnapped as a child. I was surprised to find out this wasnt the case. Because of a simple lesson at school, Candy finds out she was adopted. As can be imagined, she takes it very hard. She runs away and meets "bad boy" Toby. Their relationship is quick to progress, as feelings blossom unexpectedly. Long story short I thought this was a very good book. I almost cried when Toby died. I hoped he would live and they would get a happily ever after. But overall it was a good read.

[Vanna]

DNF

I just couldn't further into this book. The writing was even worse in this book to the PREGNANT AT 17 novel. And just by how the main girl is whiny and selfish and ANNOYING, to the "wow, you are really going on the easy route by being cliche af", I really couldn't do this book. It was like impossible for me not to roll my eyes. I didn't want to waste my time.

[Avery Taryn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Isn’t it cute when the whole plot of a book is driven by a singular, incorrect biological fact?

[Danya ★⁠♫ · Rating 2 out of 5]

☆1.5

The dumbest book i've read. Candle or whatever the hell her name is, shes a freaking spoiled brat. Her family tries so hard to comfort her but all she does is push them away because she found out that shes adopted. Miss girl i understand that part but why do you have to be so discourteous to the woman who took care of you since you were a baby?

Theres literally NOTHING going on in the book and frankly speaking she doesnt even go missing.

Dont talk to me about that "romance". Candle amd Toby met each other for 1 hour and went "oh my god shes the love of my life". DO YOY EXPECT ME NOT TO LAUGH AT THAT😹😹 ITS SO DUMB. They barely even know each other and the fact that this girl Candle went around saying "i hate my family😡😡 all they do is lie to me even though its obvious they dont want to hurt my feelings! So inconsiderate of them" while her new boyfriend, Toby deadass lied to her the whole time by never telling her he had a freaking criminal record (which im not surprise even the slightest)🤣 be so for real right now.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book definitely surprised me. it wasn’t a popular book and i forget where i got it but it was better than i expected it to be considering my last read. i really enjoyed the plot and the ending
overall this book was cute 🤪

[Taylor · Rating 2 out of 5]

I gave this one an extra star because it read just like a Lifetime movie. A bad Lifetime movie, but one nonetheless..

*Shop Your Shelves 2021 Challenge

[Cynai C. · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the book “Missing at 17” by Christine Conradt Candace discovers in a biology lesson on genes that she is probably adopted. Candace is a 17-year-old high school student who’s known to have a short temper and the only person known to look past that is her best friend Avery. Candace doesn't get along with her mother very well and has barely seen her father, which was nothing new before or after her parent’s split, and she and her brother Andrew stayed with their mother in LA. Furthermore, Candace leaves school early after making a scene in the biology class and immediately demands answers from her mom who acts fidgety when the topic is brought up- very suspicious. The news broken to Candy was too hard to handle so she left and ended up at a gas station where she met Toby, a ruthless bad boy who may be the answer to her prayers, or so she thinks. I would say that I found this book to be a real page turner because I felt that it never had a dull moment, and I even found myself rereading scenes to keep building excitement of what I would see in the next chapter to come.
As stated previously, the main character, Candace Owens finds out through a biology lesson on genes that she may be adopted since both her parent’s eye colors don’t correlate with hers. After being taunted by the class, she abruptly walks out, heads for her car, and drives home furiously to confront her mother. Her mother admits to Candace that she is adopted and it dawned on her that this may have been the reason why she and her mother never got along. She also explained that Candace’s brother, Andrew was her “parent’s” child even though Candy isn't. Candace is filled with rage and decides to drive off to a gas station where she meets Tobias. What started as her being offered free gas from a handsome stranger, soon turned into her becoming a runaway and living in the house of her criminal lover. The two share a three day romance and during this sequence she learns more about Toby’s rough life, why he lives with his cousin in such a run-down area, the “loaning” business that he does, and the two are eventually caught and brought to jail. Candace falls the most in love with Toby after he pays a private investigator to help her find her parents. However, little does she know that Toby actually has plans to uproot her from her life and start over with her, so she can be free from her life that she’s grown to hate and so that he can escape the demons of his rough past.
Without giving too much away, I believe that the ending was extremely sad and disappointing after following the love story of Candace and Toby throughout the book for so long. My favorite quote from the ending though was “She vowed to make every day count and treat the people she loved with care because they could be gone in the blink of an eye….” This quote was my favorite because you notice how much Candace has grown, and how much she changed after reevaluating the entire story behind her adoption and finding out the truth in everything. In the end, I felt that she needed Toby and her family to do that.
Personally, I believe that this book is just as great as the other ones in the series. However, I believe that this one stuck out to me the most because of the fact that Candace’s story is very relatable when it comes to being a troubled teen living in a broken home which sadly, is a story that many people relate to and live/lived through. The other books in the series are “Murdered at 17” and “Pregnant at 17” and I would recommend those since this book was so amazing.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Missing at 17 is a very easy read. The main character, Candace, is dealing with an emotionally traumatizing discovery, and we follow her journey as she works through turmoil, betrayal, romance, and (sometimes dangerous) consequences. Candace felt incredibly real and complex, and I appreciated that the book focused on her emotional journey rather than get mired in the typical plot-heavy thriller acrobatics that are common in YA novels. Highly recommend!

[Bethany · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Candice, better known as Candy, discovers that she's adopted, she feels betrayed and angry. These negative emotions make her want to run away. Before she knows it, she winds up in a stanger's car who she learns is Toby.

Candy feels an instant connection to Toby that she doesn't understand. He's had a troubled past and is reluctant to tell her exactly what he does for a living, but it doesn't matter. Candy feels happy with Toby and in her mind, that's all she needs. However, the happiness can't last when you're a runaway. Soon, the police are out looking for her and Toby's occupation involves a lot more danger than he lets on.

This story is definitely a Lifetime one because there was a lot of drama and fluff. To me, it sort of read like a soap opera. Candy's anger was understandable, but I like how she learns from her immature reaction.


Final Verdict: I would recommend this to fans of drama, romance, and coming of age stories.

[rye · Rating 4 out of 5]

wow. i was not expecting the book to be such an emotional journey- i read it in one sitting.

the main character Candace is super bitxhy, stubborn, and overall a spoiled brat- but she is a teenager, and i can’t blame her that she runs away for the reason she does.

not gonna lie, i might too.

but she does do some dangerous shit and while it did end up working out for her safety… the ending was so sad and heart breaking.

might be confusing to read this review- but I don’t want to spoil any of this book.

i recommend reading this

[Amber (Books of Amber) · Rating 2 out of 5]

Missing At 17 really wasn’t the right book for me. First of all, I was expecting an intense thriller, but the story was more of a relaxed contemporary. That would be fine if a) I had been expecting it, and b) it was written well. But it wasn’t.

I also hated the romance in this book. The male love interest comes off as controlling and overbearing, and I couldn’t get over my dislike for him. I was expecting the author to address these character traits and have the main character grow from the relationship, but instead it was portrayed as an epic and tragic love story. I wasn’t happy with that at all.

Missing At 17 was a pretty standard contemporary, with no twists or turns, and a disappointing ending. The whole thing felt very emotionless and linear, and it doesn’t offer anything new.

[Ginette Rossi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Candace's life spirals out of control when she finds out she's adopted. Se's 17 and barely found out. She found out by a teacher, not even her parents. When she thinks she isn't loved she finds a stranger at the gas station who also happens to be her savior while she runs away from home. As they fall deeply in love, her savior gets told an offer. He doesn't want to do it because it's a crime and he wants to be set straight for a good life but the job offers 3k dollars which could help support his life with Candace. What will he do? If you are interested is mystery murder books this one is a thriller.

[Bookworm LLC · Rating 4 out of 5]

Missing at 17 is a teen book about a gal named Candace who thought she had a good home life until she discovered a shocking secret that pushed her over the edge.

Is the life she ran away from worth fighting for? Is the life she ran to better for her and her future?

You will have to read to find out.

This is the first book I have read by Christine Conradt but it won't be my last.

[Nikki · Rating 1 out of 5]

Oof where do I even start?
Lets start by saying I want my time/money back.

If you want a super quick, love at first sight troupe, forgettable(everything), loosley written book. Then this it for ya!

Really though. I'll forget everything about this book...in a matter of hours probably.

[Louisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, though Candy was a really overreactive teen, the kind to make you roll your eyes, and I wish it either was less melodramatic, or that her reasoning was more substantial. But it is more of a fluffy read.

[Iris Alvino · Rating 4 out of 5]

That was a nice little whirlwind story of drama and chaos! A perfect book to read by the pool or at the beach or at home. Definitely recommend for a quick little suspense read.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick read. The author does a great job of developing the story quickly and it’s then full of action. Sad story with lots of ups and downs but overall really good.

[ThundertheKilljoy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Note: Anything that is in quotes ("") might be a direct quote from the book, or it might be something similar. Basically just think of it as a direct quote from the book that I'm elaborating on.
*sigh*
Never. Have I ever. Written so many notes for one. Single. Book.
If I had to sum up my thoughts in one word/sentence, it'd be WTF?!!?
[MANY SPOILERS AHEAD!]
First of all, Candace has some emotion control issues. She storms out of school and her mom, not once, not twice, but multiple times.
Secondly, a stranger comes up to her at a gas station and asks her to come to his place for a party. RED FLAG #1! NO! YOU DON'T JUST SAY SURE TO A STRANGER!!!!
They don't even know each other's last names, only first names, and Toby is already like, "Good morning beautiful." NO! JUST NO!
"She never meant to hurt her mother." Ahem. You literally screamed, "I HATE YOU" at her 4+ times, running away without a word twice, and declining her concerned calls 3+ times? If that doesn't hurt her, then I don't know what will! And then later in the book, she all of a sudden feels bad about doing all of those things? C'mon!
"I just slept with a guy I met LESS THAN 24 HOURS AGO." NO! That should NOT be a line someone says or writes! JUST NO!
Candace's thoughts consist of: What if? What if? What if this?, obvious, sometimes ditsy, and contradictory thoughts. One thought of hers is: "Why did he [Toby] just lend this much money to someone he just met?" AHEM UM....HAVE YOU HEARD YOURSELF?
And Candace repeats multiple times how she just knew that she and Toby "had chemistry" when she barely even knows him! You don't know his friends, his family, what he does/what he does for a living, or what he's even capable of!
Literally Candace throughout the whole book: You can't control me! I'll do whatever I want! Screw you!
Can we just mention the weird age difference between Candace and Toby? Yes, I understand that some married people are 10 years apart, sometimes even 20 years, but when the two people are younger, it makes it weirder. Toby is 23 and Candace is 17?!?! And they're apparently in a RELATIONSHIP?!
Honestly, their relationship feels not official, and kind of like a kindergarten relationship that we all had sometime, and just not real and dumb. I hate to describe it like this, but I can't really describe it any other way, but it feels like a test round.
"A gorgeous bad boy like Toby." *sigh* OH. MY. GOD. C'MON! HOW CHEESY IS THAT? Need I elaborate more on that quote?
They're together less than a week, and they're already thinking about MARRIAGE?! WTF?!
And lastly, nobody says "emoticon" anymore, especially in...*looks at when book was published* 2018!!!
I don't get why this show on Lifetime was apparently so popular (according to the "about the author" section)! Maybe the book is just not as good as the show, but I'm not buying it. Who knows?
No, I definitely would not recommend this rollercoaster (not really in a good way) of a book to a friend.

[ick!! · Rating 2 out of 5]

(*･ω･ﾉﾉﾞ☆ﾟﾟ
⭐ 2.4/5
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plot/summary:

Missing at 17 follows a girl named Candace who runs away from home in pursuits of her own dreams and trying to find her own path and carve her way into adulthood. She ends up finding this guy and stays with him during the time she ran away.


review (spoilers):

Being honest, this book was a painful read. I started it somewhere during the summer of this year but decided to finish it before 2023 ends so I can never look at it ever again. The protagonist was just an a-hole the entire time, and not in a way where you could really sympathize for her. She runs away from home because she hates her adoptive mother, finds a weird 23 year old guy that the author tries to depict in a good light despite the weird age gap, and goes on a trip to find her real mother who's nothing to ride home about. It's really hard to feel bad for Candace, because as I mentioned she was just written to be such a stick in the mud. Towards the end in my opinion was when it started gettin remotely decent, but the beginning and middle of the story are far from it. I'm not sure what the author was trying to achieve when writing this. I mean I guess the ending message of "always value your life since you'll never know when it'll end." makes sense given what happend? But really and truly the book just felt like a dumpster fire and a disaster wrapped with a red bow and decorated to look interesting with decent cover art.

[Mariah Meyers · Rating 1 out of 5]

Missing at 17 is honestly a pretty misleading title. She isn’t actually “missing”, she runs away, her parents report her gone, and she is found within a couple of days. It never feels dramatic enough to match the title.

The story follows Candace, who learns some upsetting family secrets and runs off in anger and confusion. While she is out on her own, she meets Toby, because apparently the plot needed a random older guy to show up. The problem is that he is 23 and she is 17, and the book acts like that is completely normal. The author easily could have made her 18 and the whole thing would have made more sense, but instead the age gap comes off weird and unnecessary, especially since she is vulnerable when they meet.

This book is marketed as a thriller, but it really does not deliver. There are a few moments that try to be suspenseful, but the whole plot feels rushed, especially the ending. It feels like the author suddenly realized she needed a big dramatic finish and threw something together at the last second. The scene with the drug dealer and the gun does not match the tone of the rest of the book and honestly just makes it feel cheesy.

There are some decent moments involving her family and her learning to understand them better, but overall the story felt rushed, the romance was uncomfortable, and the ending had no real resolution.

[Sensitivemuse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't be fooled by the title, our main character here isn't really 'missing' per se. She actually leaves home to get away from some shocking news about herself. She then meets up with Toby and things just progress from there.

I actually rather liked Toby (bad boy appeal and all) even though it's just too good to be true. At any moment I was wondering if this was going to turn out much worse like it would in horrible circumstances. It's sugar coating in a sense, but perhaps I'm being cynical.


I can't say I really like Candice as a character. Sure, it's pretty rough on her how she finds out about herself but she comes off as bad tempered, argumentative and just not a pleasant person to be around. The chemistry between her and Toby isn't really there although Toby does have her best interests at heart which makes even more of a sweetheart.

The plot is linear and straight forward. It's not the most exciting or interesting but the pace is fast enough for the reader to mow through. It is also a movie, which I haven't seen but this may be one of those moments were the movie may be better than the book?

It's a quick read and does the job when you're in between books or needing a break from heavy in depth ones. Otherwise, there's not much substance to this one.

[Shelby Oliver · Rating 3 out of 5]

3⭐️

missing at 17 is about a girl named candance, who goes by candy. she found out in school that she was actually adopted and that her parents aren’t her biological parents. she got angry and ran away. she stopped to get gas and met a 23 year old boy named toby. candy decides to take a risk on him and live with him, however, the police were looking for her bc she was considered a missing person. toby lives with his cousin, keegan, and keegan is into bad things, including drugs. so when toby says he’ll be the getaway driver to steal from a drug dealer things take a turn and candy is in the middle of it all.

this was a pretty interesting book. i was intrigued bc it’s seen on lifetime. some parts were a little slow but overall it kept my attention and i wanted to see what would happen at the end.

[ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

simple review:

love this book, definitely recommend it.

more complex review:

oh my god, do i love this book. i never wanted to put it down and i quite literally cried when i finished it. it was so, so good, and the plot twists were unbelievable. this book is literally so action packed and i loved it so much. genuinely one of the top 5 books i’ve ever read. i could have read this is a few days, but i’m just not a reader.

spoiler section !!:

when toby got shot and died in candace’s lap, dear lord did i bawl. it was so, so sad and the whole last two or three chapter’s, my hand was covering my mouth and my eyes were wide open.

[Zeynebb · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I picked up this book, I thought it would be a teenage love story about a girl falling in love with a bad guy.
But it ended up being a good story about the confusion and conflicts we have with our parents, and the feeling of not belonging anywhere.

I really enjoyed it, though I found it a little repetitive and not written in a very impressive style. It also would have been better if we had more details and depth about Codance’s mom’s life.

For me, it was a 3-star read. But what pushed it to a 3.5-star was the murder of Toby — I wasn’t expecting that at all. I was literally shocked by that event.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read to start the fall season.

[Maddy Max · Rating 2 out of 5]

(2,5)

It was good, don't get me wrong. This book definitely kept me company during my insomnia last night. But I don't know, the story didn't completely reach me. I mean,it was good but it could have been so much better! So I must confess that I'm a little disappointed.

*ARC provided by edelweiss in exchange of an honest review.*

[Aubrey Moles · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did really like this book and would like to read the authors other two books called “pregnant at 17” and “murdered at 17.”

Although i didn’t like how the title of the book made me think the main character Candice was going to go missing, but she actually just ran away and openly stayed at a man’s house.

[nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

not a favourite, but a pretty decent book! the pacing was def a little off for me. candance's internal struggles were, interesting to say the least. there wasn't that much of a thriller, mystery element to it, felt more like a mature middle school novel to me. the writing was one-off and the story had tons of potential. could've been done better for me.

[Lizzy Seitz · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.0 out of 5 stars

A bit predictable but a good book none the less.