Finding Daddy

by Louise Plummer

MIRA KENT IS nearing her 16th birthday and wants to know more about a father she doesn't remember. Her mother tells her she has all his good qualities, but isn't specific. With nothing but a photo of her father, Mira wants more. She writes him imaginary darling, where are you? I need you in my life. Aren't you curious about me? About school? I have a boyfriend named Dylan. Mom says you both made the decision during the divorce that you wouldn't be part of my life. It was easier, she says. It hasn't been easier for me. Look for me, dearest Daddy, and I'll look for you. I'll look until I find you.

Genres: Young Adult, Mystery, Teen

178 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2007

About the author

Louise Plummer is a noted author young-adult fiction and a retired associate professor of English for Brigham Young University. She lives in New York, New York with her writer/professor husband Tom. Together they have four sons.

The Plummers moved from Boston to Minnesota in 1971 when Tom took a position at the University of Minnesota. While there, Louise earned a master’s degree in English. They both took positions at BYU in 1985, the same year her first novel, The Romantic Obsessions and Humiliations of Annie Sehlmeier, received the the Delacorte Press First Young Adult Novel Contest, leading to its publication. The book later became a children's choice book with both the New York Public Library and the International Reading Association.

Awards received by subsequent books include Her second novel, ALA Best Book, a School Library Journal Best Book, Utah Arts Council Best Young Adult Novel, Association for Mormon Letters Best Young Adult Novel, and another New York Public Library Children's Choice Book for her second novel, My Name is Sus5an Smith. The 5 is Silent. The Unlikely Romance of Kate Bjorkman was also an ALA Best Book, a School Library Journal Best Book, an Association for Mormon Letters Best Young Adult Novel. Her A Dance For Three was also an ALA Best Book.

She has also written nonfiction books specifically for the Mormon audience and is a popular LDS lecturer.

--Bio courtesy of Wikipedia

Reviews

[:) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was disappointed with "Finding Daddy". I thought the premise was great but by the end of the book I was left feeling- was that it? Maybe I was hoping for too much. There are many Teen Fiction titles that have the depth and scope to make them enjoyable for adults and this one just felt childish.

[Trina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairly intense but I thought it was missing one thing. There was only one possible suspect. No red herrings. No dead ends. You kind of knew from the beginning who was doing the terroising. Kind of took a lot of the suspense out of it.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mira is about to turn 16 and wants to find out about her forbidden father. She does and things are not quite what they seem. There's an interesting premise here; Mira is, at first, an engaging character. Everything seems happy and good except her mom and grandmother are extremely tight-lipped about her absentee father. Mira finds some scrapbooks about him and begins to search for him. Then she becomes unrealistically gullible. Then the story becomes (spoiler alert) stop reading now if you don't want to know more quite brutal and tragic.

[Mia Oli · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

[Liza · Rating 2 out of 5]

Protagonist learns the lesson of stranger danger even if that stranger is your biological father.

[Les · Rating 2 out of 5]

Violent cautionary tale. If mom and grandma change their names, lie about where they're from, and tell you your dad is out of your life and under no circumstances will they provide any information about him, a normal person might take the hint there's a reason for it.

But 16 year old drama queen Mira decides she knows better, even if her boyfriend and best friend disagree with what she's doing. She knows her dad is really wonderful, based on some watercolorings she found (of course, no one who creates pretty pictures could be in any way sketchy?), and mom is just being mean keeping him away.

She tracks him down and calls him, then they share a few emails. Within a few days a series of sinister events take place around their house. But daddy couldn't be responsible, because Mira lives in Salt Lake City and he's in Dallas, isn't he?


************ SPOILER ALERT *********************



It was surprising how violent this was for a YA novel. Daddy Dearest is a sick vicious SOB, a total sociopath. He broke Mira's arm when she was 2, then threatened to kill all 3 women if anyone reported it. That's when the 3 of them took off and went into hiding. Once Mira was stupid enough to tell him where to find them, he takes out 14 years of vengence on anyone/anything in his way. Among his acts of violence:

-- he kills their dog by wiring it's legs together, stabbing it, and then burying it in their garden with just her head sticking up out of the ground.

-- he pistol-whips Mira's boyfriend hard enough to fracture his skull.

-- he repeatedly stabs the older women, killing her grandmother while her mother barely survives.

-- he uses a puppy to get Mira and her friend alone, then throws it out the window and runs over it with his car.

-- he makes Mira handcuff and tape her friend before forcing her into the trunk of his car. He then leaves the car inside a garage when he swaps vehicles, without any food or water or any intention of letting anyone know where she was.

In other words, a total scumbag. Meanwhile, Mira gets to live with the guilt of her grandmother's murder and mom's near death. She also loses her boyfriend; he tried on multiple occasions to talk her out of what she was doing, but she did it anyway, including sneaking off to meet dad without him. So for his troubles he wound up hospitalized with a skull fracture. They were friends for years, then started dating, now he makes it clear he's stepping back from their relationship. Nearly getting killed because of your girlfriend's stupidity will put a damper on how you feel about her...

[Libby Ames · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a hard review for me to write objectively for two reasons. First of all, Louise Plummer is one of my favorite people. I love her creativity, sincerity, and humor. (So if you follow these reviews on Goodreads, Professor Plummer, know that I loved both my Creative Writing class and English 3??. I also love your style of description and character development and feel a little silly critiquing my creative writing teacher.) Because of that class, I knew some things to expect from the book. I knew it wouldn't end entirely happy, because Plummer herself admitted to needing some bittersweet in her books. I also knew I could expect great dialogue and I wasn't disappointed.

My second hinderance to objectivity is that I really don't like this style of book. It is one of those 'Wait Until Dark' kind of scary books. One that ends mostly okay with you feeling relieved for the characters, but you still can't walk across the room without visions of someone leaping toward your back with a knife in their hands. I've tried to review the writing and not my opinion on the kind of book.

Mira is a fifteen-year-old girl who has grown up with her mother and grandmother and little knowledge about her father. As she nears her sixteenth birthday, she feels a greater desire to reconnect with her father and without her mother's knowledge, she begins to track him down. Soon after connecting with him, strange crimes begin to happen around her house. Someone tries to break in. Her dog is brutally killed. In spite of these crimes, Mira refuses to acknowledge her father as a suspect.

In other reviews, people criticize Mira's inability to see the connection of the crimes to her father. However, knowing fifteen-year-old girls and their compulsion to romanticize, I felt the characterization was accurate. I found the idea of a maniac father waiting for some lead to come thirteen years later and kill his family a little unbelievable, but thriller books are meant to be entertaining and not necessarily believable.

Mostly, I enjoy Plummer's writing, but not her choice of stories. I want to see Louise Plummer spunk and humor in writing. I appreciate the depth of books like A Dance for Three and others, but I wish that depth were possible WITH the humor I love.

[Lucy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Mira Kent lives with her mother and her grandmother. She has a comfortable life, with as much love as she could ever want, but she has always been curious about her father. Her mother and grandmother won't tell her anything about him, even his name--and as she nears her sixteenth birthday, she desperately wants to find him.

When she and her friends do some sleuthing and track him down, Mira couldn't be more excited. But then her dog is killed. There's an attempted break-in at her house. And that's only the beginning...

This is a terrible book. If I could give it no stars, I would. Most of the problem is that Louise Plummer seems to have forgotten (if she ever knew how) what a teen voice sounds like--or at least, she has never known what a 21st century voice sounds like. She makes technology mistakes that are grating--dated terms for Google searching, her character not being familiar with caller ID. A MALE TEEN character says, "This is the only time in my life when I can eat donuts and not gain weight. Do you realize what a gift that is?"

Can you imagine a real male teenager who isn't gay saying that line?

This book is full of stupid, grating errors like that that just pull you out of the narrative.

That aside, Mira is stupid. She's a stupid, undeveloped, unbelievable characters, and so are her friends, and so are her interactions with them. The dialogue--all of it--falls flat, and rings false.

And the plot inches along for the first half of the book, and then suddenly goes, unbelievably, at full speed.

The last part of the flap copy reads, "Author Louise Plummer's mission in writing Finding Daddy was to reate a psychological thriller that was both romantic and scary. Mission accomplished."

This book is neither romantic nor scary. And it may be a thriller (a lame one) but it's not a psychological thriller by anyone's definition.

Don't read this book. It's a complete waste of your time.

[Amanda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some obvious plot holes: First, if you are hiding from your abusive husband to the extent that you have to change your name, make sure that when your daughter is old enough to start asking questions that you are honest with her and explain how dangerous her father is and that he should never go looking for him. Second, after discovering both your father's real name and the fact that your mother and grandmother have changed their real names, combined with the fact that neither of them will talk about your father, it seems asinine that you would try to contact him without first speaking to your mother. And then, after you had been so stupid as to contact him, when the dog is taken from your home and brutally murdered you would think you would say something to your mother, just in case. Or that your mother would say something to you and to the police about her abusive ex. Even if the dog scare didn't do it, you would think the threat of a man lurking outside your house and trying to break in would make both you and your mom come clean. Third, after you came home to find your grandmother murdered and your mother almost dead, you would think that you would say something to the police, or that your boyfriend or best friend would say something to the police. And lastly, why on earth would you still be compelled to meet your father right at that moment in time? If there is even a small amount of doubt that it could possibly him who had done all these things, would you really want to risk it? Wouldn't you want to wait until the crimes were solved and if your father is innocent, then try again? No 15 year old is that stupid.

All that said, this was still a well written book, very enjoyable to read, except for the times when you are screaming in your head "Mira, go to the police! Tell your mom what you've done! Don't meet that psychopath!" (Because while you are hoping the dad didn't do it, you know he did. The timing couldn't have been coincidental.)

[Eden Silverfox · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mira, who is almost sixteen, wants to know more about her father that she doesn't remember. She has a photo of him and only knows the few things her mother and grandmother will tell her. Mira decides she needs to find him.

Mira isn't a bad character. I actually think she is very believable and while I know both of my parents, I can imagine myself in her place and understand how she feels.

Mira isn't stupid. She wants to know her father and you should be able to trust your parents. She shouldn't have went behind her mother's back, but how was Mira to know there was actually a real reason for keeping her away from her father? Parents are people, they make mistakes and bad decisions. And believe it, or not, sometimes they don't always know best. And even sometimes they will keep children from the other parent for no reason other than to be hateful. My cousin is currently going through this with his ex-wife and he loves his children dearly.

While I know Mira's father didn't turn out to be loving at all, my point is, Mira didn't know, her mother didn't want to tell her anything and she had a right to know about her father and all of his craziness. But her mother and grandmother would never explain why he couldn't be in their life. They only told her about his good qualities and never told her the bad things. And I think that was a mistake.

I just feel Mira's mother and grandmother should have told her. She had a right to know. She came from both parents and it is only natural for a person to know where and who they come from.

I liked the book and found the story very intense. I may eventually read some other books by this author.

[Leanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Louis Plummer’s The Unlikely Romance of Kate Bjorkman
I was surprised and delighted to come across Finding Daddy in the library last week. It’s been years since Plummer released a new book, so I felt as if I’d stumbled across a treasure.

Although not nearly as appealing as Unlikely Romance, Finding Daddy starts with a similarly light tone. Mira Kent is a teenager with a loyal best friend, a dreamy boyfriend, and a strong desire to find her biological father.

The writing is a bit awkward, and I felt like I’d fallen into a time warp with teenagers named Barry, Ted, and Joe, but I was willing to forgive these weaknesses in hopes of some charm and romance.

SPOILER ALERT: I was in for a huge disappointment. The book’s tone and content change dramatically midway through. The magic of teenage love is suddenly replaced with terror, torture, and bloodshed. Mira makes incredibly stupid and frustrating mistakes, and I found it difficult to like and sympathize with her.

Overall, I found the novel’s tone and content disturbing. This reaction may be because I was expecting an entirely different book, but a sense of unease followed me for several hours after finishing Finding Daddy.

If you are looking for a disturbing YA novel, this is the book for you. If you want a romantic romp, pick up The Unlikely Romance of Kate Bjorkman instead.

[JS · Rating 1 out of 5]

First off, I was sad to hear from the bio that Louise Plummer has retired and moved to New York. She was one of my favorite, most influential professors, and it's sad to think that no more classes will get to experience her and Tom Plummer's awesome memoir class.

Now on to the book itself: It was very tense and thrillery and well written. Unfortunately, our main character is so monumentally stupid that every time she does something you just want to throw the book across the room and yell at her. Especially when--even after the incredibly suspicious timing that lands her mother in a hospital and her grandma in the morgue just days after she contacts her dad--she still decides to go see him at the airport.

To be fair, however, her mom really should have at least given her daughter a clue about how very, very bad it would be to contact her father.

I'm trying to stop being so very critical of books these days, and especially of characters who maybe are just humans with flaws. But honestly, I can't not be critical of this girl. She was just dumb. In fact, there really should be a stronger word than that. She was so idiotic it made her just a little bit unbelievable as a character. And that's a critique of the book itself, I admit.

Anyway, I like Plummer's fluff more than I like her thrillers. But maybe I'll like another one better someday.

Rating: PG-13 just because I'm still thinking about the awfulness of what happens to these characters--so it's the situation more than the action itself (although there is a fair amount of violence). "Thematic elements," I suppose.

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mira Kent seems to have it all, a loving mother, a grandmother who makes killer waffles, two best friends, Sarah and Dylan, and a budding romance with Dylan. What more could she want? Finding her daddy. She has not seen him since she was three, and her mother and grandmother evade her questions about him. She discovers a photo album containing pictures of her with her father. She also finds her parents’ marriage certificate and is shocked to learn her father’s real name and that her mother and grandmother have been lying to her all these years. It doesn’t dawn on her that they may have been avoiding the questions for very good reasons. After she, Sarah, and Dylan track down information about her dad, her friends urge her to be cautious after she emails him and they plan to meet. Mira does not make the connection when frightening and bizarre events occur: her dog is cruelly murdered and their neighbor sees a strange man with a ski mask skulking around the house at night. Even after her mother and grandmother are viciously attacked, Mira refuses to see the coincidence and insists on keeping the appointment with her father at the airport. This flaw strains credulity in the book. The character development is good and the climax keeps the pages turning. Give this book to readers who love scary thrillers and they will probably overlook Mira’s naïveté about finding her daddy.

[Urmi Chow · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book in my opinion is a must read for teens who adore a fast pace supense/thriller with a touch of mystery that is quickly brought to light, which is the disappointing part. Nonetheless, it was an easy read and it got me hooked until the end. The events unfolding could easily be very disturbing but also intriguing for any 16 year old to want to risk herself and find an explanation for everything that's been recently going on in her life. I believe I was also 16 when I first read the book and I must say that I would probably have behaved in a similar way (you'll know when you read the book) and that's why I kept reading until the last page. However, from the other readers perspective, the book seemed to be a disapointment. The plot seemed to be too predictable and the main character's actions "Not wise" and these have taken out the fun in guessing "what will happen next". Maybe if I re-read the book with my much more developped sense of critique, I may have the same opinion, but I did not read the book again so therefore my 16 year old self shall give out her rating. All in all, this book seems to either be "too predictable and no fun to read" or "An exciting read" but you should definetely give the book a try and figure it out.

[Erica · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a quick read because it's fast-paced and super short. It begins a little awkwardly - the language is stilted and Mira's voice isn't quite believable but everyone finds their places quickly enough.
Mira lives with her mom and Bella (grandmother) in a nice neighborhood. She has a bright, sassy best friend and a cute boyfriend. Her life is pretty good. But she really wants to know her father and no one is forthcoming on the topic. Because of this, she does some snooping on her own and by her 16th birthday, all sorts of crap has gone down and everyone is dealing with tons of guilt.
I was surprised, but satisfied with, the graphic scenes of violence. Though the book was quick and somewhat dramatized, it felt believable. Sadly, as has been the case with so many YA books lately, I wasn't really drawn to the main character. Mira bored me. I liked the supporting characters better. It's almost as if writers are currently scared to make their main teen female characters seem real.
So while there wasn't enough character development for me, the other characters pulled through and the story was nice and scary.

[Lily · Rating 1 out of 5]

In the beginning, I really liked and enjoyed this book. The first few chapters kept me hooked onto the book, but everything changed after i got midway through. Mira's life changes and she still doesn't make any connections: her dad that her mom and grandmother avoid talking about and the terrible things that are happening after Mira contacts him. At first, I was on Mira's side. I also wanted her to find her dad, and I wondered about the photo album her dad made (for her). After Mira made some very stupid decisions, I neither felt sorry for her or cared for her. Her mom, grandmom, best friend, and boyfriend all warn her about her dad (being a total stranger and all).

This book was very disturbing how her dog dies because someone basically buried it alive... and how she gave up on believing her mom and grandmom.

Maybe I expected too much of the book seeing how the summary was. Maybe I wasn't prepared well enough (if that even makes sense), but soon enough, I decided to put the book down and not read it anymore.

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always get a request for a really good SHORT book. Now my philosophy is that it doesn’t matter how many pages a book has if it is really good, but nevertheless, I have a short book for those of you looking for a good suspense novel. The book is Finding Daddy by Louise Plummer. Do you ever wish for something more than anything else in the whole world? Finding Daddy tells the story of Mira, a teenager who wishes to find her father. She has grown up with her mom and grandma, has a happy life, good friends, and a great boyfriend. Even though her mother tells her that she and her father agreed that her father would not be part of her life, she cannot let it go and decides to find her father anyway. She snoops through her mother’s things and learns his name and the search is on. Does she get her wish? You’ll have to read the book to find out. But to quot

e Mrs. Budding, sometimes “we should be careful what we wish for…” Finding Daddy is a suspenseful page-turner—and it’s a quick read.

[Charlotte · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was awful. Seriously. I had decent expectations, because I liked The Unlikely Romance of Kate Bjorkman by the same author, but I was seriously let down. I would term this book a suspense/thriller, but it was just ridiculous. The main character, a 15-year-old girl, tracks down her absent father's phone number and email and makes the not-so-smart decision to call him, a complete stranger. Then when a mysterious man starts stalking her family, she still doesn't make the connection. Three days later, her whole life is changed, all because she made an impulsive and stupid decision. I couldn't see how any teenager could relate to book beyond perhaps relating to growing up with only one parent. The drama was unbelievable, almost comical in its soap-opera nature. I'm hoping that Plummer's other books aren't so ridiculous. Because I really, really hated this book.

[Jennifer Wardrip · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reviewed by Cho for TeensReadToo.com

Mira is a 16-year-old living a wonderful life. She lives in a beautiful house with her mom and her grandma, "Bella." She has an awesome best friend, and a friend-turned-boyfriend.

Well, her life might sound complete but it isn't -- not for her. Mira's mom won't even talk about her dad. So she decides that since her mom won't tell her, she will find him on her own.

The easy part for Mira is that she does find him and decides to contact him. She thinks her father is amazing and questions why her mom left him. So she arranges to meet him, but before that happens, horrific events occur in Mira's life.

Murder. Betrayal. Sadness. Is Mira finally meeting her dad a good thing? Find out in FINDING DADDY by Louise Plummer.

[Keegan Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another Louise Plummer book because I picked it up at the same time as the other. I wasn't addicted to this one quite as fast as the other, but once the character contacts her dad, I was gripped. It was darker than A Dance for Three, but I liked it. I think I may not have liked it as much as the other one though because Mira doesn't seem to have as much complexity and depth. She's not as interesting. She seems a bit more self-absorbed as well because she has this great life and doesn't trust her mom and grandmother who are just wonderful. However, the supporting characters make the story so that you're not bored with the main character--both her best friend Sarah and her grandmother are a kick. Besides, it's believable. I think this story could happen, so that's another grab as well.

[Jan · Rating 1 out of 5]

16-year-old Mira lives with her mom and her grandma Bella. Her mom refuses to tell her anything about her dad, so she decides to search for him. Using the internet, and finally sending an email, she sets off a series of violent acts that she had no way of knowing would happen. Why did her mother not warn her about her father? If her mom did not want to explain in detail, she could have at least said that he was dangerous. Somehow the whole book didn't ring true. Kids might find the dialogue a bit off, and adults will find the story line hard to believe -- not hard to believe that a psychotic man could search out a family to kill them, but hard to believe that the adults would not warn a child in all the years that she was growing up.

Not recommended for any age.

[Lavender Darcangelo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite honestly, I think it was all the main character's fault. I understand that she had the right to be curious about who her dad is and why her family has estranged from him ever since she was a toddler. What I didn't like was that she went and found sneaky ways behind her mother and grandmother's back, to find the dad, after her mother and grandmother who she lives with, warned her not to. I think she should have listened, because once she was able to contact her father, she told him her address and within a few days, he has successfully stocked her and her family and murdered their dog and the grandma. People can be deceiving online, for she believed his sweet paternal words as they were emailing back and forth. But jeez! Be God damn practical!

[Bethie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is about a girl who hasn't seen her dad since she was 3 years old. She was young when her parents got divorced and she can't remember much. Her mom and grandma (who she lives with) won't tell her anything except for his first name, not even his last which turns out to be fake anyway. There soons to be a series of breakins at her house as she begins to find her dad and calls and emails him. The breakins start with the killing of her dog. Someone tries her paws together and burries her in the backyard so only her head is sticking out. Could this be her dad or only your regular "Bad Guy"?

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love love love Louise Plummer. I had her as a professor at BYU. Her books are normally so funny. I wish I could write like she does. However, this book is super creepy. I bought it because she wrote it, not really reading what it was about. Then I read that she was trying to write a psychological thriller when she wrote this book. She succeeded. I was reading it in the middle of the night while feeding a new baby and it literally creeped me out.

[Kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

A turn from Plummer's usual romantic plots. However, having watched far too many CSI's and Law & Order's, the events seemed a little too far fetched. And it seemed a little short and more story needed to be included. And it seems strange to me that the mother or grandmother wouldn't say anything about the dad to Mira in order to warn her. She is sixteen afterall. A slight disappointment for a long awaited Plummer book.

[Josi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first Louise Plummer book, but I'm certain it won't be my last. I'm not a big fan of YA novels, but this one completely held my attention. It's about a teenage girl who searches, on her own, for her father with shocking results. It's fast paced, well written, with great characters, and an intriguing plot. I finished it in about 2 hours and thought "This is YA? What don't I like about YA?" It's clean, with good language, and a sophisticated plot.

[Lynette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I heard Louise Plummer read part of this book at a book reading at BYU. That was at least 3 years ago. I have been checking periodically since then to see if it was available because I have been wondering what happens. That is how well written the book is. I have to say that although I knew some of what happened, it was a total shock! I don't want to give anything away, but I do feel that I should warn you not to read it if you can't handle scary movies.

[Chanisce · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this a good book. It's about a girl who wants to find her father.He left her life when she was a baby ,but she didn't know why. She lives with her mother and her grandmother.They don't ever talk about her father and she gets curious and starts finding clues about her father.What I would recommend you read this book to find out the rest.

To me this is a good book to me because it keeps you interested at all times.

[Carie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I will say on the outset that Louise Plummer was my professor at BYU. I loved her class. I can still remember several of her lectures in great detail. She is brilliant, hilarious, and an amazing educator.

I did not love Finding Daddy, as much as it pains me to say so. The tone of the book was inconsistent, at first too juvenile and then too frightening. I would have liked a more depth and some of that great Professor Plummer humor.

[Grace Paustian · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title of my book is Finding Daddy by Louise Plummer. This book is about a girl who doesn't know her father. She is trying to figure out where he is, but her mom doesn't want her to find him. But the daughter goes and tries to find him anyway. But there is a big twist towards the ending of the book, I hope you guys like this book as much as I did. The reason why I rated this book a five star is because this book is kind of like the April Henry books so I just really liked it.