Customer Reviews

My Lost and Found Life

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"My Lost and Found Life" captivated me from the very first paragraph and didn't let me go. It is a heartwarming story about a young woman who is thrust into growing up fast, making the best of a bad situation, about making decisions right or wrong, about discovering love, relationships and learning to cope with life's journeys. Ashley's transformation is amazing, and I highly recommend this book to all the mothers out there whose daughters are coming of age and to all the daughters. I believe they will both enjoy it as much as I did. Good job!!

This book is amazingly-crafted as the main character transforms from a shallow, vain girl to one who can take care of herself and learns what's important along the way. I really loved this book.

Melodie Bowsher's first novel reaches right into the world of young women walking the line between adolescence and womanhood -- from their vocabularies to their daily preoccupations. Like many high school seniors, Ashley sees her mother as an irritant -- the person who magically pays for Ashley's lifestyle but who otherwise just doesn't 'get it' and should just stay out of the way. Ashley has no idea how her single mother struggles to provide Ashley access to the priviliged social sphere at which the popular teen is the center. The embezzling mom is an intriguing character herself. Her early disappearance in the book shapes Ashley's challenging metamorphasis from preoccupied prom queen to ingenious survivor. How does a sheltered teen who has never paid a bill even begin to get by when her home and credit cards no longer exist -- when her irritating mother (her only family) is nowhere to be found? Ashley's journey is a crash course in survival. How long do we have to wait for Melodie Bowsher's next novel?

I just finished reading this book and I loved it. And I found myself wiping tears from my eyes at several points. It's a hit! I wish there was a Part Two.

I had no idea what to expect when I picked up this book. I probably would have passed it off as a chick novel, and left it at that, under normal circumstances. But, the second I picked it up last night I was hooked. It's stayed with me all day during school, and when I wasn't reading, it still lingered in my mind. I grew incredibly fond of many of the characters, and I wouldn't mind seeing a return to The Madhouse in the author's future works.The transformation Ashley goes through is seamless and brilliantly shown. I can't wait for the next one!!!

What a read! Done in two days. The voice carries you along. It's funny, yet it makes you cringe, yet you can't put it down. It really is like "Catcher In The Rye" for girls. I'll never forget Ashley Mitchell.

An absolutely captivating reading experience! An unformed main character, self-absorbed and unpleasant at the beginning of the San Francisco-based MY LOST AND FOUND LIFE, improves steadily in a troublesome, critical year of her young life. The transformation is bracing, and Ms. Bowsher lets the reader ride tandem with Ashley Mitchell (the name is oh-so-perfect) as she goes from twit to thinker.

This is a book for many, many people on your gift list. Men, women, and astute younger readers will all enjoy this novel.

Melodie Bowsher's MY LOST AND FOUND LIFE tells of Ashley, who leads the perfect life until her mother is accused of embezzling a fortune - and vanishes. Suddenly Ashley's forced into a move to an old camper, takes a job in a quirky San Francisco coffee shop, and explores a side of life she never knew existed in this warm coming of age story.

First you had Generation X, then Generation Y. This is a novel about the current group of teens. Generation $. Entitled and spoiled, prom queen Ashley is the outrageously snarky voice of this generation. She must suddenly learn to fend for herself after her mother disappears. That ain't easy when you don't even know how to pay your own Nordstrom's bill. MY LOST AND FOUND LIFE is a highly entertaining tale about the price of privilege. Set in the wealthy San Francisco area, every indulgent soccer parent should read this to see what they're turning their kids into!
Kemble Scott
Editor
SoMa Literary Review

Highly recommend. This book was excellent; kept me turning the pages right up until the end. Read it!