Place Last Seen: A Novel [Paperback]

Charlotte McGuinn Freeman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 7, 2001

During a day hike in the Desolation Wilderness of the Sierra Nevada, the Baker family's life turns upside down when the youngest, a six year-old girl with Down Syndrome, disappears while playing hide-and-seek with her brother. Place Last Seen follows the paths of two stories--the Rescue and Search team's efforts to find Maggie and her family's attempts to come to terms with their loss. Clear, moving, and never sentimental, Place Last Seen explores the complicated bonds of family life.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"Maggie is lost." The matter-of-fact urgency of McGuinn Freeman's opening sentence sets the tone for her solid debut novel. The young Baker family is hiking in the Desolation Wilderness of California's Sierra Nevada when their six-year-old daughter, Maggie, who has Down's syndrome, goes missing while playing hide-and-seek. The ensuing drama unfolds from multiple points of view. Maggie's 30ish artist mother, Anne, her architect father, Richard, and her eight-year-old brother, Luke, are joined in their search by members of the official rescue team, and as the search progresses, the personal traumas of each character emerge. Steve, the middle-aged team leader, is under pressure to keep everyone focused, and Ed, a misanthropic search expert, uses a combination of intuition and expertise to find missing people. Ed hasn't seen his own son, a boy about the same age as Maggie, for three months, since his estranged wife took him away with her. As each night falls, as does the autumn temperature during the three-day search, all parties grow increasingly anxious. Anne and Richard replay the sequence of events that led up to Maggie's disappearance, and feel additional guilt because their daughter has special needs. Luke blames himself for not keeping a closer eye on his younger sister, and as they wait for developments, he sets about building a fort, "a place he can put Maggie in so she can never get out, never wander away." Attitudes toward the "mentally challenged," the intricacies of search and rescue, and the terrible randomness of fate are all poignantly explored here. With its evocative forest setting and unexpected ending, Place Last Seen (the official term for the spot where the missing person was last sighted) is a cinematic page-turner. Regional author tour. (Mar.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

YA-This novel follows the loss and search for a six-year-old Down's syndrome child who has strayed away from a family camping in the Sierra Nevadas. The uncertainty of the hunt as well as the emerging insights into the nature of Maggie's parents and older brother move the plot forcefully. The greatest interest in the book for young people, however, could well be the in-depth mechanics of conducting such a search. Freeman shows how rescue teams cope with the constant threat of oncoming weather and engage in graphing, mapping, and exhaustive close examination of the terrain. The logistics of assembling and coordinating volunteer searchers are detailed. The narrative is told from the viewpoints of both family members and search crews, but primarily it is the story of the family. Anne, the mother, is a difficult character. An artist, she is convinced that her own psychic energies will result in reunion with her child. In addition to their exhausted despair, her more practical husband, nine-year-old son, and a supportive paternal grandmother must cope with her petulant frenzies. Snow halts the rescue work and there is an eventual sad resolution. The strength of the book is in the suspense of the search and a developing familiarity with how it is conducted.
Frances Reiher, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Picador; 1st edition (March 7, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312254075
• ISBN-13: 978-0312254070
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,069,622 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I'm a writer and editor based, since 2002, out of the town of Livingston, Montana. I attended Beloit College as an undergrad, then did my MA at UC Davis and my PhD at the University of Utah, both in Creative Writing. While at UC Davis I helped run the Art of the Wild Summer Writer's Workshop at Squaw Valley. I was a visiting writer in 2001-2002 in the Graduate Writing Program at St. Mary's College. I've also worked both full time and as a contractor for Cisco Systems since 1999.

In 2000 Picador USA published my novel Place Last Seen. It was reviewed in the New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and several other places, and was optioned by DreamWorks. I am currently working on a a number of projects including a collection of short stories (some of which are available here for the Kindle), a mystery novel, and nonfiction on topics ranging from cooking to gardening to raising backyard chickens and the many advantages of extricating one's life from the clutches of consumerism.

I blog at both livingsmallblog.com and charlottemcguinnfreeman.com, and you can follow me on Twitter at livingsmallblog.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect Pitch, March 14, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Place Last Seen: A Novel (Hardcover)

The author of this book seems to have had perfect pitch when she created her characters. Every one of the variety of people in this story, the mom, dad, brother, grandmother, of the lost child, the searchers, etc. are believable, complex people. The dialogue is dead-on, and the conflicts are real. It was heartfelt without sentimentality. Very good novel.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Place Last Seen, February 29, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Place Last Seen: A Novel (Hardcover)

I just finished reading Charlotte's book. Couldn't put it down. It is thoughtful, well-written, gripping, and has an extremely tight story line. Even the minor characters are well developed. Leaves one with lots of questions, what ifs, could ifs, should ifs, and thoughts---like a good book should. (I have recently read so many books that started strongly and ended as damp squibs that it was refreshing to read one that ends strongly.) I really recommend it.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Search and Rescue Details, October 21, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Place Last Seen: A Novel (Hardcover)

As a long-time member of a volunteer K-9 search and rescue team in New England, I approached this book with a good deal of skepticism. Too many books about search and rescue are melodramatic and don't get the details right. This one did, right on the money. The tension and (seeming) chaos of a real search came through with real people. And while the character of the mother seems overwrought and unsympathetic, that is EXACTLY the way parents of lost children act. Kudos to the author for doing her homework.