Looking for Red

Looking for Red by Angela Johnson
Published by Simon Pulse in 2003.
116 pages
Warning: smoking teens, language and death
Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Magical Realism, Death

Looking for Red is the story of a young girl, Mike, whose brother has recently disappeared, and assumed to be dead. Not aware of how he died, the novel portrays the last moments Mike saw her brother and the healing process which takes place afterward. Mike truly "grows up" in the final two chapters of the novel, truly coming to grips with her brother's death.

Here is an excerpt from the novel:

"I stand on the beach sometimes and holler across the waves. And I don't think anyone even pays attention anymore. I've been doing it for so long that I can't remember when I didn't. So it came to me a while back that if I scream enough, he'll come back."

While Red, her brother, never returns as a mortal, be does visit Mike and other family members and friends as a spirit. His visits teach valuable lessons.