The Calvin Crane Chronicles

MISSING

Kevin Don Porter

MISSING. That's what the posters say about the girl. But this isn't just another missing kid – not for ten-year-old Calvin Crane. After he bumps into a strange man at Yellowstone National Park who's secretly removing the posters, Calvin thinks their van is being tailed. Getting murdered isn't exactly on the family itinerary. In a cramped van full of farts and Frito-feet with his whiny older sisters, parents and crabby Grandma Edith, Calvin presses forward on a cross-country road trip to California to attend the wedding of a family friend. But as the search for the missing girl widens state by state, Calvin can't escape her haunting face. Neither can he shake the eerie feeling that he's being followed – suspicious-looking people, strange vehicles. Who can he trust? Calvin's parents think it's just his OCD talking. As he learns more details about the missing girl, Calvin is forced to face a search of his own: one for self-acceptance. Sometimes being lost is more than just a matter of location. Still, Calvin can't shut off those nagging questions: Where is that little girl? Is he being stalked by a kidnapper? Or is his mind playing tricks on him? Does danger lurk just a couple of steps behind?