Victoria's Reviews > Quantum Girl Theory

I really love books about missing persons, so when I was invited to read this one, it sounded right up my alley! While this is based on a real missing persons case - of a young college woman who disappeared on March 1, 1946 - this is more of an experimental fiction book than a mystery. Ryan offers a multitude of Paula Jeans - where she may have been or might have gone - though the most detailed version puts her with a new name and given second sight that she uses to find other missing women. In 1961, she travels south to North Carolina to find another missing Paula, though the town is also missing young women of color, drawing "Mary" to uncover the town's secrets to uncover what happened.

But between this 1961 narrative, other possibilities of Paula's life emerge - some more satisfying and others more heartbreaking (abuses, lost loves and murder) with some familiar elements woven across. While I think that this could be a lively discussion starter for book clubs and other groups, this just didn't work for me. I like to have a more concrete story. This was overall unsatisfying - and it started to feel a bit like reading someone else's dream journal. There were some recognizable moments, but nothing truly relatable. I was tempted to set this one aside without finishing it, actually when I realized that it wasn't actually building towards anything, but ended up reading on. But, after finishing it, I do sort of wish that I had. The writing itself is solid, but the lack of characters that felt realistic and the hypothetical plot just didn't work for me.