Reading Log 1 – Missing Me

• Title: Missing Me
• Author: Sophie McKenzie
• Text type: Novel

Missing me is a novel about a girl named Madison, being drawn into an investigation involving missing pregnant women. But it doesn’t go as planned, and she ends up in far more danger than she ever expected. Through reading Sophie Mckenzie’s novel “Missing Me.” I felt a lot of sympathy for Madison, as what she was doing was difficult and brave. She was putting her life in danger to save others, even people she hardly knew. It was clear to me from the very beginning that Madison was focused on getting justice for everyone who deserved it. This shows the type of caring person she is. But in order to be able to do that she needed to be brave and have trust in those around her which can be very difficult at times. Through reading this novel I have begun to understand and learn that people perceive the idea of justice in different lights. This is due to the fact that both Declan and Madison have completely different ideas of justice.  As a result, there are many different kinds. Whether that be internal justice or external justice. The idea of people having different perceptions of justice stood out to me at the end of the book. When Declan Baxter was threatening to kill Madison for her getting into his business. But Madison felt that Declan Baxter should be arrested and sent to prison for the horrible, unethical business he had created. These two characters have conflicting interpretations of justice as they both think they are right, and can not see from the other’s point of view on the situation. Declan feels power over Madison in the situation, as he views her as a teenage girl whos opinion is irrelevant and incorrect. When Madison says “Sometimes life just doesn’t allow for a totally happy ending.” This quote is showing justice to me, as she understands that compromises and sacrifices have to be made in order to get a form of justice. I felt a connection to Madison throughout the novel. As a teenage girl like her, I can understand the feeling of people thinking they have power over you, just because of their older age. I can also connect to her due to her feeling of wanting to help when something isn’t right. There is nothing worse than feeling like you could have done something if the situation does not result in something good. When Madison found out about the Miriam 21 project she felt entitled to help the young woman caught up in it. Madison’s morals and beliefs enticed her to want to get justice for the young woman, being forced to give up their babies. Madison felt that no woman should ever have to be in a situation, where they are forced to give up the babies they carried for 9 months. She felt that Declan Baxter deserved to be punished for adopting out these women’s babies. So to get justice for all of the women and their babies that were involved in the Miriam 21 project, she wanted to send Declan Baxter to prison. This is showing justice because Madison is trying her best to help the women who deserve it. Prison seems like the only fair option as he had ruined the lives of so many young women, by giving up their babies. It was now only fair, to ruin his life, and send him to prison. This text is extremely relevant to the world we live in today. Although it is fictional, there are elements in it that are extremely real to what is going on in the current world. Like the idea of young women being trafficked, and the concept that justice is interpreted in different ways by everyone, are extremely real topics which this novel has captured. “Missing me” has taught me that it doesn’t matter what age you are, if you believe in something strongly enough, Justice can be served to the ones who deserve it.