Missing Pieces    by Norma Fox Mazer Order:  USA  Can Harcourt, 2007 (1995) Softcover Read an Excerpt     Reviewed by Lyn Seippel Jessie Wells has always thought of her dad, James Wells, as 'a disappearing dude.' That's what he did. He disappeared when she was just a baby. The only things she knows about him were told to her by her mother. Jessie came up with the end of her mother's story when she was very little. 'He's a disappearing dude,' she said so that's how the story always ended thereafter. Jessie has a happy life in spite of her dad's desertion. Her family includes Marybeth her mother and Aunt Zis, who moved in to help out after her dad moved on. She has two best friends, Meadow and Diane, who have problems of their own. Now that she's a teenager, Jessie can't seem to get the disappearing dude out of her mind, so she starts to look for him. Her mother is hurt when she finds out. She just can't understand why Jessie would want to see her father when he apparently never wanted to see her. Jessie tells her story in first person allowing the reader to follow her reasoning and understand her desire to find the missing pieces of her life. Mazer's down-to-earth characters and subplots help keep this frequently used plot fresh, enhanced by the realistic reasons for James Wells' past actions. Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Teens books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews