More Than Ivory

by

Gina Augustini Best

Riveting young adult thriller!

More Than Ivory by Gina Augustini Best is an absolutely riveting young adult thriller about a teenager whose mother, a well-loved local teacher, is forcibly abducted by two ski-masked men as she withdrew money from an ATM one morning before school. With its wonderful characters and the unrelenting tension of time running out for this single mother’s safe return, once I started reading, I couldn’t put this book down. 

Mireya Torres is the relatable young main character, the only child of Ana María, the woman who has been taken, and at 17 years of age, she is beginning to build a life separate from her mother. She likes a boy on her debate team at school and, naturally, wants to spend some free time hanging out with her friends and, hopefully, get to know and develop a closer relationship with Luke, the object of her affections. However, her mother is unnaturally protective and, predictably, would squelch any such plans, so Mireya has been lying about where she is going and what she’s doing after school. While her afterschool pursuits are innocent enough, the last words she will have said to her mother will turn out to be lies, and this knowledge haunts her for the entirety of the look. 

Mireya’s Uncle Angel, Ana María’s brother, is a DEA agent, and he takes an active role in the investigation, but she knows he’s hiding critical information from both her and the police. She is wracked by suspicions that this man, who has always cared for her and her mom, may have had a hand in her abduction. As the police appear to be dragging their feet and going off in the wrong directions, and Uncle Angel refuses her help in finding her mother, Mireya takes matters into her own hands. Helping her in her hour of need is her best friend, Cici, and a more “ride or die” partner would be difficult to find. 

The author’s storytelling is mesmerizing, totally captivating me from the first scene, and completely immersing me in her narrative. I couldn’t delay seeing this story through to its resolution and stayed up almost all night to do so. The mysterious plot takes some shocking twists and turns as family secret after family secret comes to light, and the suspense mounts as Ana María’s abduction shifts from being a random act of opportunity to a targeted operation. The plot addresses tough, realistic issues that readers sensitive to these topics may find difficult to read. Others, however, may gain valuable knowledge and take heed. The action swiftly moves from Mireya’s quiet north Dallas suburban community to the prairie farmland west of Fort Worth to the Pineywoods of East Texas to the eerie, otherworldly deserts of West Texas as the author uses the ecological diversity of the state to her spectacular advantage. 

I recommend MORE THAN IVORY to readers of young adult mysteries, thrillers, and family dramas. 

Content warning: Discussion of sex trafficking, sexual abuse, missing children, abduction, murder, cartels and gangs

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