There's No Place Like Here

There's No Place Like Here (2007) by Cecelia Ahern. Sandy Shortt, who is neither sandy nor short, has been on a lifelong mission -- to find lost things. As an adult, she founds a missing-persons agency, in which she tries to help the families of missing persons to find the lost, or at least to deal with the loss. It comes as quite a shock to her when, during a search for a missing man, she finds herself among the missing. She is transported to Here, which is where all the lost and misplaced things and people go. It's not an unpleasant place: "The atmosphere was relaxed; people were peaceful and went about their daily duties efficiently yet without rushing or panic. There was room to breathe, space to think, time to spend wisely, and lessons to be learned." Yet she feels, unlike the others, that it is not her destiny to stay there. It's a charming fantasy with a satisfying ending. Grade: B+