2026-08 "Lost Lambs"
“Lost Lambs” by Madeline Cash has been everywhere lately, and with that kind of hype usually books are either big wins or potentially big flops. Also given the content, structure, and voice of this book it could go either way as well. Most of the reviews I have seen have been quite positive, but where did it land for me?
Why I picked this book up
As mentioned above, this book has been everywhere, and it is not uncommon for me to jump onto the hype trains and check out trending titles. This often is amplified when I see a certain cross-section of friends on bookstagram reading and enjoying this book. And then there is the fact that this was an ALC on Libro.fm which made it easy to put into my library and inviting to start relatively quickly.
Analysis
This story takes on the “dysfunctional family” trope where we have two parents with opposing views on marriage and the vows they took. They have three adolescent daughters who each have their own special ways of looking at the world. Between Catherine and Bud - the parents- and Abigail, Louise, and Harper, this book sets off in five different directions with the hope that maybe possibly hopefully they can coalesce into a single family unit with a happy ending no matter how impossible that seems. I won’t spoil anything by saying whether this family is successful in the end or not because you have to read to find out. I’m not a villain.
When there are five characters with five distinct storylines, it really becomes important to diversify the voice for each family member. Not only do I think that the author did a great job with this, but I want to shout out the audiobook narrator and the production team who really took the direction in the book and made each character rich and full and unique and crazy in their own way. I especially loved Harper (which seems like a consensus among readers) and how her precocious, direct self moved the story forward and into territory as wild was it was necessary.
As far as the content of the story, I didn’t expect it to get so dark with its humor. But I loved that about it. I have heard a few comps for “The Road to Tender Hearts”, which is a great comp as long as the reader understands that “Lost Lambs” is a bit heavier and darker. But the humor is on point! This book is laugh-out-loud hilarious as the story navigates through the most toxic of relationships (the parents), the most toxic of relationships (Louise), and what could have been the most toxic of relationships (Abigail). And then there’s dear little Harper playing matter-of-fact detective who is fearless and uninhibited. And if that doesn’t draw you in, maybe the ideas of religious extremism, human trafficking, and support groups gone wrong might get you. Remember, yes there is dark and heavy, but there is sublime humor. It’s a great balance which helps to make this book successful.
Conclusion
The fact is that this book is worth the hype. It has the makings for commercial, upmarket success. My heart broke, my soul was stirred, my eyeballs leaked for good an sad, I felt tied to the over-the-top characters, and the story as a whole felt strong and cohesive in how the structure came together. This book was such a fun read and a fantastic time altogether. This is my invitation to you to jump on the hype train and read this book. I gave it 4.75 stars. Beyond excellent even if I don’t think I’ll obsess over it.