Dolorès Desnoyers sweeps into 14-year-old Véronique’s life like a whirlwind, a “country-and-western princess who dressed like a flea-market queen.” Once Véronique is able to get past the outrageous attire of Do (rhymes with go), she discovers a kindred spirit who devours books as quickly as she does, a confidante, and a friend whose infectious sense of adventure both challenges her and urges her not to be afraid. But then Do suddenly disappears without leaving even a note. Two years later, Véro thinks she’s caught a glimpse of her friend in a store window and, desperate to find her and discover why she vanished, begins a madcap search that leads her to the painful truth about Do and her fly-by-night father.

Québécois writer and playwright Carol Fréchette’s latest novel is a striking exploration of the power of friendships. She dexterously traces the special relationship that develops between these two girls, guiding us gradually into the darker places that both have worked so hard to keep secret from the world. Fréchette has also concocted an inventive mystery that catches us up and sweeps us along, much as Do does to Véro. The narrative swings neatly back and forth between past and present, between friendship and mystery.

But things don’t quite add up. Do seems to fall all too tidily into an empty space in Véro’s life, but readers don’t really have a sense that Véro’s life was empty before Do. And it doesn’t quite ring true that Do is as easy with her father’s failings as she claims, since she feels ashamed to be found by someone who was obviously extremely important to her. These flaws don’t, however, spoil the flow of the story, which is sure to intrigue teenage girls especially.