Cathy's Book: If Found Call (650)-266-8233 (review)

When Cathy's older, mysterious boyfriend, Victor Chan, dumps her, she goes from being Artgirl to being stalker girl, calling his cell phone, going places she knows he'll be, breaking into his house and his lab, etc. She finds more than she bargained for, namely, that Victor is older than he looks—immortal, in fact. The intrigue leads her on an eerie trek through Chinatown to a dangerous confrontation with Ancestor Lu, one of the Eight Immortals of Taoist legend, who is trying to find a way to confer immortality onto his young daughter, no matter the cost to the rest of humanity. Victor and Tsao, another of the Eight, are in a battle to stop him, but Victor has been distracted by his budding love for Cathy. The story is told in a particularly realistic journal form, with sophisticated and sometimes strikingly beautiful spot art, doodles, and handwritten commentary sprinkled liberally throughout. Readers who follow the instructions to call the phone numbers and visit the websites are rewarded with messages from the various characters, but the mystery/romance plot, with its intricate twists and turns, enticing and likable main character, and fascinating connections to Chinese lore, makes for an intriguing read whether or not one follows all of the extratextual clues.