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3.61 AVERAGE
3.61 AVERAGE
***Won as part of a goodreads giveaway***
I haven't settled yet on whether this is four or five stars. I'll probably go back and forth several times. It is an excellent book and an easy read in terms of how it holds your attention. The subject matter is not a light one, but the author does not add any unnecessary torrid details. In fact there is minimal gore or disturbing images.
I love that it covers the thoughts of the four or five main characters and the thought processes behind their reactions to extremely stressful events. I identified with all of them at one point, as a parent, a sibling... I won't be giving this book away as I often do, but will lend it to as many people as possible.
I haven't settled yet on whether this is four or five stars. I'll probably go back and forth several times. It is an excellent book and an easy read in terms of how it holds your attention. The subject matter is not a light one, but the author does not add any unnecessary torrid details. In fact there is minimal gore or disturbing images.
I love that it covers the thoughts of the four or five main characters and the thought processes behind their reactions to extremely stressful events. I identified with all of them at one point, as a parent, a sibling... I won't be giving this book away as I often do, but will lend it to as many people as possible.
Johnston writes with a weightless elegance. Justin has been abducted and returns after 4 years. It's a heavy topic and Johnston explore not what happens but how each member of the family has been affected. The author "sees" from each perspective and does this beautifully. The story unfolds easily and keeps your attention all the way.
This is a story about the Campbell family, which has been understandably in turmoil since the disappearance of their 14 year old son, Justin. When he returns, it is no surprise that the three year gap has changed everyone.
I felt very tense the whole time I was reading this book. I constantly felt like there was another shoe about to drop- which is how the main family in the story probably felt most of the time.
I liked how the author didn't feel the need to go into graphic detail about Justin's kidnapping. Instead the focus was more on the happiness and struggle of Justin being back home and re-acclimating to his family. You know that on the periphery the sordid details are out there (in the media, in people's conversations, etc), but the family doesn't discuss them. Instead they focus on each other. This approach made me feel like I was more a part of the family than an outside party to the story. It gave me a better understanding of the family's motivations and the actions they had to take in order to move on with their son.
I liked how the author didn't feel the need to go into graphic detail about Justin's kidnapping. Instead the focus was more on the happiness and struggle of Justin being back home and re-acclimating to his family. You know that on the periphery the sordid details are out there (in the media, in people's conversations, etc), but the family doesn't discuss them. Instead they focus on each other. This approach made me feel like I was more a part of the family than an outside party to the story. It gave me a better understanding of the family's motivations and the actions they had to take in order to move on with their son.
This was so boring. So boring. Beautifully written but so, so boring.
A boy who has been missing for 4 years is returned home. That sounds like it should be the end of the story but it's the beginning of this one. It's the beginning of healing for an entire family but healing doesn't happen overnight, particularly when the details of his time away are full of abuse and shame. This is well written and ultimately hopeful, telling a story behind the story in a very compelling way. Highly recommended.
In wonderful detail this novel follows the lives of a father, mother, and brother, after the elder brother disappears and is then returned to his family after four years. It's not so much the mystery of where he's been or what he's been through (we never see it from his point of view), but how the people around him have coped with his disappearance and subsequent reappearance.
This was a good book: good enough to want to read on, but not gripping. More of an interesting psychological study on the different ways members of a family process all that has happened after a child who was kidnapped is found after 4 years away. I would have liked to hear more of Justin's story (the kidnapped boy) and how he moved forward after being found. It was hard to read this book before bed because it gave me bad dreams about kidnapping!
I will remember this book, and if I could give it more than 5 stars, I would. The narrative taps in to so much that we all dread and does it in such a clever and considered way that it becomes a treasured journey alongside striking companions. It reminded me in some ways of the under-read novel by Joseph Heller 'Something Happened', in that in exploring an extraordinary event, through the hearts and minds of ordinary people, something profound is created. The language used is sturdy and not in any way lyrical, and provides a strong platform for the reader and the protagonists to walk upon, without the author drawing any attention towards himself and his powerful writing. He allows the subjects to build throughout the novel into real people very worthy of our attention and our time. Johnston never puts a foot wrong, and I was pulled along, turning the pages without pause, towards a satisfying and tear-inducing conclusion. Mrs Sheppard, I salute you! What I loved most about the book, was that the perpetrator of what must rank high on the list of most cruel crimes, is never handed power. Dwight Bruford is a dark shadow throughout, but he is never handed the wheel, never written up to shock, or to gain a hold, to become a powerful Bogeyman. He is there as pathetic, mean, and unworthy. It is the ordinary, mixed up and messed up, loving and fearing, characters who star, and who are written with such a sense of solidity that I fear for the author in having such knowledge of human emotion and relationships, but hope that he writes much, much more.
I was given a copy of this book via NetGalley in return for an unbiased review - and I am so glad that I signed up because I may not otherwise have encountered a new favourite author
I was given a copy of this book via NetGalley in return for an unbiased review - and I am so glad that I signed up because I may not otherwise have encountered a new favourite author
I don't know how I knew about this book but it really fascinated me.