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sreddous's review
5.0
(Content warning: not-too-graphic child abuse, not-too-graphic spousal abuse, kidnapping, mentions of drug abuse, implied sexual assault.)
This is really something. I am glad I knew about the kinds of content that I listed above heading into this, so I chose to read this when I was in a good place mentally. I'm definitely glad I did so that way (would definitely recommend that approach -- this is a LOT of difficult stuff). This book is anxiety-inducing (in a good way -- I couldn't put it down because I was so desperate to know what happened, I blew through this in one night) and even the difficult and uncomfortable topics listed above are presented with enough care.
A few things could be tightened up and shown more efficiently, mostly around Jake -- there's a scene early on where he makes some strange/uncomfortable comments about his own daughter when he's taking her to the park that made me question whether HE was a kidnapper -- but that seems like a weird one-off that doesn't really happen again. The rest of the characters are consistent and well-built-up. They're all pretty-bad people BUT in ways that are really realistic and easy to follow. I think it's really difficult to write the POV of a child well -- a lot of times authors use infuriating baby-talk and it gets annoying fast, but this is done well here. Bree-Anna's 'voice' sounds really different from Jake's and Eloise's and that's awesome.
Overall, this is a well-crafted, well-paced, well-plotted book. It will definitely not be for everyone, and even me myself I would probably not always be able to handle it depending on the day because of how realistic it feels. But that's why this deserves five stars -- it's realistic!!
This is really something. I am glad I knew about the kinds of content that I listed above heading into this, so I chose to read this when I was in a good place mentally. I'm definitely glad I did so that way (would definitely recommend that approach -- this is a LOT of difficult stuff). This book is anxiety-inducing (in a good way -- I couldn't put it down because I was so desperate to know what happened, I blew through this in one night) and even the difficult and uncomfortable topics listed above are presented with enough care.
A few things could be tightened up and shown more efficiently, mostly around Jake -- there's a scene early on where he makes some strange/uncomfortable comments about his own daughter when he's taking her to the park that made me question whether HE was a kidnapper -- but that seems like a weird one-off that doesn't really happen again. The rest of the characters are consistent and well-built-up. They're all pretty-bad people BUT in ways that are really realistic and easy to follow. I think it's really difficult to write the POV of a child well -- a lot of times authors use infuriating baby-talk and it gets annoying fast, but this is done well here. Bree-Anna's 'voice' sounds really different from Jake's and Eloise's and that's awesome.
Overall, this is a well-crafted, well-paced, well-plotted book. It will definitely not be for everyone, and even me myself I would probably not always be able to handle it depending on the day because of how realistic it feels. But that's why this deserves five stars -- it's realistic!!
malve396's review
5.0
From the very first page I was drawn in and could not put the book down. Ordinary lives in their imperfections and enormous fragility are the background for the dark tale of a child’s abduction and her time spent at the mercy of her captor. The writing is so compelling precisely because it does not bother to spell out every detail. It is all there to see clearly for the reader for all that much of the story is told through the eyes of a child, confused, frightened, and perplexed, while also remembering incidents of abusive behavior in her home environment. Every character is flawed, and some of the scenes, in particular of home life, are profoundly disturbing. And yet, somehow the author brings them alive in their humanity and makes one feel pity for them, even at some level for the man who abducted the child. I was deeply immersed in the writing, skillfully weaving back and forth between the various characters and awakening every sense of taste and feel and smell. There are glimpses of tenderness and affection and also hope. They are rendered so lightly that one almost misses them—like the fast click of a camera shutter used by one character Eloise who is trying to work towards her goal of studying photography and art, or a scene of Jake who is trying to see beyond the shambles of his failed marriage to how he might build a future for himself. The entire story feels raw and real, painfully real. Highly recommended.
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