I can’t hold in my enthusiasm any longer…I LOVED this
book! I was already a fan of Lisa
McMann’s Wake, Fade, and Gone trilogy and her novel Cryer's Cross, so I was excited to see she had a new
teen/YA novel out, but Dead To You
surpassed even my high expectations.
It is a gripping novel of suspense with a unique premise that I could
hardly bear to put down, but it has plenty of emotional depth, too.
Ethan was abducted from his neighborhood when he was just
seven years old. Now 16, he has
finally been returned to his family in Minnesota, but it’s not an easy
transition. Ethan retains no
memories of his life pre-abduction, and after nine years without him, his
family has moved on, even having another child (whom Ethan thinks of as the
“replacement child”), though of course his parents are thrilled to finally have
him back.
Ethan’s abductor acted like his mother until she abandoned
him, and Ethan feels guilty that he doesn’t hate her, in spite of what she did
to his family. Meanwhile, his
younger brother, Blake, just seems bitter and angry toward him. The biggest
challenge of all is Ethan’s memory, which remains stubbornly blocked for
reasons that none of them understand.
There are some positives, too, like the pretty girl down the street who
says they were best friends when they were little, and his adorable little
sister, Gracie, whom he bonds with in spite of her role as the replacement
child.
I won’t say any more because this is a story best discovered
bit by bit by the reader. It won’t
take you long to uncover its secrets, though, because it is so compelling, even
when it is horrifying. It was one
of those books that I couldn’t stand to put down but also never wanted to end. McMann has a talent for telling
gripping stories populated by very real-feeling characters. I can’t wait to see what she comes up
with next!
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