251. Dead To You by Lisa McMann

Dead To You by Lisa McMann  (US) - (Canada) - (Kindle)

Pages: 243
Ages: 14+
Finished: Sep. 16, 2012
First Published: Feb. 7, 2012
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Genre: YA, realistic fiction, child abduction
Rating: 4/5



First sentence: "There are three of them.  No, four."

Publisher's Summary: "Ethan was abducted from his front yard when he was just seven years old. Now, at sixteen, he has returned to his family. It’s a miracle…at first. Then the tensions start to build. His reintroduction to his old life isn’t going smoothly, and his family is tearing apart all over again. If only Ethan could remember something, anything, about his life before, he’d be able to put the pieces back together. But there’s something that’s keeping his memory blocked. Something unspeakable..."

Acquired: Received a Review Copy from Simon & Schuster Canada..

Reason for Reading: I'm reading all of the author's work.

This is a short book with short, quick chapters.  The writing is sparse but hard-hitting and to the point.  The book is emotional, especially from a parent's point of view.  Tough to read at times with gut-wrenching emotion for all characters concerned.  Yet Ethan and his new little sister, 6-year-old Gracie are the ones who hit your heartstrings and it is poor Blake, the now middle-schooler, the child left behind when the abduction happened that it is hard to like as he turns from standoffish, to bitter, to downright rebellious about the homecoming of his big brother.  This is a powerful book and I highly enjoyed it.  But this is a sad tale, a dark tale with an inevitable ending.  I saw how the book would end but I did not like how McMann abruptly ended the book.  I would have liked some closure, an extra scene.  To put that much investment into these people and to just leave them hanging there for an ending, gave me a disgusted growl as I slammed the book shut.