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sb4012315's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I like that the author is taking us through everything that a victim in this situation would actually go through. It feels cathartic. Overton looks unflinchingly into the pain and heartache and healing that every person involved would experience. So many other pieces of media attempt to do the same and simply retraumatize the audience/MC for shock value. The author steers away from the truly gritty details while still conveying the strength it takes to endure. A few scenes feel overly dramatized and slight unrealistic, Rick being arrested for one, the confrontation between Abby and Missy for another. Overall this was a fast and satisfying read.
chloepar's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
jenpaul13's review
3.0
Survival and escape are paramount after you're taken against your will. Learning to survive has a steep learning curve, and cleverly avoiding manipulation of your body and thoughts can be near impossible. But it's not just the time you've been kidnapped that affects you, it's what happens afterwards, as depicted in Hollie Overton's Baby Doll.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
Lily has been held captive for eight years. She's been trained to behave in a particular way, dressed to suit a certain image, and treated like a pliable piece of property. Having tried to escape before and being met with severe bodily punishment, she becomes wary when her captor Rick leaves the lock undone, presenting a chance for her and her young daughter to escape. Taking the chance, Lily and Sky make a break for it and Lily comes to realize that she's not been far from home these past three thousand or so days. In the aftermath of Lily telling the authorities who her captor is and being reunited with her twin sister, her life is has to come to a new balance of "normal" as she and her family come to terms with all that's happened.
The premise of the story is sickly intriguing; however, the execution of it is overwrought. Everything that can go wrong will, in what seems like a way to simply perpetuate the story, relying too much upon plot instead of the characters. While this kind of story has (many) roots in reality, this particular story tried to include far too much into Lily's return, to the detriment of the narrative--it's stuffed with not only the trial of Rick, but also with family drama with her sister and her high school boyfriend and her mother's alcoholism and affair with various men (but mainly the sheriff). True, these are all part of the process, but by throwing them all in there (and from their perspective nonetheless), only the surface of each aspect is touched upon with very little depth exploration, which left me more or less in an "meh" state.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
Lily has been held captive for eight years. She's been trained to behave in a particular way, dressed to suit a certain image, and treated like a pliable piece of property. Having tried to escape before and being met with severe bodily punishment, she becomes wary when her captor Rick leaves the lock undone, presenting a chance for her and her young daughter to escape. Taking the chance, Lily and Sky make a break for it and Lily comes to realize that she's not been far from home these past three thousand or so days. In the aftermath of Lily telling the authorities who her captor is and being reunited with her twin sister, her life is has to come to a new balance of "normal" as she and her family come to terms with all that's happened.
The premise of the story is sickly intriguing; however, the execution of it is overwrought. Everything that can go wrong will, in what seems like a way to simply perpetuate the story, relying too much upon plot instead of the characters. While this kind of story has (many) roots in reality, this particular story tried to include far too much into Lily's return, to the detriment of the narrative--it's stuffed with not only the trial of Rick, but also with family drama with her sister and her high school boyfriend and her mother's alcoholism and affair with various men (but mainly the sheriff). True, these are all part of the process, but by throwing them all in there (and from their perspective nonetheless), only the surface of each aspect is touched upon with very little depth exploration, which left me more or less in an "meh" state.
kellyfresh's review against another edition
3.0
The narrative shows perspective from each family member but doesn't take time to delve deep.
fakeppy's review against another edition
3.0
MY RATING: 3.5/5
Lily spent eight years of her life as a prisoner, held captive in a basement by the person who kidnapped her when she was only 16 years old. During those eight years, she endured unbearable torture, punishment, and even a pregnancy - resulting in her much-loved daughter, Sky. One fateful day her captor left the door unlocked, and Lily was able to escape with Sky and find her way back to the house she grew up in.
Although her family welcomes her home with open arms, many things have changed in the lives of those she loves. Her twin sister is pregnant, her father has died, her mother is sleeping with a mystery man, and when the identity of her kidnapper is exposed, the whole community is shocked.
The ending has a few unexpected twists, which is one of my favorite things in a book, and I have to admit, I did NOT see that ending coming.
The writing style may not be anything spectacular, and this book may not leave a lifelong impression on the reader, but I still enjoyed it a great deal. It was simple, quick, and heartfelt. I loved reading the interactions of Lily and her twin sister, to me it seemed very believable, and they acted just like siblings do - fighting over clothes and boys, and all the other things sisters fight about, yet having the ability to turn around and be fiercely protective of one another as only siblings can be.
I recommend this to anyone who enjoys YA fiction, even though I wouldn't exactly categorize this as YA, since for the majority of the book Lily is an adult. It still reads and feels like YA, though. I also recommend this for readers of thrillers and mysteries.
POTENTIALLY DISTURBING CONTENT:
Sex: rape of a minor, consenting minors having sex, mildly graphic descriptions of her time spent as a prisoner
Violence: rape, kidnapping, physical and emotional abuse of a minor
Language: curse words are used throughout
I listened to this book as an audiobook narrated by Jenna Lamia (one of my very favorite narrators), MacLeod Andrews (another favorite), and Ellen Archer (who also has a very nice voice). All three narrators did a fantastic job!
Lily spent eight years of her life as a prisoner, held captive in a basement by the person who kidnapped her when she was only 16 years old. During those eight years, she endured unbearable torture, punishment, and even a pregnancy - resulting in her much-loved daughter, Sky. One fateful day her captor left the door unlocked, and Lily was able to escape with Sky and find her way back to the house she grew up in.
Although her family welcomes her home with open arms, many things have changed in the lives of those she loves. Her twin sister is pregnant, her father has died, her mother is sleeping with a mystery man, and when the identity of her kidnapper is exposed, the whole community is shocked.
The ending has a few unexpected twists, which is one of my favorite things in a book, and I have to admit, I did NOT see that ending coming.
The writing style may not be anything spectacular, and this book may not leave a lifelong impression on the reader, but I still enjoyed it a great deal. It was simple, quick, and heartfelt. I loved reading the interactions of Lily and her twin sister, to me it seemed very believable, and they acted just like siblings do - fighting over clothes and boys, and all the other things sisters fight about, yet having the ability to turn around and be fiercely protective of one another as only siblings can be.
I recommend this to anyone who enjoys YA fiction, even though I wouldn't exactly categorize this as YA, since for the majority of the book Lily is an adult. It still reads and feels like YA, though. I also recommend this for readers of thrillers and mysteries.
POTENTIALLY DISTURBING CONTENT:
Sex: rape of a minor, consenting minors having sex, mildly graphic descriptions of her time spent as a prisoner
Violence: rape, kidnapping, physical and emotional abuse of a minor
Language: curse words are used throughout
I listened to this book as an audiobook narrated by Jenna Lamia (one of my very favorite narrators), MacLeod Andrews (another favorite), and Ellen Archer (who also has a very nice voice). All three narrators did a fantastic job!
rachelsophiereads's review
5.0
The cover of this book definitely drew me in; 'escape is just the beginning' is the perfect short, sharp description of this absolute page turner. A fantastically written debut novel from Overton, it starts with Lily realising that after eight long years her captor has forgotten to set the lock and so we see her start to flee, alongside her daughter. The notion of Happily Ever After was never going to be a reality and so even after running to freedom, in fact to her childhood home, the story doesn't end there. The use multiple narrators was an excellent way of communicating through extensive characterisation; as a reader you get to hear the perspectives of Lily, the victim of both kidnap and imprisonment; her twin sister Abby, their mother Eve and also the abductor. It was a simple but effective way of enabling the reader to really understand the motives behind each decision made by each character.
One of the main reasons why this book was such an interesting read is that it gave an insight into what happens after escape, rather than simply finishing with the escape. Essentially where most books would end, this one began. From the offset this book was gripping; as soon as Lily returned to her family she shocked them with details of who took her and what had happened to her. It's hardly unsurprising that both her and her daughter Sky needed therapy. Overton doesn't explicitly describe the evil that Lily lives through, but a lot of it is implied which actually made it feel more real, like it was something unthinkable. The hardest part of this story to digest was how much Lily's kidnapping had affected those closest to her; her father dying, her mother attempting to find love through her grief, Abby's depression and her boyfriend Wes trying hard to keep going.
As a reader it is clear very quickly that Lily suffered some form of sexual, physical and verbal abuse at the hands of a predator. I wasn't shocked when the predator turned out to be someone that she knew well and trusted, after all statistics suggest that often those who are abused or attacked often know the perpetrator. Lily is an insanely strong individual and I think at times I overlooked how strong she really is; her sister, Abby is the polar opposite of Lily. Where Lily constantly manages (even if only on the surface) to cope, Abby is unable to; this is likely because one has lived through hope where the other had lost all hope. After eight years, Wes and Abby are having a child together, having loved each other in the midst of their loss and that is what truly hurts Lily; seeing how people had to move on after thinking that she was dead for so long. The relationships between the characters are beautifully written, particularly the relationship between Lily and Abby.
This novel literally gripped me from the first few pages; although it was horrific and extremely sinister in places, it was one of those books that was hard to put down. The abductor was a shock from the off, the pinnacle of the community, the man who worked so hard in the searches to find Lily was the person who took her from her family. However, the shocks didn't stop at that point and I liked how the linguistic style reiterated that Lily was not the only victim in this story; the ending was a complete twist that I never saw coming, but it was incredibly satisfying. Sometimes only revenge can achieve inner peace in those that suffer, even if it takes some form of sacrifice on their part. I found this novel to be fantastically well written with a great depiction of characterisation and the relationship between families even in times of hardship. I would recommend reading this book even if you're not a huge fan of thrillers as although it touches on some difficult topics everything is handled very sensitively; focussing on the thoughts and emotions of the characters rather than the atrocities that ripped their lives apart. It's one of those novels that really sticks in your mind, even when you finish it.
One of the main reasons why this book was such an interesting read is that it gave an insight into what happens after escape, rather than simply finishing with the escape. Essentially where most books would end, this one began. From the offset this book was gripping; as soon as Lily returned to her family she shocked them with details of who took her and what had happened to her. It's hardly unsurprising that both her and her daughter Sky needed therapy. Overton doesn't explicitly describe the evil that Lily lives through, but a lot of it is implied which actually made it feel more real, like it was something unthinkable. The hardest part of this story to digest was how much Lily's kidnapping had affected those closest to her; her father dying, her mother attempting to find love through her grief, Abby's depression and her boyfriend Wes trying hard to keep going.
As a reader it is clear very quickly that Lily suffered some form of sexual, physical and verbal abuse at the hands of a predator. I wasn't shocked when the predator turned out to be someone that she knew well and trusted, after all statistics suggest that often those who are abused or attacked often know the perpetrator. Lily is an insanely strong individual and I think at times I overlooked how strong she really is; her sister, Abby is the polar opposite of Lily. Where Lily constantly manages (even if only on the surface) to cope, Abby is unable to; this is likely because one has lived through hope where the other had lost all hope. After eight years, Wes and Abby are having a child together, having loved each other in the midst of their loss and that is what truly hurts Lily; seeing how people had to move on after thinking that she was dead for so long. The relationships between the characters are beautifully written, particularly the relationship between Lily and Abby.
This novel literally gripped me from the first few pages; although it was horrific and extremely sinister in places, it was one of those books that was hard to put down. The abductor was a shock from the off, the pinnacle of the community, the man who worked so hard in the searches to find Lily was the person who took her from her family. However, the shocks didn't stop at that point and I liked how the linguistic style reiterated that Lily was not the only victim in this story; the ending was a complete twist that I never saw coming, but it was incredibly satisfying. Sometimes only revenge can achieve inner peace in those that suffer, even if it takes some form of sacrifice on their part. I found this novel to be fantastically well written with a great depiction of characterisation and the relationship between families even in times of hardship. I would recommend reading this book even if you're not a huge fan of thrillers as although it touches on some difficult topics everything is handled very sensitively; focussing on the thoughts and emotions of the characters rather than the atrocities that ripped their lives apart. It's one of those novels that really sticks in your mind, even when you finish it.
_ariana_00's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75