sandrareilly513's review
4.0
Six years ago, eight-year-old Amy and ten-year-old Dee were kidnapped. Now Amy shows up at her childhood door, alone and unwilling to share what happened in the remote cabin where she was kept prisoner. Everyone wants to know what happened to Dee -- is she still alive, was she hurt -- but Amy can't talk about it. As she fights to figure out how she became "Chelsea" and if she can ever be "Amy" again, she also has to come to terms with how Dee became "Stacie" and would never be "Dee" ever again. She's hiding a lot from those she loves, those who are thrilled to have her home, but there are secrets she must keep in order to survive, even after escaping her prison.
Thoughts: What a beautiful yet heartbreaking story. Thompson reels readers in with the story of two young girls kidnapped and kept prisoner in a remote cabin for six years, scared and begging for their lives. Used against one another, their kidnapper keeps them captive by threatening the life of the other, leaving them to never feel they could risk running away without the other being killed. And how it comes to be that Amy/Chelsea is able to escape is shocking, for lack of a better word. In a vein similar to [b:Room|31685789|Room|Emma Donoghue|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1472239721s/31685789.jpg|9585076] and the famous Cleveland case of the young girls who escaped their captor, Thompson's Amy Chelsea Stacie Dee will haunt readers long after the last page.
Thoughts: What a beautiful yet heartbreaking story. Thompson reels readers in with the story of two young girls kidnapped and kept prisoner in a remote cabin for six years, scared and begging for their lives. Used against one another, their kidnapper keeps them captive by threatening the life of the other, leaving them to never feel they could risk running away without the other being killed. And how it comes to be that Amy/Chelsea is able to escape is shocking, for lack of a better word. In a vein similar to [b:Room|31685789|Room|Emma Donoghue|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1472239721s/31685789.jpg|9585076] and the famous Cleveland case of the young girls who escaped their captor, Thompson's Amy Chelsea Stacie Dee will haunt readers long after the last page.
mirandapiorun's review
2.0
Honestly it started great, but fell so flat.
The plot for me got dumber and dumber.
DNF with 50 pages left
The plot for me got dumber and dumber.
DNF with 50 pages left
bestdressedbookworm's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
It’s hard to give such a traumatic, raw and horrific story such an average rating. Though this started really well and had great pacing that soon started to dwindle and I felt like I was going around in circles with a little bit more information being released each time.
In this story we follow Amy/Chelsea who has returned after being kidnapped for over 6 years. But her Cousin Dee/Stacie had not returned with her. In those 6 years the girls went through a lot, they were renamed by their captor, and some other stuff that I won’t spoil. Amy struggles to tell everyone what had happened, if Dee is still alive and at first I understood the trauma of reliving it, and as we find out more and more her silence makes sense.
However Amy goes back and forth in consciousness and memory a lot and it often becomes confusing as to what we are learning about. She is almost an unreliable narrator in some ways as she is manipulating the way she lets little bits of information slip. Although this has a happy-ish ending, some of it started to get a little far fetched if not even silly and a book that gripped me so much at the start did not hold my interest until the end. If you have read this you know those last 50 pages are all over the place with nonsensical behaviour.
In this story we follow Amy/Chelsea who has returned after being kidnapped for over 6 years. But her Cousin Dee/Stacie had not returned with her. In those 6 years the girls went through a lot, they were renamed by their captor, and some other stuff that I won’t spoil. Amy struggles to tell everyone what had happened, if Dee is still alive and at first I understood the trauma of reliving it, and as we find out more and more her silence makes sense.
However Amy goes back and forth in consciousness and memory a lot and it often becomes confusing as to what we are learning about. She is almost an unreliable narrator in some ways as she is manipulating the way she lets little bits of information slip. Although this has a happy-ish ending, some of it started to get a little far fetched if not even silly and a book that gripped me so much at the start did not hold my interest until the end. If you have read this you know those last 50 pages are all over the place with nonsensical behaviour.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, and Emotional abuse
maralrose's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
kellyjcm's review
3.0
Very compelling read. However, I was frustrated by Amy's insistence on withholding information and perpetuating misperceptions with her silence. I do appreciate that Amy's character is nuanced, not a one-note victim. The book has a satisfying and fairly realistic conclusion. I liked it, but don't think I would reread. Definitely for mature readers, because it is so emotionally challenging.
theothertyler's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
shauniesbookshelves's review against another edition
3.0
When they were only 10 and 12, Amy and Dee were kidnapped. The police, as well as their friends and families, went searching for the pair, but they couldn't be found anywhere. Six years later, and without any explanation, Amy comes back. Responding to the name of Chelsea, wearing only purple, and holding a doll wearing all pink, she definitely isn't the same girl that left. And then there's the question on everyone's lips... Where is Dee? And how did Amy get away from their kidnapper? The police reopen the girls' case, but they need information from Amy to find the kidnapper, and Dee. Only, Amy refuses to talk, and they're pushing her for answers that she's determined not to give. Can Amy go back to being the girl she was before their kidnapping, or did too much change for her to live a normal life?
This book... I don't even know where to start. I really did enjoy it, and it kept me on the edge of my seat the entire way through. There were several parts in the book that I found hard to read, for various reasons, be it emotionally or not, and even though the plot seemed pretty straightforward, there were still some turns that I wasn't expecting. The reactions that people were giving off in the novel were what I would imagine to be realistic, and although there was a lot of anger to contend with, there was also a lot of love. I am honestly in awe of all the characters, and their strength throughout the trials they face in the novel. Put in their situation, I honestly don't know what I would do or how I would carry on, and that's not just Amy and Dee, but their families as well. A good book, but one that I would suggest not allowing a less mature reader get hold of, as there are a few very sensitive topics talked about.
This book... I don't even know where to start. I really did enjoy it, and it kept me on the edge of my seat the entire way through. There were several parts in the book that I found hard to read, for various reasons, be it emotionally or not, and even though the plot seemed pretty straightforward, there were still some turns that I wasn't expecting. The reactions that people were giving off in the novel were what I would imagine to be realistic, and although there was a lot of anger to contend with, there was also a lot of love. I am honestly in awe of all the characters, and their strength throughout the trials they face in the novel. Put in their situation, I honestly don't know what I would do or how I would carry on, and that's not just Amy and Dee, but their families as well. A good book, but one that I would suggest not allowing a less mature reader get hold of, as there are a few very sensitive topics talked about.
chloe_maay's review
2.0
Ehh. Kinda skimmed the last few pages. Idk, the story itself was harrowing but I just didn’t feel invested in it like I usually would with a story like this.
blurrybug's review against another edition
5.0
Amy is back but Amy isn't Amy anymore, and where is Dee? Amy can't tell. There is too much to lose by telling.
This was intense. through the black outs and flash backs to the intense ending this book had me hooked from page 1.
Highly recommend this to any fans of YA thrillers. There is some things that are hard to deal with, abduction, rape and physical/mental abuse, but you can expect that from this kind of story. It did make me feel physically uncomfortable several times and I like that, some books should give you physical feelings.
Book was split into flash backs, current time and Amy's thoughts it can be a bit confusing as everything happens in one go, but overall a good effect.
I'm not going to say anything else but, read it!!
This was intense. through the black outs and flash backs to the intense ending this book had me hooked from page 1.
Highly recommend this to any fans of YA thrillers. There is some things that are hard to deal with, abduction, rape and physical/mental abuse, but you can expect that from this kind of story. It did make me feel physically uncomfortable several times and I like that, some books should give you physical feelings.
Book was split into flash backs, current time and Amy's thoughts it can be a bit confusing as everything happens in one go, but overall a good effect.
I'm not going to say anything else but, read it!!
samantha4309's review
3.0
I stumbled across this book at a used book store and the title, cover, and back were so intriguing I had to read it! I finished this book over the course of 2 days. The first half was extremely engaging and had me completely hooked. I had to know what happened to Amy & Dee while in captivity and what allowed Amy to escape. Unfortunately my intrigue fizzled towards the middle to end. The plot seemed to crawl along towards the end and I kept waiting for a big plot twist or reveal to occur, which unfortunately never came. Maybe I’m just not a fan of long drawn out happy endings. Nevertheless, I still enjoyed this book and the characters and can’t wait to pass it along to another bookworm!