Reviews

The Detour by S.A. Bodeen

poorashleu's review against another edition

Go to review page

2.0

Originally posted here

You know when you read a book and your expectations are one thing, and then the book provides something completely from left field. That’s how The Detour was for me. While the left field book often works, The Detour did not work for me. I felt like the entire book was a satire and Boden was writing a lot of inside jokes for her friends and if you weren’t in that group the book really makes no sense.

The skeleton of the book makes sense. Olivia, or Livvy, is a worldwide best selling author; the author who everyone knows. On her way to a writing retreat she has an accident and the next thing she knows she has been kidnapped by a woman and her daughter. Olivia’s world quickly goes downhill and she has no idea what she did to deserve being kidnapped. Through use of flashbacks we see that Livvy did not have an easy life and was often made fun of and that is why she is the way she is. Sorry, just because you were once bullied doesn’t mean that you have the right to be a bully.

The Detour interested me from a publishing side of it. It showed the differences between a big named author who has everyone show up to their signing (Livvy needed ice for her signing wrist) and the author who tries everything and has three people show up to their signings. I’ve been to both. I’ve been to the signings where you wait for hours and to the signings where my BFF, Sarah and I have been the only people and every time my heart has gone out to both authors.

But besides a small part of the book, I lost interest in most of it. I was hoping for more from Boden and The Detour. That being said, I did read it in a day, and found it to be enjoyable.

aleeka's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

The cover made me think that it would be reallly creepy, it was quite a short read. I did enjoy it, it was really fast paced and enjoyable, although i feel like it could have gone a little deeper

Good plot overall, i will read more from this author. I would recommend if you're looking for a easy, short read.

4 stars

swim559's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

itzreedus's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

très bonne surprise, j'ai apprécié suivre cette histoire, il y a beaucoup d'actions ce qui fait que l'on ne s'ennuie pas du tout ! j'ai beaucoup aimé les flashbacks sur Olivia, cela permettait de mieux la comprendre.
Cependant, je n'ai pas compris l'intérêt de faire une MC aussi insupportable... je n'ai pas ressenti énormément de compassion face à ce qu'elle endurait (sauf une seule scène qui m'a glacée le sang)
De plus, je n'ai pas vraiment compris les raisons qui ont poussé ces personnes à kidnapper Olivia, je trouve que leur raison était légèrement disproportionnée par rapport aux terribles traitements qu'Olivia a subi. J'ai trouvé cela un peu débile

frannietruss's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

Very similar to Stephen King's Misery. I liked it, and it had a few twists and turns, but this book was pretty predictable. It's perfect for middle school readers though.

c0urtn3yy's review against another edition

Go to review page

2.0

this was just okay; you could see the twist coming from a mile away, but it was a very quick read.

lazygal's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.0

There's nothing wrong with unlikable main characters, particularly if the story is compelling (like, Gone Girl). The story here is Misery for the YA audience, without the maiming. But the part about the unlikable main characters? Olivia/Livvy is not just self-centered - and let's remember, she's only 17, so that's somewhat allowed - but she's not at all sympathetic. Her issues and Deep Dark Secrets are typical teen, and I admit that I thought her captors were somehow related to them. That there's a surprise twist was a pleasure and raised this from a 2. But at the end, once she's free and knows why she was the target, she shows no signs of growth or understanding. Now, teens are not always capable of deep insights, but surely after this experience there'd be something? Nope. They were wrong, she's in the right and she has the power of her blog and press and fame to feed that impression. In many ways that was a true ending, but I'd hoped for more.

ARC provided by publisher.

midnightstory's review against another edition

Go to review page

1.0

the writing is childish, the characters flat and the plot line entirely predictable. would not recommend. also: complete rip off of stephen king’s misery.

pagesplotsandpints's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

Initial Impressions 8/13/15: I thought this was a really great YA thriller! I've been a big fan of adult mystery/thrillers for a long time now and always advocate the YAs because I feel like I don't see them as often but this was really interesting.
I really enjoyed the overall plot -- it was relatively believable, kept me on the edge of my seat, and I actually love when thrillers are shorter (this book was just over 200 pages) because I feel compelled to finish within one or two sittings so there's never a drop in the action.
I really liked the twists, the changes, and the characters as well as hints and allusions to the thriller movies.
I think there could have been a BIT more to it to totally hook me but I really enjoyed it from start to finish!

Full review as originally posted HERE on The Book Addict's Guide 9/22/15: There’s good news and bad news to this review: the bad news is that it was supposed to be a video review but when I went to go edit it, I found out that the video was very choppy and frozen in several spots while the audio played on. The good news is that it wasn’t a flattering angle of me anyway but more importantly, the audio was salvageable. I supposed my first video review isn’t a horrible flop and we just have to roll with the punches! You’ll just have to listen and be without the image of my smiling face. Lesson learned and hopefully you’ll have a new video from me sometime in the future! [Listen to the audio review on the blog post for THE DETOUR!]

notaleaf's review against another edition

Go to review page

1.0

Incredibly boring, anti-climatic, no character development or depth. Ending seemed rushed. I'd skip this one.