Title: Dead to You
Author: Lisa McMann
Pages: 243
Genre: YA/ Teen
Source: Amazon Vine Program
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... [via GoodReads]
Nine years ago, seven year-old Ethan was abducted while playing in his front yard and he has finally been reunited with his family. While the family tries to make everything as "normal" as possible for Ethan, the fact that he's been gone for nine years makes it hard on everyone. Not to mention Ethan's memory loss of anything prior to his abduction doesn't really help either.
I found it hard to really like anyone in this story. Ethan has not had an easy time growing up. He lived with his abductor for some years, and then she just ups and drops him off at a childrens' home which he eventually runs away from and ends up living in the streets. I get that life hasn't been peachy for him, but he just ends up being too rough and sarcastic for me to actually like. His parents, although they may be trying hard to have him fit in, didn't try hard enough for me and his younger brother, Blake, feels that Ethan isn't even the real Ethan but an imposter trying to impersonate him. If anything, my favorite of the characters was Ethan's six year-old sister Grace, whom he calls the "replacement child" since she was born a year after his abduction.
The mystery of Ethan made it a quick read. The chapters flew by as the intrigue of whether or not Ethan was... well Ethan, made for a fast paced read. But the ending killed it for me. I hate shocker endings that leave you with more questions than answers and, sadly, Dead to You has one of those frustrating endings that I just could not overlook. I felt as if my book were missing a couple of chapters at the end.
I'm not sure if Ms. McMann will be writing a sequel to Dead to You and, if she does, I can't honestly say if I'd even bother to read it. While I would like to know more about Ethan and what happens after Dead to You's shocking ending, I can't say I liked him enough to really want to know more.
I found it hard to really like anyone in this story. Ethan has not had an easy time growing up. He lived with his abductor for some years, and then she just ups and drops him off at a childrens' home which he eventually runs away from and ends up living in the streets. I get that life hasn't been peachy for him, but he just ends up being too rough and sarcastic for me to actually like. His parents, although they may be trying hard to have him fit in, didn't try hard enough for me and his younger brother, Blake, feels that Ethan isn't even the real Ethan but an imposter trying to impersonate him. If anything, my favorite of the characters was Ethan's six year-old sister Grace, whom he calls the "replacement child" since she was born a year after his abduction.
The mystery of Ethan made it a quick read. The chapters flew by as the intrigue of whether or not Ethan was... well Ethan, made for a fast paced read. But the ending killed it for me. I hate shocker endings that leave you with more questions than answers and, sadly, Dead to You has one of those frustrating endings that I just could not overlook. I felt as if my book were missing a couple of chapters at the end.
I'm not sure if Ms. McMann will be writing a sequel to Dead to You and, if she does, I can't honestly say if I'd even bother to read it. While I would like to know more about Ethan and what happens after Dead to You's shocking ending, I can't say I liked him enough to really want to know more.
My Rating:
I have read Lisa McMann before and mostly enjoyed her. I will probably read more from her in the future.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to see another review that isn't raving about how wonderful this book is. That's just about all I've seen and I was so disappointed by it when I read it.
ReplyDelete