REVIEW Dead to You by Lisa McMann

Dead to You
by Lisa McMann
Hardcover
Simon Pulse
February 7, 2012

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...


This was another small book with a big impact.  I still don't really know what to say in my review.

It kind of broke me.

Reviewing this without giving anything away is going to be tough, but here goes...


Dead to You picks up right as Ethan is reunited with his family.  He'd always known there was something strange about his broken childhood, so when he saw his picture on a site for missing children he didn't hesitate before contacting them and being reunited with his family.

The problem is, he really isn't sure what to do now that he's with them again.  He doesn't remember anything before his abduction and after years of not being able to trust anyone, he can't quite make himself open up to his parents as to exactly what happened to him in the meantime.  It's hard, but he's trying to remember.  He's trying to be the son and brother they want him to be.

But he's a little bit...different.

The lack of information and backstory really gave me the impression of Ethan as a brand new baby, when in fact he was a teenager.  It was like he was learning things from the first time (if that makes any sense...it's hard to put into words) as he tries to fit in to his new hometown.  It was as though he tried to completely blank out his life before he found his family, and he was starting all over again.  It really put me in the moment, in his head, and he was hiding things from even himself.

Wow...this is hard to review.

It was hard to see Ethan find his family, only to have to deal with the fallout from the trauma he'd experienced.  The rage.  The panic attacks.  The attention he didn't want and didn't know how to deal with.  The doubt.

This wasn't an easy read, but it was a good one.  I'm still reeling a little.

I love Lisa McMann.

-geekgirl

Comments

  1. I was totally ignoring this book everytime I saw it in the store because the cover makes it look exactly like every other book out there. Now I really want to read it! From your review it seems like I'm really missing out on something

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    1. It really was quite different from what's out there right now. It had a touch of romance but it really wasn't the focus. The focus was on Ethan. It was his point of view and, quite frankly, that kid is pretty messed up.

      It was different. I liked it.

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  3. I hated the ending to this story, I have so many questions that werent answered, and I would love to see a sequel to the book.

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