My Rating: 4.5 stars
We have always been taught that taking something which doesn't belong to us is wrong, especially so in the case of taking a child away from her family without permission – but what if the intention is to rescue the child from a physically and mentally abusive mother? What if the new life that is given to the child is one of love and happiness, something that her real parents are incapable of ever giving her? Does that make things right? Or is the moral obstacle of such an action too big to overcome, regardless of how noble the intention might be?
This was another book where I was so caught up in the story that I plowed through the book and finished it in 2 days without realizing it. On the surface, this might sound like a regular kidnapping story – a 5 year-old girl goes missing, an investigation is launched, a search for the kidnapper, exploring all possible leads, details emerge and the investigation turns to the parents at one point, with possible foul play suspected, all efforts exhausted to locate the kidnapped child, the ensuing media frenzy, etc. A little ways in though, we start to realize that this is no ordinary kidnapping story -- in this her debut novel, author Rea Frey takes the traditional kidnapping story and turns it completely upside down, inside out. To me, this was not a mystery or suspense novel where we're trying to figure out who did what and why, nor was it an edge-of-your-seat thriller filled with explosive twists and turns – rather, this was an emotionally gripping story that explored many complex issues such as motherhood, parent/child relationships, child abuse and its damaging effects, love, loss, and the morality of doing the wrong thing but with the right intentions.
Frey's writing is so good here – the plot moves forward at a fast pace with the kidnapping, the manhunt, the investigation, but yet the characters are also so well-drawn -- through the alternating narratives told from the perspectives of the mother (Amy) and the kidnapper (Sarah), we are drawn deep into their minds and given keen insight into these characters' thoughts, actions, emotions, and motivations for doing what they did. Who should we empathize with? Should their pasts and the decisions they ultimately make – whether right or wrong -- define them? After reading this book, I have more questions than answers and putting myself in the main characters' shoes, it's hard for me to say what I would have done in their situations.
As a fictional story, this worked extremely well, though I would have to agree with other reviewers who've said that at some points throughout the story, it is necessary to suspend disbelief because in real life, things just don't happen the way they do in here. But the beauty of this story is that, despite the fact that we already know the reality will be different, Frey tells the story in a way that is convincing and believable with characters that are hard not to resonate with in some way. I don't want to say too much, as I feel this is a story that should be experienced on your own. I definitely enjoyed this one for the story itself, though I would also recommend checking out the discussion questions in the back, as reading through those gave me some interesting insight and food for thought that made this an even more relatable read for me. I will definitely be looking forward to what Rea Frey comes out with next!
Received ARC from St Martin's Press via NetGalley
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