REVIEW: Dead to You by Lisa McMann @lisa_mcmann @SimonTEEN

Book Description

Publication Date: February 7, 2012

A page-turning realistic novel with a shocking twist from bestselling author Lisa McMann.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...

About the Author

Lisa McMann is the New York Times bestselling author of Cryer’s Cross and of the Wake trilogy (Wake, Fade, and Gone). She is also the author of the middle-grade fantasy series The Unwanteds. She grew up in Michigan and lives in the Phoenix area with her husband and two kids. Visit her at LisaMcMann.com, and be her friend on Facebook or Twitter.

Product Details Hardcover: 256 pages Publisher: Simon Pulse (February 7, 2012) Language: English ISBN-10: 1442403888 ISBN-13: 978-1442403888 SOURCE: AMAZON VINE

MY THOUGHTS

LOVED IT


The story opens with Ethan reuniting with his family after being abducted nine years earlier.  The family agrees that Ethan has grown and changed a bit, but this is Ethan.  He has some emotional issues and can't remember the details of his youth but he seems to fit in and the family goes to counseling in order to come to grips with the hurt they have all experienced.  He now has a little sister, Grace and  his younger brother, Blake, still remembers the fateful day when he was taken even though he was only four.  There are some details that just don't add up in Blake's mind.  The psychologist and his parents agree that because of the traumatic experience, it is only normal that he can't remember anything. As Blake becomes more suspicious and starts to learn genetics in school. he puts things together and they just don't add up.

If you are a fan of the Twilight Zone, this book fits in nicely with that television show.  Right when you think things are *normal* there is a weird twist and when that happens, the world shifts.  The De Wilde family is torn apart by Ethan's return and even though they are overjoyed with the reunion, Blake doesn't give an inch in his belief that Ethan should remember something from his past, even if he did suffer terrible abuse.  Ethan's relationship with his siblings are polar opposites where Blake is his enemy and Grace becomes his fan.  Ethan also starts to have a relationship with Cami, the girl down the street he grew up with and continues even though he knows Blake has a crush on her.   Cami believes this is the Ethan she knew since birth. 

I read this in just a few hours and at times, I had tears.  The story of abduction is just so emotional and the majority of these stories are told from the point of view of the parents.  So when that is changed, the whole thing takes on more punch.  I am trying not to give away any of the details, but the last few pages of this book are packed with a punch.  The psychological build up provided by McMann leads to things I just didn't see coming even though once I finished it, I could see where she was going.  I really enjoyed this one.  There are mentions of abuse, language and some kissing but nothing to hard to take.