Review: Dead to You

Dead To You by Lisa McMann

Published by Simon Pulse

Genre: YA

$16.99 (US hardback)

243 pages

What it's about:

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...

My thoughts:
I always love reading Lisa McMann's books. I know when I'm going into them, they are going to be a quick, dark and edgy type of book. Dead to You did not disappoint me.

Going into this book, I pretty much figured out how it was going to end. Having read four other Lisa McMann books, I could figure what she was going for in this book and really, it was the only ending I could see for this book anyways. Even though I was pretty sure I knew how everything was going to play out, I still loved reading it. Right from the first page, it just throws you into the drama. There isn't anything leading up to it, it just smacks you in the face. The reader is immediately immersed in all the sorrow and awkwardness that one can only imagine would be hanging in the air if a long lost son of 9 years all the sudden showed back up. How do you act around each other? How do you bring the child back into your life? And then to be that child, how do you handle all of that?

I really liked Ethan's character. I thought he was an interesting narrator even though it is obvious that he is hiding information from both his family and the reader, and really, even from himself. It allows the reader to feel the frustration and despair that is always in the De Wilde house.

While the ending just kinda sneaks up on you, it actually really worked for this book. Life can be a sneaky bastard and McMann shows that with this ending. Of course with it being an abrupt ending, I was left with questions, but that is very normal for me. I feel that way about almost all books.

My rating: 9/10