If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch
Dec. 27th, 2014 11:44 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
Carey is keeping a terrible secret.
If she tells, it could destroy her future.
If she doesn’t, will she ever be free?
For almost as long as she can remember, Carey has lived in the heart of the woods with her drug-addicted mother and six-year-old sister, Jenessa.
Their mother routinely disappears for weeks at a time, leaving the girls to cope alone. Survival is Carey’s only priority – until strangers arrive and everything changes …
14-year-old Carey lives deep in the woods in Tennessee with her 6 year old sister, Jenessa and her meth-addicted mother. Her mum disappears for weeks at a time as she raises money and buys groceries but she always comes back. Until now. As Carey’s food stores dwindle, she begins to worry about how she’ll cope. But then two strangers arrive and her and Jenessa’s lives change forever …
Emily Murdoch’s debut YA novel is a so-so contemporary melodrama, which at times is genuinely touching but is also guilty of descending into melodrama and which never quite rings true when dealing with drug abuse, kidnap, rape or paedophilia. There are some beautifully written scenes – particularly when Murdoch voices Carey’s confusion and guilt but I was uncomfortable with the way she insisted on how beautiful Carey and Jenessa were and at times I almost felt as if the message being given was that sex abuse is something that only happens to beautiful girls or they’re the ones best placed to survive it. The relationship between Carey and her mother is underdeveloped – particularly given some of the revelations and I really needed a resolution to that storyline. There’s a soapy element to the relationship between Carey and Delaney, which unfolds in a completely predictable way and the way in which Carey’s father and step-mother accommodate Carey and Jenessa without any obvious conflict didn’t ring true. On top of this, there’s a lot in the story that’s predictable – the only surprise being the apparent application of Tennessee’s self-defence laws (which in the recounted circumstances would generate a completely different result in the UK). Despite this, the story is fast paced and there’s a genuinely touching epilogue and certainly despite my reservations, there’s enough here to make me interested in checking out Murdoch’s next novel.
I think that my biggest issues with the book stem from the emphasis Murdoch places on Carey and Jenessa’s physical beauty. I know that’s a staple in YA fiction but in this context – when there’s strong subject matter relating to child abuse – it made me deeply uncomfortable. I didn’t believe in Carey’s reaction to what has happened to her – there’s a by-the-numbers feel to it that lacks emotional authenticity – and the obligatory romance didn’t run true for me. This is a shame because Murdoch has a beautifully lyrical style at times that suggests excellent things to come.
The Verdict:
Emily Murdoch’s debut YA novel is a so-so contemporary melodrama, which at times is genuinely touching but is also guilty of descending into melodrama and which never quite rings true when dealing with drug abuse, kidnap, rape or paedophilia. There are some beautifully written scenes – particularly when Murdoch voices Carey’s confusion and guilt but I was uncomfortable with the way she insisted on how beautiful Carey and Jenessa were and at times I almost felt as if the message being given was that sex abuse is something that only happens to beautiful girls or they’re the ones best placed to survive it. The relationship between Carey and her mother is underdeveloped – particularly given some of the revelations and I really needed a resolution to that storyline. There’s a soapy element to the relationship between Carey and Delaney, which unfolds in a completely predictable way and the way in which Carey’s father and step-mother accommodate Carey and Jenessa without any obvious conflict didn’t ring true. On top of this, there’s a lot in the story that’s predictable – the only surprise being the apparent application of Tennessee’s self-defence laws (which in the recounted circumstances would generate a completely different result in the UK). Despite this, the story is fast paced and there’s a genuinely touching epilogue and certainly despite my reservations, there’s enough here to make me interested in checking out Murdoch’s next novel.
If she tells, it could destroy her future.
If she doesn’t, will she ever be free?
For almost as long as she can remember, Carey has lived in the heart of the woods with her drug-addicted mother and six-year-old sister, Jenessa.
Their mother routinely disappears for weeks at a time, leaving the girls to cope alone. Survival is Carey’s only priority – until strangers arrive and everything changes …
14-year-old Carey lives deep in the woods in Tennessee with her 6 year old sister, Jenessa and her meth-addicted mother. Her mum disappears for weeks at a time as she raises money and buys groceries but she always comes back. Until now. As Carey’s food stores dwindle, she begins to worry about how she’ll cope. But then two strangers arrive and her and Jenessa’s lives change forever …
Emily Murdoch’s debut YA novel is a so-so contemporary melodrama, which at times is genuinely touching but is also guilty of descending into melodrama and which never quite rings true when dealing with drug abuse, kidnap, rape or paedophilia. There are some beautifully written scenes – particularly when Murdoch voices Carey’s confusion and guilt but I was uncomfortable with the way she insisted on how beautiful Carey and Jenessa were and at times I almost felt as if the message being given was that sex abuse is something that only happens to beautiful girls or they’re the ones best placed to survive it. The relationship between Carey and her mother is underdeveloped – particularly given some of the revelations and I really needed a resolution to that storyline. There’s a soapy element to the relationship between Carey and Delaney, which unfolds in a completely predictable way and the way in which Carey’s father and step-mother accommodate Carey and Jenessa without any obvious conflict didn’t ring true. On top of this, there’s a lot in the story that’s predictable – the only surprise being the apparent application of Tennessee’s self-defence laws (which in the recounted circumstances would generate a completely different result in the UK). Despite this, the story is fast paced and there’s a genuinely touching epilogue and certainly despite my reservations, there’s enough here to make me interested in checking out Murdoch’s next novel.
I think that my biggest issues with the book stem from the emphasis Murdoch places on Carey and Jenessa’s physical beauty. I know that’s a staple in YA fiction but in this context – when there’s strong subject matter relating to child abuse – it made me deeply uncomfortable. I didn’t believe in Carey’s reaction to what has happened to her – there’s a by-the-numbers feel to it that lacks emotional authenticity – and the obligatory romance didn’t run true for me. This is a shame because Murdoch has a beautifully lyrical style at times that suggests excellent things to come.
The Verdict:
Emily Murdoch’s debut YA novel is a so-so contemporary melodrama, which at times is genuinely touching but is also guilty of descending into melodrama and which never quite rings true when dealing with drug abuse, kidnap, rape or paedophilia. There are some beautifully written scenes – particularly when Murdoch voices Carey’s confusion and guilt but I was uncomfortable with the way she insisted on how beautiful Carey and Jenessa were and at times I almost felt as if the message being given was that sex abuse is something that only happens to beautiful girls or they’re the ones best placed to survive it. The relationship between Carey and her mother is underdeveloped – particularly given some of the revelations and I really needed a resolution to that storyline. There’s a soapy element to the relationship between Carey and Delaney, which unfolds in a completely predictable way and the way in which Carey’s father and step-mother accommodate Carey and Jenessa without any obvious conflict didn’t ring true. On top of this, there’s a lot in the story that’s predictable – the only surprise being the apparent application of Tennessee’s self-defence laws (which in the recounted circumstances would generate a completely different result in the UK). Despite this, the story is fast paced and there’s a genuinely touching epilogue and certainly despite my reservations, there’s enough here to make me interested in checking out Murdoch’s next novel.
