A real mix of feelings reading this book. Jeff's emotions are expressed beautifully throughout and I was left in no doubt of the incredible journey he would undertake in order to recover from his ordeal. On the other hand I found his home life and background characters completely unrealistic. I could understand if it was set in the 1960s/70s but it was written in 1999! I cannot believe he could come home, destroy vital evidence and refuse to engage with the police. No physical exam? no therapist straight away? His stepmother fades away into the background almost entirely and it's never explained why his father doesn't seem to like his other two children very much, it's all a bit frustrating. As a novel about PTSD, recovery and sexual abuse it's very successful but the lack of believable characters (apart from Jeff) and situations really let it down. ( )

Given the news in the past couple of years of missing children escaping their kidnappers, this book is strongly insightful of the impact such situations have on the victim, their families and friends. Intense, disturbing and thought-provoking; not for the super-sensitive or squeamish. Scenes with the abuser are unsettling and disturbing but not gratuitously graphic. ( )

A kidnapped boy returns home and must readjust to normal life and deal with what has happened to him.

3 years after he was kidnapped at a rest stop Jeff is coming home. Now he faces questions he doesn't want to answer, and face who he was as well as who he has become. ( )

Harrowing, hard-to-read topic, but one of those books you can't tear yourself away from. Author evokes a strong connectedness with the main character, Jeff. ( )