Amy Chelsea Stacie Dee by Mary G. Thompson

Amy Chelsea Stacie Dee by Mary G. Thompson

Published: October 11th 2016 by G. P. Putnams sons books for Young Readers

A bittersweet homecoming holds dark secrets in this heart-wrenching story of loss, love, and survival for readers of Room.

When sixteen-year-old Amy returns home, she can’t tell her family what’s happened to her. She can’t tell them where she’s been since she and her best friend, her cousin Dee, were kidnapped six years ago—who stole them from their families or what’s become of Dee. She has to stay silent because she’s afraid of what might happen next, and she’s desperate to protect her secrets at any cost.

Amy tries to readjust to life at “home,” but nothing she does feels right. She’s a stranger in her own family, and the guilt that she’s the one who returned is insurmountable. Amy soon realizes that keeping secrets won’t change what’s happened, and they may end up hurting those she loves the most. She has to go back in order to move forward, risking everything along the way. Amy Chelsea Stacie Dee is a riveting, affecting story of loss and hope.

Where do I even start with this book? I literally started and finished this book in basically one sitting because I could just not put it down. I was completely hooked from the beginning and I had to know what was going to happen next and everything that had happened to the girls – no matter how horrifying it was!

The book starts off with Amy returning home – however, the way in which it is written and the way that Amy looks at things has the readers questioning things already. I was already hooked because I wanted to know if Amy was who she was saying she was and what had happened to her. I love the way in which Amy was portrayed and written and the way in which she kept going back into her memories, without any warning. The flashback snippets definitely helped to keep me hooked and I just had to know what happened to Dee

Reading about Dee through Amy’s memories and the flashbacks was, at times difficult. I hated the things that had happened to her and there are definitely things that happened in this book that will stick with me for a long time. This kind of thing happens more often than not in real life, so I enjoyed the fact that it was true to society today. It was a struggle watching the way Dee changed throughout Amy’s memories – but understandable. The way the author portrayed Dee’s character change was subtle and slow and I enjoyed the way that she went through the different emotions.

What I also enjoyed about this book was the way in which both the title and the cover tied into the story itself – and not in the way that I was expecting it too! I love it when covers and titles make sense within the book itself because it just ties the whole book up as a whole!

I also liked the way that the kidnapper was portrayed. The reader could see his logic and his reasoning behind what he was doing, but at the same time, we were horrified by his actions and what he was doing. I enjoyed reading more about him and his story as it slowly came out and why he ended up the way that he did. I don’t want to give too much away because spoilers.

All in all, I absolutely loved this book and it is definitely one that will be sticking with me for a while! Parts of it were haunting and I was completely hooked and I just had to know what was going to happen next and what had happened to the girls! I gave this book 5/5 stars.

Stacking the Shelves

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga’s Reviews.

Hey guys!! It has been another week already, which I find pretty dang crazy!! I wasn’t actually planning to get any new books this week, because of my little spree last week. However, Netgalley is a bad addiction for me…

 Invisible-I-Am by Gregg Davis (and Harriet Showman) – I was drawn in by the premise, but the book was a major disappointment for me personally and I ended up DNFing it. This book was published last year, so it was a free ebook in return for an honest review. My Review. Amazon.

 Wrecked by Maria Padian – I received an ARC copy of this book from Netgalley in return for an honest review. I actually really enjoyed this book and would be happy to buy a physical copy when it comes out in October! My Review. Amazon.

 The Awakening (Emerge #1) – I am currently reading this book and it is pretty good so far 🙂 So, go netgalley!! Amazon.

 Camp Outlook by Brenda Baker – I actually quite enjoyed this book, with a few points that were’t so good. I think this book sent a pretty powerful message across… Again, this was a book given to me for review. My Review. Amazon.

 First Kiss by C. L. Stone – I am on the mailing list for all of C. L. Stone’s new books, so I was happy when this came into my inbox!! This comes out 25th April 🙂 Amazon.

So, that is it for me! I will try and stay away from Netgalley next week… I really need to get through the books I have! What have you guys added this week? Feel free to leave links and comments and I will check them all out!

Wrecked by Maria Padian

Expected publication: October 4th 2016

Everyone has heard a different version of what happened that night at MacCallum College. Haley was already in bed when her roommate, Jenny, arrived home shell-shocked from the wild Conundrum House party. Richard heard his housemate Jordan brag about the cute freshman he hooked up with. When Jenny formally accuses Jordan of rape, Haley and Richard find themselves pushed onto opposite sides of the school’s investigation. But conflicting interests fueling conflicting versions of the story may make bringing the truth to light nearly impossible–especially when reputations, relationships, and whole futures are riding on the verdict.

Maria Padian offers a kaleidoscopic view of a sexual assault on a college campus. Wrecked will leave readers thinking about how memory and identity, what’s at stake, and who sits in judgment shape what we all decide to believe about the truth. (Goodreads)

Note: I received an ARC copy of this book in return for an honest review.

I was worried, going into this book, that it would be too much like What We Saw by Aaron Hartzler. I shouldn’t have worried because this book is the complete opposite of that one! I really enjoyed this book and I found it to be a refreshing change from the books that we normally get about sexual assault.

This book isn’t from the perspective of the victim or the perpetrator – it from the aspects of the two friends. Haley, who is Jenny’s roommate and Richard, who is Jordan’s friend/housemate. I think reading the book from this perspective changed what would be the normal view of things because we are going into this from the eyes of two people who weren’t there that night. They have no idea what went down that night, but they were stuck on opposite sides of the fence.

I also think this book made a pretty powerful point with the whole gossip and social media aspect of it. I think it represents society today in way that nothing else does. It shows how callous and cruel people can be about women who accuse someone of rape. I obviously don’t want to say too much, but it was a pretty powerful message.

The only problem I really had with this book was that, at times, it was a bit of a slow read. I liked the events unfolding between the alternating perspectives because it was like a slow mystery unravelling itself before changing back to present day. At times, though, I felt almost bored. I felt like the story was going just a little bit too slow and I also question the college and whether the college would investigate themselves. I don’t know the system in America and whether the colleges actually do that, but it wasn’t something I could easily imagine.

All in all, I fairly enjoyed this book and I feel like it conveyed quite a few strong messages about rape culture and social media as well as gossip. I gave this book 4/5 stars.

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the Broke and Bookish.

Hey guys! I can’t believe it is Tuesday again already! Time seems to be flying! This weeks topic (for me at least) is top ten books that every teen/young adult should read at least once! I feel there are a lot of books out there that don’t garner the attention that they should and they are books that teens or young adults really could learn a lot from! So, without further ado. In no particular order:

10.  What We Saw by Aaron Hartzler. This is actually based on a true story which made the events even worse! I loved this book, but it was such a difficult read knowing that some poor girl actually went through everything that happened in this book! My review. Amazon.

9.  Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma. This is a really taboo based book and, at times, is really difficult read. Having said that, this book shows that things are not always the way that they seem… Amazon.

8.  The Fat Girl by Marilyn Sachs. This book highlights one form of abuse – which I think is very cleverly done with the use of teenagers rather than a married couple itself! My Review. Amazon.

7.  This is Where it Ends by Marieke Nijkamp. School shootings are a very real problem in todays society. I think that this book takes a deeper look into it and highlights both the victims and the perpetrator. My Review. Amazon.

6.  Unspeakable by Michelle K. Pickett . This is a very powerful book that highlights a variety of issues within a family environment as well as relationships! My Review. Amazon.

5.  The Truth about Alice by Jennifer Mathieu. This takes a very real look at slut shaming within high schools today – and about the rumours that people believe, but are not necessarily true! My review. Amazon.

4.  Two Boys Kissing by David Leviathan. Whilst I think that Levithan always picks pretty relevant problems to write about, his look at sexuality, Homophobia etc. in this book are one of his best works. My Review. Amazon.

3.  Rites of Passage by Joy N. Hensley. Looking past the whole military side of things, I think this book brings up the problem of equality amongst both men and women in todays society. My Review. Amazon.

2.  Dangerous Girls by Abigail Haas. I just had a major debate with myself whether to use this book or Dangerous Boys. I feel like this book would be better because the justice system, and what evidence is actually given in court in order to make a guilty or innocent verdict is a very real problem. My Review. Amazon.

1.  Don’t Look Back by Jennifer L. Armentrout. This sort of thing happens all the time and it makes you wonder just who is around you and what they are truly like! My Review. Amazon.

So that is my Top Ten! What did you guys come up with? Feel free to leave links below and I will check them all out!