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3.86 AVERAGE
3.86 AVERAGE
The Nowhere Child by Christian White was an AWESOME book. It was twisty and turny and kept me guessing the whole way through. It centers around Kim(berly) Leamy, a photographer/photography teacher in Australia, who finds out very early on that that's not her real name - in fact, nothing she thought about her childhood was true. This book sends characters halfway around the world in search for the truth and it does not stop until the very end. Superb, and I can't wait for more from this author!
**thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.
**thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy.
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Such a great book but I found myself wanting to know more about the details and intricacies of the people in Manson... Would be a solid 4 or 5 if it had 100 more pages to sink your teeth into.
A child gets abducted in Kentucky but lives out her life peacefully with her supposed parents in Australia. Until her brother finds her - what follows is mystery, torture, a fundamentalist cult, and many weird new family members.
Entertaining, but with a few cringey clichés (most of the fundamentalist men we meet are secretly gay? really?) and a story that could have been completely avoided if the protagonist had insisted on her step-dad telling her the truth instead of storming out without complaint when he "doesn't want to talk about it".
Entertaining, but with a few cringey clichés (most of the fundamentalist men we meet are secretly gay? really?) and a story that could have been completely avoided if the protagonist had insisted on her step-dad telling her the truth instead of storming out without complaint when he "doesn't want to talk about it".
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I just finished the cult-themed thriller, 'The Nowhere Child' by Christian White. I was shocked by how this story developed and wasn't able to pick any of the twists and turns. I don't usually go for thrillers because they can be quite slow-paced for my liking. This one though dove straight into the plot on the first page and held it's own throughout the dual timeline story-telling. Page turning debut novel with a great premise. Highly recommend.
**5 Stars**
What an amazing debut novel by Christian White. I honestly could not put it down!!!
In 1990, 2 year old Sammy Went vanished from her home in Manson, Kentucky, in the middle of the day while her mother and brother were in the house. She was never found, she simply vanished. The police were stunned. 28 years later, in Melbourne, Australia, Kim Leamy's life changed forever when a stranger approached her saying that he believed that she was Sammy Went.
Firstly, let me state, that I loved that some of this story was set in Melbourne (although I could have done with a little more). When I read that Kim's sister lived in Caroline Springs, it made me giddy as that is somewhere that I travel to very frequently. It made me feel more included in the novel. This is something that does not happen all too often.
This story was told in two timelines which alternate between now and then Now is told in first person perspective from Kim in the present day in her struggle to uncover the truth about what happened to her, and then which is told from multiple POVs in the aftermath of Sammy's disappearance. I personally enjoyed the then chapters more so than the now chapters as I really enjoyed reading about the intricacies of the small town of Manson (did anyone else get chills at the name of the town? Every time I read it I thought: Charles). White did an excellent job at creating many minor characters that were detailed and purposeful. I particular liked the chapters told from the perspectives of Becky, Patrick and Jack. I did find Kim's character, and the other characters in the now chapters slightly one dimensional, but I can forgive this because the historical characters are just so good!
There were several surprises in this novel, and most of them I found truely surprising and shocking. Particularly the end reveal, I thought I had it figured out, but alas, I had not. I was slightly right, but still off the mark.
I also really liked reading about the "church". I put church in quotation marks because it really was more of a cult. I didn't know that snake handling was a religious practice, but I am actually interested to learn more about this and I think I might do some research on the subject. It was interesting to see how the character of Molly embraced the church, particularly after the tragedy of loosing her child and how that was a relief from her post natal depression.
My one complaint of this story would be that I don't think there was enough in the plot to explain the dramatic change in some of the characters, particularly in the case of Emma. I didn't particularly understand how Emma had become so cut off from her family, particularly her father, when they had been so incredibly close.
Overall, a really great book, would highly recommend!!
What an amazing debut novel by Christian White. I honestly could not put it down!!!
In 1990, 2 year old Sammy Went vanished from her home in Manson, Kentucky, in the middle of the day while her mother and brother were in the house. She was never found, she simply vanished. The police were stunned. 28 years later, in Melbourne, Australia, Kim Leamy's life changed forever when a stranger approached her saying that he believed that she was Sammy Went.
Firstly, let me state, that I loved that some of this story was set in Melbourne (although I could have done with a little more). When I read that Kim's sister lived in Caroline Springs, it made me giddy as that is somewhere that I travel to very frequently. It made me feel more included in the novel. This is something that does not happen all too often.
This story was told in two timelines which alternate between now and then Now is told in first person perspective from Kim in the present day in her struggle to uncover the truth about what happened to her, and then which is told from multiple POVs in the aftermath of Sammy's disappearance. I personally enjoyed the then chapters more so than the now chapters as I really enjoyed reading about the intricacies of the small town of Manson (did anyone else get chills at the name of the town? Every time I read it I thought: Charles). White did an excellent job at creating many minor characters that were detailed and purposeful. I particular liked the chapters told from the perspectives of Becky, Patrick and Jack. I did find Kim's character, and the other characters in the now chapters slightly one dimensional, but I can forgive this because the historical characters are just so good!
There were several surprises in this novel, and most of them I found truely surprising and shocking. Particularly the end reveal, I thought I had it figured out, but alas, I had not. I was slightly right, but still off the mark.
I also really liked reading about the "church". I put church in quotation marks because it really was more of a cult. I didn't know that snake handling was a religious practice, but I am actually interested to learn more about this and I think I might do some research on the subject. It was interesting to see how the character of Molly embraced the church, particularly after the tragedy of loosing her child and how that was a relief from her post natal depression.
My one complaint of this story would be that I don't think there was enough in the plot to explain the dramatic change in some of the characters, particularly in the case of Emma. I didn't particularly understand how Emma had become so cut off from her family, particularly her father, when they had been so incredibly close.
Spoiler
Was this due to Sammy's disappearance, discovering her father's sexual identity, or because of her mother's immersion into the cult?Overall, a really great book, would highly recommend!!
This was a quick, easy read, but wholeheartedly engaging! Listening to the audiobook was difficult at first (due to the Australian accents), but once the story got going, I couldnât stop listening. Going back and forth between the âThenâ and âNowâ worked perfectly for the mystery.