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parrye92's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
elleant's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
kitherondales's review against another edition
5.0
To say that this is the most touching and heartfelt novel I have ever read would be an understatement. I cried so many times throughout this book that I fear I have no tears left. We Now Return to Regular tells the story of a boy, Sam Walsh, who was abducted at the age of 11 by a sexual predator. The man kept him for 3 years and what he went through in that little apartment in Anniston, Alabama changed his life, and the lives of everyone around him, forever.
When this novel claims to be ripped-from-the-headlines story they truly mean it. It made me think of the real life kidnappings of children like Steven Staynor, Shawn Hornbeck, Shasta Groene, and Jaycee Dugard. Sam’s trauma was handled with such care and sensitivity and really helped explain the reasonings behind why some kidnapping victims stay with their abductors, even when they are given certain freedoms like being able to go outside or being allowed to talk to others when they are permitted to leave their prisons for awhile. I felt so connected to Sam knowing everything he endured in order to survive. And like Beth and Josh, I wanted to be an ally to Sam. An ally to all the abducted children in the world who got to come home again but came home as a ghost of the kid they were before their kidnappers brutally killed the innocent and happy child they were before they went missing.
I don’t think I will ever find another book that makes me feel as deeply as this one has, and I don’t think I will ever love any fictional characters quite as much as I love Sam, Josh, and Beth. They are a part of me for eternity. And much like Sam walking freely into a new life with his family and friends by his side after saying goodbye to the life he was forced to live in captivity, I am now walking into tomorrow with my eyes wide open to the beauty of life beneath all the cruelties out there. I am forever changed by Sam’s story, and so thankful I got to go on this journey through the eyes of the people who loves him the most.
When this novel claims to be ripped-from-the-headlines story they truly mean it. It made me think of the real life kidnappings of children like Steven Staynor, Shawn Hornbeck, Shasta Groene, and Jaycee Dugard. Sam’s trauma was handled with such care and sensitivity and really helped explain the reasonings behind why some kidnapping victims stay with their abductors, even when they are given certain freedoms like being able to go outside or being allowed to talk to others when they are permitted to leave their prisons for awhile. I felt so connected to Sam knowing everything he endured in order to survive. And like Beth and Josh, I wanted to be an ally to Sam. An ally to all the abducted children in the world who got to come home again but came home as a ghost of the kid they were before their kidnappers brutally killed the innocent and happy child they were before they went missing.
I don’t think I will ever find another book that makes me feel as deeply as this one has, and I don’t think I will ever love any fictional characters quite as much as I love Sam, Josh, and Beth. They are a part of me for eternity. And much like Sam walking freely into a new life with his family and friends by his side after saying goodbye to the life he was forced to live in captivity, I am now walking into tomorrow with my eyes wide open to the beauty of life beneath all the cruelties out there. I am forever changed by Sam’s story, and so thankful I got to go on this journey through the eyes of the people who loves him the most.
trin's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
sadkitty's review against another edition
4.0
This is the second book by Martin Wilson that I have read. Like, What They Always Tell Us, the narration is spectacular and rather lonely, because it is written from the viewpoint of two people who were there when a person close to them, Beth's brother and Josh's neighbour-cum-friend, Sam Walsh went missing.
He didn't turn up for three years. And in those circumstances, it is easier to think that he must have died by now. So that is what Beth and Josh do. But Sam is alive and he's back. And he is not the person they knew before he was kidnapped.
Given the plot of the story, I don't understand how people can be upset to find that it is not a fun read. Sam Walsh coming back is a very happy news, but it is enough to shake up the normal for the main characters. Martin Wilson once again manages to capture the emotions and the hope in such a hopeless situation and brings out the strength that humans possess but do not know of. The story is sad, the narration is sad, and something about the writing made me cry even in the beginning when I wasn't completely into the book.
It is an amazing book and I will keep cherishing it for years to come. It is sad but this is the kind of books that we all need. To give us hope even in the darkest of times. And to whisper to us that although there are several stories that are parts of us, they do not define us. They cannot limit us.
I love how upsetting this book is because you cannot understand how hopeful the message is without feeling all the sadness at first.
He didn't turn up for three years. And in those circumstances, it is easier to think that he must have died by now. So that is what Beth and Josh do. But Sam is alive and he's back. And he is not the person they knew before he was kidnapped.
Given the plot of the story, I don't understand how people can be upset to find that it is not a fun read. Sam Walsh coming back is a very happy news, but it is enough to shake up the normal for the main characters. Martin Wilson once again manages to capture the emotions and the hope in such a hopeless situation and brings out the strength that humans possess but do not know of. The story is sad, the narration is sad, and something about the writing made me cry even in the beginning when I wasn't completely into the book.
It is an amazing book and I will keep cherishing it for years to come. It is sad but this is the kind of books that we all need. To give us hope even in the darkest of times. And to whisper to us that although there are several stories that are parts of us, they do not define us. They cannot limit us.
I love how upsetting this book is because you cannot understand how hopeful the message is without feeling all the sadness at first.
hardlyworking's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
A powerful tale of the aftermath of the kidnapping of a young boy and his return after three years, told by the last two people to see him before he disappeared: his older sister, Beth, and his childhood friend, Josh. The story proceeds as they try to reconnect with the missing boy, Sam, cope with changing relationships with family and friends, and resolve their feelings of guilt over things they kept secret on the day of the disappearance, information that might have made a difference. Details about what happened to Sam during his captivity are told by him to Josh over time so the reader is spared experiencing them directly. Nevertheless, Sam's descriptions of the violence and abuse he endured, including oblique references to child sexual abuse, as well as his perverse and confusing feelings of attachment to his captor are quite challenging. The reward for reading about such horror is in experiencing the start of the three characters' journeys to healing and the power and necessity of friendship and connection along the way.
kvreadsandrecs's review against another edition
3.0
Interesting, but overall, it felt really incomplete. Resolved too quickly and left a lot of dangling strings.
viviennemorgain's review against another edition
4.0
It was a difficult read. It was okay, but I prefer the other book of the author.
notblue's review against another edition
Yeah I’m probably not finishing this one. Now that I know that this is based on a real case (actually REALLY close) it feels... inappropriate.
kimlynn77's review against another edition
4.0
Really liked this book. Would like to see a continuation, perhaps with some Sam POV.