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A review by catperrins
Baby Doll by Hollie Overton
2.0
Baby Doll is a really strange book. The premise is pretty similar to 'The Room' - a girl is kidnapped at a young age, has a baby by her kidnapper and then escapes to the real world. But in this book, the kidnapped - Lily - has a twin sister, Abby, and there's a lot of focus on their relationship. The premise is actually pretty interesting. I thought the chapters written from the premise of the kidnapper were quite good - his evil predilections are kind of realistic and it's disturbing in quite a clever way. The author is good at creating tension and it's the sort of thing you will find yourself reading in one sitting, because you need to know what happens. The reason I've given this book 2 stars is that, for once with this type of book, I liked the ending. It's clean, it makes sense, and you felt satisfied with it.
The problem I have, and the reason I can't rate this book higher, is with Lily's behaviour, which is weirdly 2-D and at times unrealistic to the point of bizarre. Although there is some passing mention to her needing therapy, I can't believe that a person who had been held in captivity, being raped and experiencing such a nightmare, would walk away so relatively unscathed. She also seems to catch up almost immediately with what's going on in the world and doesn't really seem wildly bothered that she's lost so much of her life. There are other issues, too - what's really the point of Lily having a daughter? Skye's character is never explored - is it just so that the abuse seems even more horrific? Why would anyone in any capacity take a woman who is just a day out of captivity and force her to recount those events in detail? What are Abby's issues - and why does Wes like her so much when she's so awful to him (and, seemingly, everyone?) But the most problematic bit is Lily - it just doesn't sit well with me.
The problem I have, and the reason I can't rate this book higher, is with Lily's behaviour, which is weirdly 2-D and at times unrealistic to the point of bizarre. Although there is some passing mention to her needing therapy, I can't believe that a person who had been held in captivity, being raped and experiencing such a nightmare, would walk away so relatively unscathed. She also seems to catch up almost immediately with what's going on in the world and doesn't really seem wildly bothered that she's lost so much of her life. There are other issues, too - what's really the point of Lily having a daughter? Skye's character is never explored - is it just so that the abuse seems even more horrific? Why would anyone in any capacity take a woman who is just a day out of captivity and force her to recount those events in detail? What are Abby's issues - and why does Wes like her so much when she's so awful to him (and, seemingly, everyone?) But the most problematic bit is Lily - it just doesn't sit well with me.