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A review by katykelly
Providence by Caroline Kepnes
4.0
The aftermath of a sci-fi kidnap...
4.5 stars.
You. Hidden Bodies. On the strengths of these titles alone, I was prepared to read Providence without even reading a synopsis. Of course, reading a synopsis only added to the allure. Kepnes has a knack for twisted characters and situations, and though you have to take a big mental leap to allow for the plot here, it's a riveting trek.
As a young teenager, bullied student Jon goes missing on his walk to school. His best friend Chloe refuses to accept he is not coming back, beginning a series of paintings of the boy she misses, not letting life move on without him. Four years later, Jon wakes up underneath a mall with no memory of his kidnapping but a note from the perpetrator saying they have "you have power, power that will present itself to you slowly."
But now he's back, just being around him seems to trigger nosebleeds in his parents... Chloe faints when she runs to greet him. What has been done to him? And can he control it?
Told from dual perspectives, we see the adolescent hesitant love between Chloe and Jon before the kidnapping grow into something more adult with the time and pain the kidnapping provides. Chloe is the one who stayed loyal, who hasn't been able to move on, but also the one whose life has cruelly benefitted somehow. I sympathised with her, stuck between pursuing success and other avenues of love, or waiting for her soulmate to come out of the shadows.
And it's impossible not to feel for Jon, put in a situation not of his own making, having to piece together what has been done to him and how he can live with it. The scenes where he slowly works out what he is capable of are dark.
There is a third voice that enters partway too, that of 'Eggs' DeBenedictus, a police detective investigating a series of heart attacks in seemingly healthy young people. His own initially strong marriage but underlying health issues contrast with the story of Chloe and Jon as he begins making connections. Older, world-weary, his voice adds gravitas and a new perspective on the pining love story of the now young adults.
It's hard to place this book in a genre. With horror elements, some fantasy/sci-fi, romance, coming of age, it's very different to Kepnes' previous pair. Though I feel it has wider appeal and there is a lot in there up for group discussion.
Much goes unexplained, but I don't think it's the sort of book where you demand justification, it's the story that matters rather than the 'how'.
Rather fascinating. Not a beach read, one to give you a lot to think about.
With thanks to Netgalley for the advance reading copy.
4.5 stars.
You. Hidden Bodies. On the strengths of these titles alone, I was prepared to read Providence without even reading a synopsis. Of course, reading a synopsis only added to the allure. Kepnes has a knack for twisted characters and situations, and though you have to take a big mental leap to allow for the plot here, it's a riveting trek.
As a young teenager, bullied student Jon goes missing on his walk to school. His best friend Chloe refuses to accept he is not coming back, beginning a series of paintings of the boy she misses, not letting life move on without him. Four years later, Jon wakes up underneath a mall with no memory of his kidnapping but a note from the perpetrator saying they have "you have power, power that will present itself to you slowly."
But now he's back, just being around him seems to trigger nosebleeds in his parents... Chloe faints when she runs to greet him. What has been done to him? And can he control it?
Told from dual perspectives, we see the adolescent hesitant love between Chloe and Jon before the kidnapping grow into something more adult with the time and pain the kidnapping provides. Chloe is the one who stayed loyal, who hasn't been able to move on, but also the one whose life has cruelly benefitted somehow. I sympathised with her, stuck between pursuing success and other avenues of love, or waiting for her soulmate to come out of the shadows.
And it's impossible not to feel for Jon, put in a situation not of his own making, having to piece together what has been done to him and how he can live with it. The scenes where he slowly works out what he is capable of are dark.
There is a third voice that enters partway too, that of 'Eggs' DeBenedictus, a police detective investigating a series of heart attacks in seemingly healthy young people. His own initially strong marriage but underlying health issues contrast with the story of Chloe and Jon as he begins making connections. Older, world-weary, his voice adds gravitas and a new perspective on the pining love story of the now young adults.
It's hard to place this book in a genre. With horror elements, some fantasy/sci-fi, romance, coming of age, it's very different to Kepnes' previous pair. Though I feel it has wider appeal and there is a lot in there up for group discussion.
Much goes unexplained, but I don't think it's the sort of book where you demand justification, it's the story that matters rather than the 'how'.
Rather fascinating. Not a beach read, one to give you a lot to think about.
With thanks to Netgalley for the advance reading copy.