If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch

Release Date: March 26th, 2013
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Genre: Young Adult
Pages: 256 Pages
Series: Stand Alone
Format: Hardcover
Source: From publisher
Reason: For Review
Find the Author: Website
Buy the Book: Amazon CA | Amazon

There are some things you can’t leave behind…
A broken-down camper hidden deep in a national forest is the only home fifteen year-old Carey can remember. The trees keep guard over her threadbare existence, with the one bright spot being Carey’s younger sister, Jenessa, who depends on Carey for her very survival. All they have is each other, as their mentally ill mother comes and goes with greater frequency. Until that one fateful day their mother disappears for good, and two strangers arrive. Suddenly, the girls are taken from the woods and thrust into a bright and perplexing new world of high school, clothes and boys.
Now, Carey must face the truth of why her mother abducted her ten years ago, while haunted by a past that won’t let her go… a dark past that hides many a secret, including the reason Jenessa hasn’t spoken a word in over a year. Carey knows she must keep her sister close, and her secrets even closer, or risk watching her new life come crashing down.

Alright, here we go! I am going to do my very best here. You know how sometimes you come across those books that you just can't put into words; Yeah, this is one of them!

I think Jennifer Brown described it best in her cover blurb "Hopelessly hooked." This book will grab you from page one and will never let you go. Not even when you've finished. The characters embed themselves into your very heart.

Emily Murdoch created the most beautiful, courageous characters I have ever come across. Carey was so passionate, so bold. She was beyond her years; Facing horrible things that no child should ever have to bear. Yet, she was so soft and had this lovely maternal instinct. It is rare that I care more about a character than the story line itself. And sweet Janessa. A little girl of few words will speak so much to you. Everyone who comes in her path falls in love with her, and you will be no exception.

The writing style and plot development was superb. So simple yet had a lyrical flow to it. The author did not need to crowd it with tiny details and unnecessary characters. A small, intimate character cast with a powerful story. It's is truly as if Carey's story came to her, and she just penned the words to the paper.

This book is nothing short of a masterpiece. I look forward to standing in the literature section years from now, and seeing this one among the great classics; Shelved along with Austen, Kerouac and Fitzgerald. This book with speak many things to you but it's message is clear--Survival, growth and self discovery.

Sum it up with a Song