Emily Murdoch

What happens in the woods, stays in the woods. . . Carey is keeping a terrible secret. If she tells, it could destroy her future. If she doesn't, will she ever be free? For almost as long as she can remember, Carey has lived in a camper van in the heart of the woods with her drug-addicted mother and six-year-old sister, Jenessa. Her mother routinely disappears for weeks at a time, leaving the girls to cope alone. Survival is Carey's only priority - until strangers arrive and everything changes . . . Jenny Downham, author of BEFORE I DIE, says that IF YOU FIND ME is "a beautiful book about survival, identity, family, love and so much more."

If You Find Me

Melissa Palmer

Book #13 Read in 2014
If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch (YA)

This book will break your heart but you will not be able to put it down. Carey was kidnapped by her mentally ill mother at a young age. She practically raised her younger sister and will do anything to protect her. As a teenager, her father finds them and brings them to his home. Carey begins high school and realizes that she knows nothing of "normal" life. The things she endured in her mother's trailer may keep her from ever feeling truly normal. Can she get past her horrible history?

Carey and her younger sister Jenessa will immediately grab the hearts of readers. Their stepmother Melissa is wonderful. This book is young adult realistic fiction that blends a compelling plot with a young romance. I recommend it.

http://melissasbookpicks.blogspot.com

Jeannette Ordas

I should have liked everything about this book, but I'm giving this 3.5 stars. It reminded me of Homecoming by Cynthia Voight (one of my favourite books) at first....2 kids who share a tight bond and grown up on their own in the woods because they're left by their meth-addicted mom with mental illness. But it's when they're rescued by their real dad who they don't know at all, that's when the book takes a little bit of a nose dive for me. From feral kids to living in the comfortable lap of love and luxury, it all just seems too much and I'm not fully buying it. Still, I inhaled the book and wanted to know what came next.

What Happens in the Woods, Stays in the Woods...

Emelie

Amanda Kordeliski

Katharina Hoffmann

This book is way more than just a story about two girls, living in the woods, moving to the city and then dealing with growing up, love, anger and relationships.

First of all, the style of language Murdoch used is absolutely beautiful, especially the metaphors and similies describing nature and the inside of the characters.

Second, this story makes the reader realize (at least it made me realize) how blessed and lucky we actually are. The readers get to know that new exciting world through Carey's eyes, as well as they read about Carey sleeping in a real bed for the first time, Carey getting new shoes, being offered eggs and bacon for breakfast.
And Carey tells the reader about how much she already appreciates the little and small things in her life that suddenly she is allowed to enjoy.

This book reminded me how fortunate we are, for things like smooth underwear, more than two pairs of trousers, being able to shower with warm water, are so common to us, we easily forget that to many other people, those things are luxury.

This book also deals with child abuse, with traumatic experiences the two sisters suffered from and to me it was another reminder of how grateful we all who had the chance to live a normal childhood, should be.

This story is a literal eye opener, especially in a digital time like ours, where we cling to our electronic devices like ticks to warm skin. The only reason why I gave four instead of five stars is the simple fact that I enjoyed other books (which I rated with five stars) even more. Otherwise this is a brilliant, heart wretching read which deeply touched me.

Shawna Gavas

3.5

"What happens in the woods, stays in the woods."

This is the motto Carey and her younger sister Janessa live by. The woods have secrets. It's also where these girls have called home for years. Carey's meth addicted mama hid them here in a dilapidated camper without electricity or running water, to protect them. Or so she says. The girls live on very little, have very little. Until one day, social services and the father Carey has been hiding from come to collect them. They've been found.

Now, as Carey and Janessa try to acclimatize to their new world, secrets are slowly coming out. Explaining themselves. Things are not what they believed. Nothing makes sense. Carey's father does not appear to be the monster her mama made him out to be. He's married to a wonderful woman named Melissa, who adores Janessa. He is also father to Melissa's daughter Delaney. Delaney thinks he's wonderful. 

This is a heart breaking tale of two sisters who find beauty in a world that has none. I loved how the story slowly unfolded, showing us glimpses of the past. Explaining what exactly happened in those woods. This book will keep you reading right until the very last page!

Amber Laha

As a poet, I get why this book read like poetry but it was too poetic. You all know I love beautiful, flowery, and poetic writing, but not when it gets in the way of the story. I found myself digging myself through the flowers to the dirt and the grit of the story. 

The story of two girls who've been living on the land and having to adjust to the live of TVs and running water and food that they didn't have to kill themselves sounds like a great story, but I felt she brushed over a lot of the transitional moments and went right into the final climax of the story. It really didn't have much of a middle. Also,the romance was so unnecessary. It feels that people who write YA have this silly reasoning that in order to have a good book it has to have a romance. It would be one thing if it made sense, but it doesn't here. Here Carey is, trying to adjust and she throws in a romance that she wouldn't want because of what happened to her? Nonsensical 100% and beyond to me. 

The timeline was rushed to get to her big finale and although I was touched by the story and it's ending, it was too perfect. It doesn't help that everything really wasn't developed in the first place. Three months, I feel, isn't enough for someone who went through all of that to open up in the way Carey did. Maybe Jenessa, but not her. Maybe I am wrong, but this is how I feel. I did like it and the potential it had. I will definitely try another of her books, if there is more of hers there, for I see potential for better things from her. But this is just another book that proves that YA is not my thing.

Jessica Nottingham

What an utterly gorgeous and heartbreaking story. Apparently If You Find Me is a debut novel, but I'll tell you now that it doesn't read like one. Emily Murdoch writes like a seasoned professional. This story broke me, and put me back together in an entirely different configuration. Pure love is all I have for this book.

Carey was such a strongly written character. A girl who has aged well beyond her years. She's wounded, to be sure, but what really broke me was how solidly she stood despite everything. She didn't fall apart. However, Carey's need to nurture her sister also kept her from becoming stone hearted. This is a girl who isn't broken, but isn't hardened either. She's the perfect balance between the two, and it's beautiful thing.

In fact, all the characters had such depth that I felt like I was a part of their lives. This is the story of a family who is slowly starting to piece itself together. Of a girl who has to battle between the life she knew, and the new one she is handed. Of love so wide, and so deep, that it knows no bounds. Everything about this story spoke to me. It took my heart in its vice grip, and I let it. Watching Carey's defenses slowly melt away, watching as she realized her worth, it took my breath away.

I could gush for ages about the simple, yet almost poetic writing. About the way that this book is an effortless read, despite the content. I could, but it's better to let you experience it for yourself though. This book broke my heart in the best way possible. I love stories that do that. I love this one. Read If You Find Me.

Lisa ✩ @lifeinlit

**Originally posted on Lost in Literature.

Wow. I always know I've just read a really great book if my head is still spinning around it long after I've finished. If You Find Me was such a strong, unbelievably impacting, emotionally beautiful story that I fell in love with from Chapter 1.

Carey is taken by her mentally ill mother and forced to live in the woods in a camper, without running water, food, or heat. Her mother disappears for weeks, sometimes months at a time, off into the city leaving Carey alone and forced to fight for her own survival. Carey soon has a younger sister to help raise as well, all in these woods with no outside contact, other than the men her mother brings in for money or drugs. Carey is so protective over Jenessa, who depends on her sister completely for her survival. When finally their mother leaves for good, two people show up in the woods and find Carey and Jenessa... and little do they know these two people will change their lives forever. Carey and Jenessa will be forced to find truths that will be hard to handle, as well as learn to live a life unlike anything they've ever known.

I really can't put into words how intense this story was. Trust me when I say you will want to have tissues available. It's heart-wrenchingly sad at times, immensely loving at others. This story is sure to tug at the heartstrings and leave your mind and emotions reeling when you're done. I have to mention too how much I loved all the references to Winnie the Pooh... from the "Hundred Acre Wood" to the cute little quotes at the beginning of the different parts to the book. I have already recommended this book to many people while reading it, and I will be sure to recommend it long into the future.

If You Find Me

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