The Cellar by Natasha Preston | Book Review

The Cellar by Natasha Preston

Reading Group: There is sensitive material in this novel, such as kidnapping, abuse, and talk of rape

Personal Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Given Summary: "Lily?"

My stomach dropped as a tall, dark-haired man stepped into view. Had he been hiding between the trees?

"No. Sorry." Gulping, I took a step back. "I'm not Lily."

He shook his head, a satisfied grin on his face. "No. You are Lily."

"I'm Summer. You have the wrong person." You utter freak!

I could hear my pulse crashing in my ears. How stupid to give him my real name. He continued to stare at me, smiling. It made me feel sick.

"You are Lily," he repeated.

Before I could blink, he threw his arms forward and grabbed me. I tried to shout, but he clasped his hand over my mouth, muffling my screams. My heart raced. I'm going to die.

For months Summer is trapped in a cellar with the man who took her―and three other girls: Rose, Poppy, and Violet. His perfect, pure flowers. His family. But flowers can't survive long cut off from the sun, and time is running out...

Cover: The cover of this novel appears to be the cellar stairs with a Lily laying on the bottom step.  I think this cover represents Summer being at her lowest point, stuck in the basement and not knowing if or when she was going to get out.

My Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this novel.  I thought it was interesting to read from Summer, Clover, and Lewis's point of views.  I also liked how long she was stuck in the cellar.  Obviously I wanted her to be rescued and I certainly didn't want her to die down there, but I thought it was more realistic that it took some time for her to be found.  Throughout the book, you come to realize why Colin (Clover) was acting the way her was and although I never liked him, I couldn't help but feel a little bit bad for him, or at least understand him better.  His dad messed up his mom and his mom messed him up and led him into this life of killing and eventually kidnapping.  Lewis allowed you into life outside of the cellar.  Life doesn't simply go on for people who know someone who was kidnapped.  Summer's mom was a mess and Lewis was spending all of his time trying to find her, even if it meant finding her dead.  The other girls were living what they assumed was the rest of their lives.  They didn't expect to ever leave because they didn't have anyone to look for them.  Summer was the only one of the girls who could save the rest of them, but she didn't know how or how long her family would be looking for her.  Book like this one are interesting because they aren't your typical love stories.  These books have bigger problems than a misunderstanding and remind us that not everyone in the world is good, even if they think they are.  I think that was the dangerous thing about Clover.  He wasn't a cereal killer who enjoyed killing people, he enjoyed killing people he thought were bad and destroying families.  He didn't see himself as a killer at all, which made him even more dangerous.  He was someone who could be your neighbor.    

Smile!  I'll talk to you soon!xxx

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