Still Missing by Chevy Stevens | Book Review

Still Missing by Chevy Stevens

Reading Group: 17+ (Sensitive Subjects ~ kidnapping, rape, etc.)

Personal Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Given Summary: On the day she was abducted, Annie O’Sullivan, a 32-year-old realtor, had three goals—sell a house, forget about a recent argument with her mother, and be on time for dinner with her ever-patient boyfriend. The open house is slow, but when her last visitor pulls up in a van as she's about to leave, Annie thinks it just might be her lucky day after all. 

Interwoven with the story of the year Annie spent as the captive of a psychopath in a remote mountain cabin, which unfolds through sessions with her psychiatrist, is a second narrative recounting events following her escape—her struggle to piece her shattered life back together and the ongoing police investigation into the identity of her captor.

Still Missing is that rare debut find--a shocking, visceral, brutal and beautifully crafted debut novel.

Cover: The cover of this novel shows part of a face and some shattered glass.  I think the shattered glass is a nice addition to the cover because if something like this were to happen to anyone, their life would be shattered.  There is no way someone can completely come back from an experience like this.  The title of this novel also plays on the idea that even when you're found and returned home you can't pretend the past year never happened.

My Review: I originally read this novel for my Psychology class.  However, once I started reading it I just couldn't stop and ended up finishing it in less than 24 hours.  This novel was gripping and the plot twist that the mom set up the whole thing floored me.  I wasn't expecting it at all!  How can a mother do something like that?  Annie was taken for a year and during that time she was continuously raped and even had a baby.  I was heartbroken when that baby died.  Especially because it wasn't exactly clear how she died.  And that her body was never found was so sad.  And when the duck gets shot.  This book is just a roller coaster of emotions.  However, it was over too soon.  I wanted to know what happened between her and the detective and what happened with her mom and stepdad in more detail.  I never wanted this book to end.  This book isn't necessarily one that people can relate to.  If you can, I am so sorry, but I would also love to sit and talk with you.  But this book does have some parts that we can kind of relate to.  Annie does whatever she needs to do in order to survive in the cabin, and it was kind of interesting to think how I would react.  Obviously it's impossible to know until you're living it what you would do, but it still raises interesting questions.  Also, I think we can all relate to family problems in one way or another.  Not as extreme as Annie's case, but we all know what it's like for a family member to do something involving us that we don't like in order to get something for themselves out of it.  I would definitely recommend this book, but only to people who can handle reading about this sort of thing in detail.  Annie is kidnapped, raped, and then somewhat manually unstable for a while afterwards, which is sensitive to some people.  But to anyone who can, read it.  It was amazing.

Have you read this book?  What parts broke your heart into a million pieces?

My Review:

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