If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch

If You Find Me:
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.

Oh. My. Freaking. Goodness. What can I say about If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch? ...Other than it broke my heart that is? At the very heart of this book is the unimaginable strength of a terrified young girl and her unwavering devotion to her little sister. I devoured this book in one sitting and dare anyone to be able to put it down once they’ve started. Powerful and touching, Emily’s beautifully crafted story came right off the pages for me, and the main character, Carey, simply broke me. Underneath the rough backwoods dialect was an incredibly tragic, honest and gritty story; detailing the harsh (and sometimes despicable) way of life for Carey and Janessa before they were rescued from the woods. There are some vividly violent scenes in If You Find Me and throughout this book I constantly had a lump in my throat and tears in my eyes. I believe it’s going to be one of those books that will haunt me long after I turned the last page.