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| Perma-Bound Edition ©2020 | -- |
| Publisher's Hardcover ©2019 | -- |
| Paperback ©2020 | -- |
Children. Death. Juvenile fiction.
Kidnapping. Juvenile fiction.
Identity (Psychology). Juvenile fiction.
Bereavement. Juvenile fiction.
Mental illness. Juvenile fiction.
Sisters. Juvenile fiction.
Families. Juvenile fiction.
Kidnapping. Fiction.
Identity. Fiction.
Grief. Fiction.
Mental illness. Fiction.
Sisters. Fiction.
Family life. Fiction.
After she loses her best friend, Lizzie, to cancer, Emily's life takes a series of unimaginable turns l at the hands of trusted adults. A deranged, suspenseful fate awaits her when she accepts a ride from Lizzie's grieving parents, who kidnap her and try to turn her into the daughter they lost by dyeing Emily's hair, forcing her to wear colored contacts, and imprisoning her in a room. Emily lives there in fear for 69 days, enduring the worst kind of emotional trauma and plotting her escape once her kidnappers enroll her in school. Rice has created a masterful narrative full of intrigue and heart-pounding moments that will draw in readers and allow them to experience what could happen when depression drives someone to do the unthinkable. Using flashbacks, rich descriptions, and realistic story elements, Rice weaves together a tense tale of mystery and surreal experiences. Reading like a Emma Donoghue's Room (2010) with a YA twist, Rice's latest doesn't disappoint.
Kirkus ReviewsNearly a year after the death of her best friend, Lizzie, 15-year-old Emily is abducted by Lizzie's parents to fill the void in their lives.Emily wakes up in Maine, far from her Connecticut home, to find her hair dyed black and her eyes changed to green by contacts, making her look just like Lizzie. Lizzie's mother tells her that as long as she cooperates, no harm will come to her or her family. Good behavior earns her a television and meals upstairs. Bad behavior means starvation and isolation. Emily begins to play along, determined to keep her family safe while at the same time finding a way to escape. But with Lizzie's mother, father, and sister always watching, she fears she will be trapped in this nightmare forever. Then she meets Casey, a musically gifted boy who is legally blind. Together they come up with a plan to help Emily escape her prison. In this psychological thriller that studies the depths of grief, Emily's empathy for her kidnappers keeps the sensationalism to a minimum by personalizing the betrayal. A preponderance of backstory slows the narrative and deflates the tension. Ultimately this is a story about love and loss threaded through with moments of a tense thriller. All main characters are Irish-American Catholics.An intriguing concept overtaken by thin characters and poor pacing. (Thriller. 12-15)
"That's okay," I said. "I'm not thirsty."
"Oh, but, sweetie -- I always brought juice when I picked you up from school."
It jostled me to be called "sweetie" -- that's what she'd always called Lizzie. But my heart was aching for Mrs. Porter. It must have been intense to be talking to me -- the first time since Lizzie's funeral.
"Have some," Chloe said, handing me an ice-cold pack of orange-mango juice. Perfect, I thought -- Lizzie's number one choice. I slugged some down. A few drops spilled on the beige seats. I wiped them up with the sleeve of my green army jacket.
"How was school?" Mr. Porter asked, the first thing he'd said.
"Pretty good," I said. "I have an English test tomorrow. Lots of homework . . ." At that second, I realized that in the excitement of seeing Chloe, I'd left my backpack next to the stone wall. "Oh, could we go back a sec, actually, I forgot . . ." I started to say.
"Lizzie, English was always your best subject," Mrs. Porter said. "You'll have nothing to worry about. A poet, that's what I always said of you. My girl, the poet."
"Um," I said. "You mean 'Emily.'" Lizzie wrote poems; I write plays.
"It's better we start right now, sweetie," Mrs. Porter said. "No going back, no being stuck in old ways. You'll get used to it. We already have, haven't we, Chloe?"
"Yeah," Chloe said, looking away from me, out the window.
"Used to what?" I asked. I felt a tiny bit sick to my stomach -- not the most unusual thing in the world. I was known to get carsick, but not usually right here on the sleepy country lanes of my hometown.
"Tell her, Chloe," Mrs. Porter said.
"You're my sister," Chloe said.
"True, we're just like sisters," I said. I looked across the seat at her, but she was still staring out the window. That's when I noticed we had driven past the cemetery. We were at the stop sign, about to turn onto Shore Road.
"Not 'like,'" Mr. Porter said.
Nausea bubbled up in me. I was going to be sick. "Please, could you pull over?" I asked. No one replied. Mr. Porter just drove faster, past the gold-green salt marsh. "Stop," I said, feeling dizzy.
Mr. Porter didn't, though, and no one spoke. I saw the traffic light looming -- once we went through we'd be on I-95, the interstate heading to wherever -- and my head spun with the fact that these were people I loved, trusted as much as anyone, but who were acting so bizarre. This couldn't be happening -- I didn't even know what "this" was, but my gut was telling me it was now or never. This was my chance. We stopped at the red light. I grabbed the handle and pulled, trying to yank open the door. Nothing happened.
Excerpted from Pretend She's Here by Luanne Rice
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
"This riveting novel will dazzle you with its suspense and twists -- and most of all its deep emotional truths." -- Harlan Coben, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Home
Emily Lonergan's best friend died last year.And Emily hasn't stopped grieving. Lizzie Porter was lively, loud, and fun -- Emily's better half. Emily can't accept that she's gone.When Lizzie's parents and her sister come back to town to visit, Emily's heartened to see them. The Porters understand her pain. They miss Lizzie desperately, too.Desperately enough to do something crazy.Something unthinkable.Suddenly, Emily's life is hurtling toward a very dark place -- and she's not sure she'll ever be able to return to what she once knew was real.From New York Times bestselling author Luanne Rice comes a breathless, unputdownable story of suspense, secrets -- and the strength that love gives us to survive even the most shocking of circumstances.