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Since You've Been Gone
Is it possible to outrun your past? Fifteen-year-old Edie Fraser and her mother, Sydney, have been trying to do just that for five years. Now, things have gone from bad to worse. Not only has Edie had to move to another new school she's in a different country.
Sydney promises her that that this is their chance at a fresh start, and Edie does her best to adjust to life in London, England, despite being targeted by the school bully. But when Sydney goes out to work the night shift and doesn't come home, Edie is terrified that the past has finally caught up with them.
Alone in a strange country, Edie is afraid to call the police for fear that she'll be sent back to her abusive father. Determined to find her mother, but with no idea where to start, she must now face the most difficult decision of her life."
Sydney promises her that that this is their chance at a fresh start, and Edie does her best to adjust to life in London, England, despite being targeted by the school bully. But when Sydney goes out to work the night shift and doesn't come home, Edie is terrified that the past has finally caught up with them.
Alone in a strange country, Edie is afraid to call the police for fear that she'll be sent back to her abusive father. Determined to find her mother, but with no idea where to start, she must now face the most difficult decision of her life."
224 pages, Paperback
First published February 17, 2015
6 people are currently reading
1315 people want to read
About the author
Mary Jennifer Payne
11 books25 followersMary Jennifer Payne's writing has been published in journals, anthologies, and magazines both in Canada and abroad, and she is the author of several YA graphic novels. Since You've Been Gone is her first YA novel. She teaches with the Toronto District School Board and lives in Toronto.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 241 reviews
February 6, 2015
Thank you Dundurn Press for granting me access to this review copy!
Since You've Been Gone was a bit of a disappointment, to be frank. I wasn't expecting a literary masterpiece, but I feel like this book that focuses on such a bleak topic could have brushed more than the surface. The romance was extremely off-kilter, the main character was irritating enough for me to want to set the book aside, and the writing needed work. I'll admit, the fact that I finished this book in one sitting is a good sign, and I'm grateful that the story was short else I would have DNFed the book.
I understand what the author was trying to do here, but I feel like there was too little plot and minimal development for it to have had much of an impact on me. I'm giving it a solid three stars because, all in all, it wasn't a bad story.
Since You've Been Gone was a bit of a disappointment, to be frank. I wasn't expecting a literary masterpiece, but I feel like this book that focuses on such a bleak topic could have brushed more than the surface. The romance was extremely off-kilter, the main character was irritating enough for me to want to set the book aside, and the writing needed work. I'll admit, the fact that I finished this book in one sitting is a good sign, and I'm grateful that the story was short else I would have DNFed the book.
I understand what the author was trying to do here, but I feel like there was too little plot and minimal development for it to have had much of an impact on me. I'm giving it a solid three stars because, all in all, it wasn't a bad story.
August 6, 2014
I don't know what it is with me lately, but I have been dissatisfied with 90% of the netgalley books that I have been approved for. Maybe it's because seeing as how I'm reading the e-arc's for free, I'm more open as to what I'm requesting. However, I assumed that Since You've Been Gone would break this streak since it's a YA novel (which I love) and it had a really interesting premise. Despite these two things, I was still highly disappointed in Since You've Been Gone.
The main reason as to why I didn't like Since You've Been Gone stems from my intense dislike of the main character, Edie. She was an asshole. This is a chick who acts like a jerk to the first person that welcomes her to the school because that girl as a tad bit weird. On top of that, Edie steals charity money (because I guess that her problems are more important than the women of Afghanistan) and then proceeds to let somebody else get blamed for it...because again, her problems are more important than everybody else's. Oh and she was also kind of daft. Despite the fact that she has been told to have constant vigilance by her mother, she sure as shit blabs about her circumstance to anyone who would listen. She was written so inconsistently. Anyway, due to my penchant for wanting Edie to get hit by the Tube, I didn't care about what would happen to her, what happened to her mom, or to Jermaine, whatever.
To add insult to injury, Since You've Been Gone was rushed, rushed, rushed (and yes, that really did need to be repeated). I get that it's a short book, but the author tried to cram too much into it. So much that when the ending came up, I found it kind of abrupt. Or maybe that could be because the ending was so anticlimactic and I was disappointed that there was no bang to at least make me feel as though I didn't completely waste my time reading this.
Overall, I found Since You've Been Gone to be a bust. Unlikable main character, paper thin development on supporting characters, and plot points that went absolutely nowhere make me think that everyone should skip this book and read something (anything!) else.
The main reason as to why I didn't like Since You've Been Gone stems from my intense dislike of the main character, Edie. She was an asshole. This is a chick who acts like a jerk to the first person that welcomes her to the school because that girl as a tad bit weird. On top of that, Edie steals charity money (because I guess that her problems are more important than the women of Afghanistan) and then proceeds to let somebody else get blamed for it...because again, her problems are more important than everybody else's. Oh and she was also kind of daft. Despite the fact that she has been told to have constant vigilance by her mother, she sure as shit blabs about her circumstance to anyone who would listen. She was written so inconsistently. Anyway, due to my penchant for wanting Edie to get hit by the Tube, I didn't care about what would happen to her, what happened to her mom, or to Jermaine, whatever.
To add insult to injury, Since You've Been Gone was rushed, rushed, rushed (and yes, that really did need to be repeated). I get that it's a short book, but the author tried to cram too much into it. So much that when the ending came up, I found it kind of abrupt. Or maybe that could be because the ending was so anticlimactic and I was disappointed that there was no bang to at least make me feel as though I didn't completely waste my time reading this.
Overall, I found Since You've Been Gone to be a bust. Unlikable main character, paper thin development on supporting characters, and plot points that went absolutely nowhere make me think that everyone should skip this book and read something (anything!) else.
March 8, 2015
I won a copy of “Since You’ve Been Gone” by Mary Jennifer Payne, through the Goodreads Giveaway Contest, in exchange for an honest review. The story deals with a young teenager girl and her mother, who have been on the run for five years, and move from Toronto to the UK to escape from an abusive father.
This was an extremely quick read and it was very fast-paced, but I felt that while this was a very promising book, it just fell a little short.
After Edie and her mom move from Canada to London in a rush, Edie tries to blend in in the new city and her new school, but is bullied at school. And then one day her mom doesn't come home from work. Edie doesn't know who to turn to for help, but what she does know is that she has to find her mom. She is determined to find her before it is too late.
I struggled with rating this one. It definitely wasn't a bad book, but it wasn't amazing, either. The plot was promising, and while it was intriguing, I never felt like it lived up to its potential. It was well-written, however, and while the characters weren't flat, they could have been fleshed out just a little more. I think I would have enjoyed this more if it had been a little longer. It felt rushed at the end, and I think even a few more chapters would have helped the characters.
In conclusion, I feel this was a very promising book that just fell a little short.
This was an extremely quick read and it was very fast-paced, but I felt that while this was a very promising book, it just fell a little short.
After Edie and her mom move from Canada to London in a rush, Edie tries to blend in in the new city and her new school, but is bullied at school. And then one day her mom doesn't come home from work. Edie doesn't know who to turn to for help, but what she does know is that she has to find her mom. She is determined to find her before it is too late.
I struggled with rating this one. It definitely wasn't a bad book, but it wasn't amazing, either. The plot was promising, and while it was intriguing, I never felt like it lived up to its potential. It was well-written, however, and while the characters weren't flat, they could have been fleshed out just a little more. I think I would have enjoyed this more if it had been a little longer. It felt rushed at the end, and I think even a few more chapters would have helped the characters.
In conclusion, I feel this was a very promising book that just fell a little short.
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December 6, 2014I received this from Net-galley and read it it pretty much in one sitting. The good thing? It grabbed me from the start, and the pacing never let up.
Not so good? I believe this book needed to be at least a third longer, maybe more.
Payne does a nice job with description, and a very fine job with many of the emotional issues caused by PTSD. Her Edie not only falls into the sharp crying jags of someone in her situation (Fifteen year old Canadian girl on the run with her mother from an abuser, ending up in London) but at the very beginning--first lines--Edie demonstrates the underlying anger that is often a part of victims of abuse.
The problem? Her anger is mentioned briefly, but never dealt with consciously; this issue is touched on again briefly. As Edie deals with her mother being missing, I believed in some of her stupid choices, as I've known kids in similar situations who make similar choices, going into 'survivor' mode and then being defensive and angry when there are consequences. I liked the slow, tentative beginning of her friendship with Jermaine, who has issues of his own.
I liked the way Edie looked hungrily at families she glimpsed around her who seemed complete, without violence.
But the pacing is so very rushed that at times I felt the authorial hand pushing Edie into decisions .
All the characters were potentially interesting, but needed more development, especially Jermaine. He was a tad too good to be true for me, an adult reader, but I think a teen reader will like him.
Finally, there were a lot of issues brought up, like racism. I do think that Payne was going somewhere with how much damage hateful and angry and controlling behavior does to our fellow beings, but the book rushed so from incident to idea to decision that scenes that could, and should, have been immensely powerful sometimes felt like plot points.
This seems a lot of negatives. I want to reiterate that I did read this book in one sitting, I was so absorbed. Payne demonstrates immense talent here--and I do think that fifteen year old readers will be riveted.
I hope her next won't be quite so compressed--but I will be on the watch for her name.
Not so good? I believe this book needed to be at least a third longer, maybe more.
Payne does a nice job with description, and a very fine job with many of the emotional issues caused by PTSD. Her Edie not only falls into the sharp crying jags of someone in her situation (Fifteen year old Canadian girl on the run with her mother from an abuser, ending up in London) but at the very beginning--first lines--Edie demonstrates the underlying anger that is often a part of victims of abuse.
The problem? Her anger is mentioned briefly, but never dealt with consciously; this issue is touched on again briefly. As Edie deals with her mother being missing, I believed in some of her stupid choices, as I've known kids in similar situations who make similar choices, going into 'survivor' mode and then being defensive and angry when there are consequences. I liked the slow, tentative beginning of her friendship with Jermaine, who has issues of his own.
I liked the way Edie looked hungrily at families she glimpsed around her who seemed complete, without violence.
But the pacing is so very rushed that at times I felt the authorial hand pushing Edie into decisions .
All the characters were potentially interesting, but needed more development, especially Jermaine. He was a tad too good to be true for me, an adult reader, but I think a teen reader will like him.
Finally, there were a lot of issues brought up, like racism. I do think that Payne was going somewhere with how much damage hateful and angry and controlling behavior does to our fellow beings, but the book rushed so from incident to idea to decision that scenes that could, and should, have been immensely powerful sometimes felt like plot points.
This seems a lot of negatives. I want to reiterate that I did read this book in one sitting, I was so absorbed. Payne demonstrates immense talent here--and I do think that fifteen year old readers will be riveted.
I hope her next won't be quite so compressed--but I will be on the watch for her name.
February 6, 2015
Este definitivamente entra a mi TOP 10: Peores libros leídos en el 2014.
En un principio nos encontramos a Edie y su mamá -Sydney- quienes tienen que abandonar los Estados Unidos inmediatamente, para irse a Londres ¿por qué? Están huyendo del abusivo padre de Edie.
Problema 1: EDIE.
Edie es el peor personaje que he leído en mi vida. Egoísta, egocéntrica, despreciable.
Para que se hagan una idea, en su primer día de clases, una chica super amable, llamada Imogen, se le acerca para darle la bienvenida y ¿qué hace Edie? Nota que Imogen tiene cicatrices en los brazos y cree que eso es asqueroso, así que claro que la trata mal.
Problema 2: SIGUE SIENDO EDIE.
Después de dos días en Londres, la mamá de Edie sale a trabajar y no regresa. Ha desaparecido dejando a Edie sola en un país desconocido, y ¿ella qué hace? PREOCUPARSE POR SU VIDA AMOROSA. Porque qué importa que tu mamá este desaparecida y posiblemente muerta por ahí mientras tu tengas un chico lindo a tu lado, ¿cierto?
Problema 3: EL FINAL... Y EDIE.
La resolución del "misterio" de lo que ocurre con la mamá de Edie termina siendo bastaaante obvio. Eso sumado con que no pude simpatizar con el personaje principal en ningún momento, hizo que lo único que sintiera en los momentos "sentimentales" del final fuera: decepción y vació. No me importó para nada el desenlace. Y por lo único por lo que me sentí triste fue por haber perdido mi tiempo leyendo esto.
En un principio nos encontramos a Edie y su mamá -Sydney- quienes tienen que abandonar los Estados Unidos inmediatamente, para irse a Londres ¿por qué? Están huyendo del abusivo padre de Edie.
Problema 1: EDIE.
Edie es el peor personaje que he leído en mi vida. Egoísta, egocéntrica, despreciable.
Para que se hagan una idea, en su primer día de clases, una chica super amable, llamada Imogen, se le acerca para darle la bienvenida y ¿qué hace Edie? Nota que Imogen tiene cicatrices en los brazos y cree que eso es asqueroso, así que claro que la trata mal.
I notice the round scabs running up and down the inside skin of her forearms. Gross. I notice that black electrical tape is the only thing holding the right arm of her glasses onto the frames. What a freak. She actually wants me to shake her hand? Instead of getting the hint, she scurries up beside me like a cockroach.
Problema 2: SIGUE SIENDO EDIE.
Después de dos días en Londres, la mamá de Edie sale a trabajar y no regresa. Ha desaparecido dejando a Edie sola en un país desconocido, y ¿ella qué hace? PREOCUPARSE POR SU VIDA AMOROSA. Porque qué importa que tu mamá este desaparecida y posiblemente muerta por ahí mientras tu tengas un chico lindo a tu lado, ¿cierto?
Problema 3: EL FINAL... Y EDIE.
La resolución del "misterio" de lo que ocurre con la mamá de Edie termina siendo bastaaante obvio. Eso sumado con que no pude simpatizar con el personaje principal en ningún momento, hizo que lo único que sintiera en los momentos "sentimentales" del final fuera: decepción y vació. No me importó para nada el desenlace. Y por lo único por lo que me sentí triste fue por haber perdido mi tiempo leyendo esto.
June 26, 2020
This and other reviews can be found on The Psychotic Nerd
I received an ecopy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Actual rating: 3.5 Stars
MY THOUGHTS
It's kind of odd that I read two books with similar themes so very close to one another. I recently read What She Left Behind, which also revolves around an abusive father and a missing mother. But while both books have similar themes, the books are really different.
This book is about Edie who constantly has to move from place to place with her mother in order to escape her violet father, who will not let them go. This time, they move from Canada to London, where Edie's mom grew up, to see if they can finally escape the past. But when Edie's mother doesn't return home from work, Edie fears that the past has finally caught up with them. Edie has to keep up with school all the while she's living alone and trying to find her mother. She has a limited amount of money and will not ask the police for help, in fear that she may be put back in the hands of her father in absence of her mother.
This book, obviously, focuses on tough subjects and I believe that the author has done a great done with that. What I believe worked out the best for this book was Edie's characterization. She hasn't had an easy life and it's hard for her to later to keep up the pretense that her mother has not disappeared. I wished through it all that she would tell the police, but with her dad actually being a cop she knew that cops may believe him over her and I could understand that. What I really liked was how she grew more courage in the book and was eventually able to face the past.
Another character I liked was Jermaine. He had no reason to help Edie, but he did so anyway. I liked their friendship and their search for Edie's mother. I wasn't particularly fond of how it turned into a romance, I much preferred the friendship, but it wasn't bad.
I think my main problem with this book was the pacing. A majority of this book is very slow-paced. I understand that it may take awhile to find her mom, but the story was very slow-going for awhile. Then it was resolved very quickly and I felt like the end was a bit rushed.
IN CONCLUSION
The story focuses on tough subjects, but the story was very well done. The characters were great, especially Edie, who grew during the story. I had issues with the pacing, but other than that this was a quick, emotional read. If you enjoy contemporary mysteries that touch on tough subjects, you might enjoy this one.
I received an ecopy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Actual rating: 3.5 Stars
MY THOUGHTS
It's kind of odd that I read two books with similar themes so very close to one another. I recently read What She Left Behind, which also revolves around an abusive father and a missing mother. But while both books have similar themes, the books are really different.
This book is about Edie who constantly has to move from place to place with her mother in order to escape her violet father, who will not let them go. This time, they move from Canada to London, where Edie's mom grew up, to see if they can finally escape the past. But when Edie's mother doesn't return home from work, Edie fears that the past has finally caught up with them. Edie has to keep up with school all the while she's living alone and trying to find her mother. She has a limited amount of money and will not ask the police for help, in fear that she may be put back in the hands of her father in absence of her mother.
This book, obviously, focuses on tough subjects and I believe that the author has done a great done with that. What I believe worked out the best for this book was Edie's characterization. She hasn't had an easy life and it's hard for her to later to keep up the pretense that her mother has not disappeared. I wished through it all that she would tell the police, but with her dad actually being a cop she knew that cops may believe him over her and I could understand that. What I really liked was how she grew more courage in the book and was eventually able to face the past.
Another character I liked was Jermaine. He had no reason to help Edie, but he did so anyway. I liked their friendship and their search for Edie's mother. I wasn't particularly fond of how it turned into a romance, I much preferred the friendship, but it wasn't bad.
I think my main problem with this book was the pacing. A majority of this book is very slow-paced. I understand that it may take awhile to find her mom, but the story was very slow-going for awhile. Then it was resolved very quickly and I felt like the end was a bit rushed.
IN CONCLUSION
The story focuses on tough subjects, but the story was very well done. The characters were great, especially Edie, who grew during the story. I had issues with the pacing, but other than that this was a quick, emotional read. If you enjoy contemporary mysteries that touch on tough subjects, you might enjoy this one.
September 1, 2015
I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
2.5 stars
Edie and her mother have been on the run for years. Escaping an abusive past, the two have always managed to stay one step ahead of the lives they left behind. Edie and her mother leave Toronto with the hope of starting a new life in London.
After a few days in London, it is clear that this is not the escape that they hoped for. Edie's mother begins working a night shift job and Edie begins school. All too soon Edie's mother disappears and Edie must set out to find her.
Armed with the little bit of money that she stole from school and the juvenile deliquent, Jermaine, that everyone seems to hate, Edie sets off in an unknown city to locate her mother.
This is a relatively short story and I think that works to this book's advantage. If the story had been drawn out, I don't think it would have had the momentum that it did. Through a series of crazy events, the truth comes out, Edie finds that people aren't always as they appear, and that love can come from anywhere and anyone.
I'd say my biggest complaint with this is the seeming need for a love story. If the requisite love story was included I would have enjoyed it more. NOT ALL BOOKS NEED ROMANCE!!! The friendship between Jermaine and Edie was plenty. I just don't think a romance should have been included. Edie should have been focused on her mother and not a boy she--quite literally--just met.
2.5 stars
Edie and her mother have been on the run for years. Escaping an abusive past, the two have always managed to stay one step ahead of the lives they left behind. Edie and her mother leave Toronto with the hope of starting a new life in London.
After a few days in London, it is clear that this is not the escape that they hoped for. Edie's mother begins working a night shift job and Edie begins school. All too soon Edie's mother disappears and Edie must set out to find her.
Armed with the little bit of money that she stole from school and the juvenile deliquent, Jermaine, that everyone seems to hate, Edie sets off in an unknown city to locate her mother.
This is a relatively short story and I think that works to this book's advantage. If the story had been drawn out, I don't think it would have had the momentum that it did. Through a series of crazy events, the truth comes out, Edie finds that people aren't always as they appear, and that love can come from anywhere and anyone.
I'd say my biggest complaint with this is the seeming need for a love story. If the requisite love story was included I would have enjoyed it more. NOT ALL BOOKS NEED ROMANCE!!! The friendship between Jermaine and Edie was plenty. I just don't think a romance should have been included. Edie should have been focused on her mother and not a boy she--quite literally--just met.
dnf
February 25, 2015SHORT REVIEW:
It was a bit hard to read this book. A lot frustrating, to be honest. It has the potential to be great especially since the premise is serious and should-be emotional.
First off, the main character sucks. Its so hard to sympathize when everytime she's been given a chance to be a nice and kind person, she's turning into an ass. This girl doesn't know the word 'compassion'. Makes me think she deserves what's happening to her.
The mother and daughter relationship that the author is selling to us as meaningful and full of love just seems force and stiff. The dialogues and the main characters monologue is kind of empty. I don't feel anything at all. Even to the love interest. I just feel.. nothing.
It was a bit hard to read this book. A lot frustrating, to be honest. It has the potential to be great especially since the premise is serious and should-be emotional.
First off, the main character sucks. Its so hard to sympathize when everytime she's been given a chance to be a nice and kind person, she's turning into an ass. This girl doesn't know the word 'compassion'. Makes me think she deserves what's happening to her.
The mother and daughter relationship that the author is selling to us as meaningful and full of love just seems force and stiff. The dialogues and the main characters monologue is kind of empty. I don't feel anything at all. Even to the love interest. I just feel.. nothing.
July 16, 2015
5 Words: family, friendship, bravery, strength, loyalty.
This is a very quick read with a pretty fast pace. It's gripping enough to keep you reading, and deep enough to make you stop and think.
Edie is a character that I felt very sorry for but who I also thought was incredibly strong. It was definitely a little weird.
This story hooked me. It was pretty heavy reading for something so short and I feel that a lot of the issues and the other characters could have been explored more. If only there were more pages!
With some more pages I think this would have gotten a higher rating. But this book started fast, continued racing and then BAM it was finished. It was all over so quickly.
I received a copy of this for free via NetGalley for review purposes.
This is a very quick read with a pretty fast pace. It's gripping enough to keep you reading, and deep enough to make you stop and think.
Edie is a character that I felt very sorry for but who I also thought was incredibly strong. It was definitely a little weird.
This story hooked me. It was pretty heavy reading for something so short and I feel that a lot of the issues and the other characters could have been explored more. If only there were more pages!
With some more pages I think this would have gotten a higher rating. But this book started fast, continued racing and then BAM it was finished. It was all over so quickly.
I received a copy of this for free via NetGalley for review purposes.
July 12, 2014
you can also find this review on my blog http://gloriatheviolinist.booklikes.com
Synopsis
Edie and her mom are on the run. They have been for years now. They're trying to escape from Edie's violent father, but for some reason, he can't let them go and keeps on tracking them down. After Edie and het mom move from Canada to London in a rush, Edie tries to blend in in the new city and her new school. But that's easier said than done. And then one day her mom doesn't come home from work. Edie doesn't know who to turn to for help, but what she does know is that she has to find her mom, because what if her father found her ? She can't bear to think about it.
Review
The writing style of this book is just absolutely beautiful. When I read books, I often feel what the characters are feeling. But this was different. I felt like I was actually living what the characters were going through ! It's amazing how this author can really force you into living the story, alog with the characters. This story really sucks you in, so if you decide to read this book, be prepared to read for a couple hours straight !
This story also makes you think. It approaches loads of different problems people face in reality ( violence, being bullied, feeling alone, trying to fit in a new school,...) and it makes you realise that these things actually happen. It's after reading stories like this one that I realise just how lucky I am with what I have and what really is important in life, and that I don't always appreciate these things enough.
What I also liked a lot about this book was the main character. Edie is a really strong person. She has faced so many hard situations and problems in her life, but somehow she still manages to go on. She also grows throughout the story. In the beginning she's already a strong person, but she's terrified and runs away from er problems. But in the end of the story she has become so much stronger ! She's still terrified ( wich every sane person would be in her situation ) but she chooses,herself, to face her problems straight in the face. This character was just so real !! And I felt everything she felt right along with her.
And the ending ! I can't think about rhe ending without feeling a rush of emotions all over again ! Edie was just so strong, and I really admire her ! At her place, I would just have broken down and wouldn't have been able to face it.
This story was truly amazing, but you have to read it to understand just how amazing it is ! If you're looking for a cute contemporary book, then you're looking at the wrong book. But if you're lookig for a realistic, beautifully written, sad but strong story, then you've found it ! I really look forward to reading more from this author !!
*A big thank you to Netgalley for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review !*
Synopsis
Edie and her mom are on the run. They have been for years now. They're trying to escape from Edie's violent father, but for some reason, he can't let them go and keeps on tracking them down. After Edie and het mom move from Canada to London in a rush, Edie tries to blend in in the new city and her new school. But that's easier said than done. And then one day her mom doesn't come home from work. Edie doesn't know who to turn to for help, but what she does know is that she has to find her mom, because what if her father found her ? She can't bear to think about it.
Review
The writing style of this book is just absolutely beautiful. When I read books, I often feel what the characters are feeling. But this was different. I felt like I was actually living what the characters were going through ! It's amazing how this author can really force you into living the story, alog with the characters. This story really sucks you in, so if you decide to read this book, be prepared to read for a couple hours straight !
This story also makes you think. It approaches loads of different problems people face in reality ( violence, being bullied, feeling alone, trying to fit in a new school,...) and it makes you realise that these things actually happen. It's after reading stories like this one that I realise just how lucky I am with what I have and what really is important in life, and that I don't always appreciate these things enough.
What I also liked a lot about this book was the main character. Edie is a really strong person. She has faced so many hard situations and problems in her life, but somehow she still manages to go on. She also grows throughout the story. In the beginning she's already a strong person, but she's terrified and runs away from er problems. But in the end of the story she has become so much stronger ! She's still terrified ( wich every sane person would be in her situation ) but she chooses,herself, to face her problems straight in the face. This character was just so real !! And I felt everything she felt right along with her.
And the ending ! I can't think about rhe ending without feeling a rush of emotions all over again ! Edie was just so strong, and I really admire her ! At her place, I would just have broken down and wouldn't have been able to face it.
This story was truly amazing, but you have to read it to understand just how amazing it is ! If you're looking for a cute contemporary book, then you're looking at the wrong book. But if you're lookig for a realistic, beautifully written, sad but strong story, then you've found it ! I really look forward to reading more from this author !!
*A big thank you to Netgalley for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review !*
January 18, 2015
Originally reviewed on The Hardcover Lover.
In accordance to FTC guidelines, I must state that I was given a free copy of this book for review purposes.
Since You've Been Gone by Mary Jennifer Payne, starts off strong and remains strong throughout the entire novel. Payne does a great job at capturing the attention of her readers by including an opening scene that shows the main character's tough side - a tough side that is revealed to be caused by some major emotional and physical damage. Her writing flows beautifully from word to word to keep readers engaged in the mysterious story.
Edie Fraser is not your typical teenage girl. For reasons that are revealed throughout the book, Edie and her mother, Sydney, have been running for five years. It's a tough life, but it's all Edie knows, and she understands that her mother is on the run to protect herself and Edie. At the very beginning of the novel, Edie finds out that they are moving really far this time - from Toronto, Canada to London England.
The characters in this book are charming and have dark pasts. I really enjoyed seeing how Payne reveals their stories and understanding why they are who they are. Edie is nowhere near perfect, as revealed on the first page, but she's got spunk. I really enjoyed reading her story. Jermaine is also another main character who is haunted by his past, and I love how Payne proves that he's not just another sob story.
There are a lot of emotional moments in this book. I know I'm going to seem like a baby for admitting this, but at the beginning of the book, there is a scene about Edie's pet, and I teared up a bit. I'm an animal lover, so it upset me to see Edie struggle with this moment. But this moment really let me know how emotional the rest of the book was going to be.
I don't want to spoil things for readers, but the very important topic of domestic violence is tackled in this book, and I'm glad to see that Payne writes about it in a very realistic way. Edie and Sydney's story seemed very real to me from start to finish, and I can see this book helping many teens going through what Edie is going through.
This is a very strong, empowering, and beautiful YA novel for Mary Jennifer Payne. She takes a difficult topic to talk about, and writes about it with beauty, grace, and concern. This is a book that I'm sure will get people talking about domestic violence how we can stop it from happening to people.
In accordance to FTC guidelines, I must state that I was given a free copy of this book for review purposes.
Since You've Been Gone by Mary Jennifer Payne, starts off strong and remains strong throughout the entire novel. Payne does a great job at capturing the attention of her readers by including an opening scene that shows the main character's tough side - a tough side that is revealed to be caused by some major emotional and physical damage. Her writing flows beautifully from word to word to keep readers engaged in the mysterious story.
Edie Fraser is not your typical teenage girl. For reasons that are revealed throughout the book, Edie and her mother, Sydney, have been running for five years. It's a tough life, but it's all Edie knows, and she understands that her mother is on the run to protect herself and Edie. At the very beginning of the novel, Edie finds out that they are moving really far this time - from Toronto, Canada to London England.
The characters in this book are charming and have dark pasts. I really enjoyed seeing how Payne reveals their stories and understanding why they are who they are. Edie is nowhere near perfect, as revealed on the first page, but she's got spunk. I really enjoyed reading her story. Jermaine is also another main character who is haunted by his past, and I love how Payne proves that he's not just another sob story.
There are a lot of emotional moments in this book. I know I'm going to seem like a baby for admitting this, but at the beginning of the book, there is a scene about Edie's pet, and I teared up a bit. I'm an animal lover, so it upset me to see Edie struggle with this moment. But this moment really let me know how emotional the rest of the book was going to be.
I don't want to spoil things for readers, but the very important topic of domestic violence is tackled in this book, and I'm glad to see that Payne writes about it in a very realistic way. Edie and Sydney's story seemed very real to me from start to finish, and I can see this book helping many teens going through what Edie is going through.
This is a very strong, empowering, and beautiful YA novel for Mary Jennifer Payne. She takes a difficult topic to talk about, and writes about it with beauty, grace, and concern. This is a book that I'm sure will get people talking about domestic violence how we can stop it from happening to people.
April 25, 2019
https://celebrityreaders.com/2019/04/...
I received a free copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review/opinion.
2 stars — So I was trying to find a mystery type book for one of my reading challenges, and this is one of the oldest NetGalley books I haven’t read…from when I first joined NetGalley and requested all sorts of things. Unfortunately this book was just…not engaging. I just had all sorts of problems with it, but because I wanted it to count for my challenge, because I usually give NetGalley books more time, and because I was curious about the mystery, I kept going. Probably a mistake.
Honestly, there was very little that worked for me in this book. The writing felt very basic, and while I appreciate that 15 years old is very young, I felt like Edie came across even younger. Or rather, it felt like the book was being written by a young teenager. The characters were all very shallow, there was no depth. It was very black and white, and for the first part of the book EVERY character was horrific, including Edie. I was torn with myself, because I think it was trying to show how from a teenagers perspective it can seem like everyone is against you, but the way it was done just didn’t work. I didn’t end up empathizing with Edie, and I really should have. She was going through some hard things. But I felt nothing. Later on in the book she meets kinder people, and I get that it’s probably supposed to show her growing up, but it just didn’t work for this reader. It felt unrealistic.
I should classify this as a coming of age story, b/c I believe that was the author’s intention. But I didn’t see/feel her grow in this story. I didn’t believe her transitions. It just didn’t come across to me.
And while I get that it was from Edie’s perspective, it paints the world and London in a HORRIBLE light, where everyone is a horrific bully (teachers, other kids, random people on the street), with no nuance. If it was truly just Edie’s perspective, the reader should have seen some light even if she couldn’t see it.
I did eventually appreciate the friendship she formed with Jermaine, though that happened rather quickly.
As for the mystery/plot? It didn’t feel realistic, it didn’t really keep me on the edge of my seat, and in the end it was kind of anti-climactic.
So yeah. Not a good review from Lenore. So often that’s just my perspective and personal taste, but I have a feeling I wouldn’t be in the minority with this book. *shrugs*
I received a free copy through NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review/opinion.
2 stars — So I was trying to find a mystery type book for one of my reading challenges, and this is one of the oldest NetGalley books I haven’t read…from when I first joined NetGalley and requested all sorts of things. Unfortunately this book was just…not engaging. I just had all sorts of problems with it, but because I wanted it to count for my challenge, because I usually give NetGalley books more time, and because I was curious about the mystery, I kept going. Probably a mistake.
Honestly, there was very little that worked for me in this book. The writing felt very basic, and while I appreciate that 15 years old is very young, I felt like Edie came across even younger. Or rather, it felt like the book was being written by a young teenager. The characters were all very shallow, there was no depth. It was very black and white, and for the first part of the book EVERY character was horrific, including Edie. I was torn with myself, because I think it was trying to show how from a teenagers perspective it can seem like everyone is against you, but the way it was done just didn’t work. I didn’t end up empathizing with Edie, and I really should have. She was going through some hard things. But I felt nothing. Later on in the book she meets kinder people, and I get that it’s probably supposed to show her growing up, but it just didn’t work for this reader. It felt unrealistic.
I should classify this as a coming of age story, b/c I believe that was the author’s intention. But I didn’t see/feel her grow in this story. I didn’t believe her transitions. It just didn’t come across to me.
And while I get that it was from Edie’s perspective, it paints the world and London in a HORRIBLE light, where everyone is a horrific bully (teachers, other kids, random people on the street), with no nuance. If it was truly just Edie’s perspective, the reader should have seen some light even if she couldn’t see it.
I did eventually appreciate the friendship she formed with Jermaine, though that happened rather quickly.
As for the mystery/plot? It didn’t feel realistic, it didn’t really keep me on the edge of my seat, and in the end it was kind of anti-climactic.
So yeah. Not a good review from Lenore. So often that’s just my perspective and personal taste, but I have a feeling I wouldn’t be in the minority with this book. *shrugs*
March 23, 2015
Read all my reviews on http://urlphantomhive.booklikes.com
This book was not what I expected at all. For me it mostly came short on believability for there was none.
I didn't hate it. It was a very quick read and not uninteresting but it had problems, especially once you started to think about it.
Edie and her Mom have been on the run for the last five years. In a hurry, they leave Canada for England (where her mother comes from anyway, so if you really wanted to move somewhere where they wouldn't look for you, why not go to Italy for example). She goes to a new school, but the first girl who talks to her is a bit weird and a nerd so Edie's mean to her. We were supposed to like her?
Edie on school is portrayed very inconsistently. One moment she's being bullied, then she's kind of bullying herself. She seems to have gotten some friends who are no longer mentioned in the whole rest of the book as soon as the far-too-obvious love interest appears.
When her mother doesn't return from her work one day, Edie goes on a quest to find her. Strange people show up at her apartment (making you wonder exactly what they are on the run for), but going to the police apparently is no option. Especially in this new city, where Edie doesn't know anything. At all.
It's only a short novel but there's a lot cramped in it. This made it feel rushed. Why three stars you ask? Sometimes it's hard to explain but if you just read this book superficially it's okay, it's not a bad YA mystery. And I always like books set in London. My advice would just be not to think too much whilst reading it.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
This book was not what I expected at all. For me it mostly came short on believability for there was none.
I didn't hate it. It was a very quick read and not uninteresting but it had problems, especially once you started to think about it.
Edie and her Mom have been on the run for the last five years. In a hurry, they leave Canada for England (where her mother comes from anyway, so if you really wanted to move somewhere where they wouldn't look for you, why not go to Italy for example). She goes to a new school, but the first girl who talks to her is a bit weird and a nerd so Edie's mean to her. We were supposed to like her?
Edie on school is portrayed very inconsistently. One moment she's being bullied, then she's kind of bullying herself. She seems to have gotten some friends who are no longer mentioned in the whole rest of the book as soon as the far-too-obvious love interest appears.
When her mother doesn't return from her work one day, Edie goes on a quest to find her. Strange people show up at her apartment (making you wonder exactly what they are on the run for), but going to the police apparently is no option. Especially in this new city, where Edie doesn't know anything. At all.
It's only a short novel but there's a lot cramped in it. This made it feel rushed. Why three stars you ask? Sometimes it's hard to explain but if you just read this book superficially it's okay, it's not a bad YA mystery. And I always like books set in London. My advice would just be not to think too much whilst reading it.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!
January 8, 2015
I got this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. I liked this book. I think it was very engaging and a quick, easy read. Although there were a few issues with the editing such as repeat lines of the title and the Author's name throughout the book which kept me from giving it a higher rating.
In this book we have Edie and her mom on the run from Edie's dad constantly. They finally settle in London hoping for a better life. Things are not going well for Edie because of bullies in school, and bad teachers. Things only get worse when Edie's mom doesn't come home from her job. Now alone and scared, Edie must decide what to do.
The premise of the story was pretty good although it is not really anything new in the book world. I do think it is a very believable story for most readers and it was engaging as well. There was a lot going on in the book though, and I felt like there were scenes that did not really need to be there.
The characters felt a little incomplete and a little more back story would have helped in that area I think. I wanted to know more about our characters Edie and Jermaine. I think they could have been a little better developed than they were, but other than that I liked both of their characters.
In this book we have Edie and her mom on the run from Edie's dad constantly. They finally settle in London hoping for a better life. Things are not going well for Edie because of bullies in school, and bad teachers. Things only get worse when Edie's mom doesn't come home from her job. Now alone and scared, Edie must decide what to do.
The premise of the story was pretty good although it is not really anything new in the book world. I do think it is a very believable story for most readers and it was engaging as well. There was a lot going on in the book though, and I felt like there were scenes that did not really need to be there.
The characters felt a little incomplete and a little more back story would have helped in that area I think. I wanted to know more about our characters Edie and Jermaine. I think they could have been a little better developed than they were, but other than that I liked both of their characters.
February 17, 2015
A fictional story about fear, bullies, and taking a stand in this young adult-oriented tale.
This ARC was provided by NetGalley and the Dundurn Group in exchange for an honest review.
My Take
This story started with such great promise. I was enthralled from the start. Payne pulled me in, dropping little teasers that kept me racing through the pages, reading from Edie's first-person perspective.
The bullies everywhere: the teachers, the students, and Savitri's parents! Although, her parents do have religion as an excuse to insist Savitri wear her hijab. But the rest? What is it with this need to bully? Teachers, counselors, and administrators need courses in recognizing and stopping it. They need to find the balls to combat it. They also need to learn the truth and spread that instead of hiding behind gossip and using that as truth.
Payne does well in taking us inside Edie's mind, her thoughts, the fear of a young teen. There are also some good lessons and protective techniques in here for young adults. That bit about living in Regent Park and how she felt part of everyone was a beautiful feeling.
It's about halfway into the story that Payne's writing starts to fall apart. It doesn't help that there's a bit too much tell, which becomes very obvious with Edie realizing how attractive Jermaine is. I like that Edie can recognize a decent man. I wish that Payne had been less abrupt in telling us.
Payne falls into those stupid tropes: Edie's famished, spends precious money on food, and then dismisses it. I realize that Edie is only fifteen and that she lacks a good bit of maturity. But then again, she and her mother have been on the run for the past five years. I'd've thought she'd have picked up some street smarts. She's demonstrated some of that earlier, but then she falls apart. Granted, she is under stress and terrified. But she flits from one idea to the next. Doesn't make any plans. Doesn't try to get in touch with her aunt. She could call the cops from a pay phone and doesn't. She could call hospitals and ask if they've admitted her mother or a Jane Smith. Instead she faffs about until she spills it all.
Yeah, poor thing. She's been looking for a whole day. Can't take the stress. For all the pages that Edie is going on about not going to the authorities, she caves pretty fast.
If Sydney is originally from London, um, hullo. Wouldn't this be a natural place for her dad to look? As for Edie wanting to keep going back to her apartment when the community police have already been to it, her father's chasing her down, um again, hullo. What is she thinking? Then what's with the drowning scene? This was the fastest idea Payne had to force Edie into the open? Maybe she wanted Jermaine's reputation rehabbed?
What was the point of the scene with the man from the phone booth? And what's with Siobhan and Edie moving back to London if Siobhan thinks that it's best for Edie to be out of England? I thought London was in England? I'm guessing that Payne was inferring that Siobhan wanted her out of the country for the after events, but why do they need to be back in England in the first place?
I liked Edie's moment of reflection when she confronts her dad. A very real moment that could have been even stronger with some show. I also liked Edie sucking it up and confronting both Mr. Middleton and Imogen. Saying her piece. That said, the whole story could have been stronger if Payne had evoked more emotion in me. It was sad, and all the bullying angered me, but it was a surface emotion. I didn't feel sucked in to the story.
The Story
Edie is so angry at all she's had to leave behind. It's bad enough being on the run and terrified all the time, but now Mom has dragged her to a foreign country! It may be Mom's hometown, but London is still too different for Edie.
It gets worse when the bullies burst out, and it's not just the students who like to torment her.
It gets still worse when Mom disappears.
The Characters
Edie Fraser is fifteen and angry over moving all the time. Mom is Sydney Fraser with two university degrees she can't use. Siobhan is Mom's half-sister who lives in Ireland. Her dad, Bryce Fraser, is a psychologist for the police.
In London
Imogen, a.k.a., Maggots, is the student who comes to Edie's rescue. Savitri rescues Edie in the classroom and lunch room. Keisha is part of Savitri's clique. Rodney is a wanker. Precious Samuel is the class mean girl; Shandel is part of her posse. Jermaine Lewis is the brunt of racism and bullying from everyone. His mother is sick with sickle cell anemia, and his brother died in a tragic accident. Billy is one of the boys who died.
Mr. Middleton is the headteacher. Ms. Bryans needs to retire and seek another line of work. Prison matron comes to mind. Mr. O'Connor is the math teacher. Ms. Thelwell is the first substitute teacher. Ms. Thompson is the phys ed teacher. Mr. Ravi is a teacher who prefers reading the paper to teaching.
One Simon is the passerby who chases the pervert off while the other is a barista who saw her mother. Cristina operates Cristina's Cleaning Company and has employed Edie's mom. Angel is her son. Sylvia is one of her long-term employees. Thomas works for the Camden film office. James is the bartender who helps Jermaine. Trevor Watson is the insensitive reporter from ITD evening news. Officer Murphy is the helpful cop. Jenny and Bill Gilmore are a local foster family. Bedlam is their friendly cat.
In Toronto
Rume is Edie's best friend. Ranice James is the girl she punched out. Mr. White is the principal of the school. Mr. Chahil is the geography teacher for Grade 9. Peaches is the cat Edie has had for four years. Janice is the friend in the grey Toyota. Ms. Sherman was her Grade 4 teacher.
The Cover and Title
The cover is depressing, which is perfect for this story with a frantic teen terrified out of her mind and on the run. Huddled on the concrete, her arms wrapped around her jeans-clad legs and braced against an old brick wall, Edie is, surprisingly, not wearing a jacket even though the weather is so cold.
I suspect the title is Edie's reaction to her mother's disappearance, the things she's been forced to do, to think, Since You've Been Gone.
This ARC was provided by NetGalley and the Dundurn Group in exchange for an honest review.
My Take
This story started with such great promise. I was enthralled from the start. Payne pulled me in, dropping little teasers that kept me racing through the pages, reading from Edie's first-person perspective.
The bullies everywhere: the teachers, the students, and Savitri's parents! Although, her parents do have religion as an excuse to insist Savitri wear her hijab. But the rest? What is it with this need to bully? Teachers, counselors, and administrators need courses in recognizing and stopping it. They need to find the balls to combat it. They also need to learn the truth and spread that instead of hiding behind gossip and using that as truth.
Payne does well in taking us inside Edie's mind, her thoughts, the fear of a young teen. There are also some good lessons and protective techniques in here for young adults. That bit about living in Regent Park and how she felt part of everyone was a beautiful feeling.
It's about halfway into the story that Payne's writing starts to fall apart. It doesn't help that there's a bit too much tell, which becomes very obvious with Edie realizing how attractive Jermaine is. I like that Edie can recognize a decent man. I wish that Payne had been less abrupt in telling us.
Payne falls into those stupid tropes: Edie's famished, spends precious money on food, and then dismisses it. I realize that Edie is only fifteen and that she lacks a good bit of maturity. But then again, she and her mother have been on the run for the past five years. I'd've thought she'd have picked up some street smarts. She's demonstrated some of that earlier, but then she falls apart. Granted, she is under stress and terrified. But she flits from one idea to the next. Doesn't make any plans. Doesn't try to get in touch with her aunt. She could call the cops from a pay phone and doesn't. She could call hospitals and ask if they've admitted her mother or a Jane Smith. Instead she faffs about until she spills it all.
Yeah, poor thing. She's been looking for a whole day. Can't take the stress. For all the pages that Edie is going on about not going to the authorities, she caves pretty fast.
If Sydney is originally from London, um, hullo. Wouldn't this be a natural place for her dad to look? As for Edie wanting to keep going back to her apartment when the community police have already been to it, her father's chasing her down, um again, hullo. What is she thinking? Then what's with the drowning scene? This was the fastest idea Payne had to force Edie into the open? Maybe she wanted Jermaine's reputation rehabbed?
What was the point of the scene with the man from the phone booth? And what's with Siobhan and Edie moving back to London if Siobhan thinks that it's best for Edie to be out of England? I thought London was in England? I'm guessing that Payne was inferring that Siobhan wanted her out of the country for the after events, but why do they need to be back in England in the first place?
I liked Edie's moment of reflection when she confronts her dad. A very real moment that could have been even stronger with some show. I also liked Edie sucking it up and confronting both Mr. Middleton and Imogen. Saying her piece. That said, the whole story could have been stronger if Payne had evoked more emotion in me. It was sad, and all the bullying angered me, but it was a surface emotion. I didn't feel sucked in to the story.
The Story
Edie is so angry at all she's had to leave behind. It's bad enough being on the run and terrified all the time, but now Mom has dragged her to a foreign country! It may be Mom's hometown, but London is still too different for Edie.
It gets worse when the bullies burst out, and it's not just the students who like to torment her.
It gets still worse when Mom disappears.
The Characters
Edie Fraser is fifteen and angry over moving all the time. Mom is Sydney Fraser with two university degrees she can't use. Siobhan is Mom's half-sister who lives in Ireland. Her dad, Bryce Fraser, is a psychologist for the police.
In London
Imogen, a.k.a., Maggots, is the student who comes to Edie's rescue. Savitri rescues Edie in the classroom and lunch room. Keisha is part of Savitri's clique. Rodney is a wanker. Precious Samuel is the class mean girl; Shandel is part of her posse. Jermaine Lewis is the brunt of racism and bullying from everyone. His mother is sick with sickle cell anemia, and his brother died in a tragic accident. Billy is one of the boys who died.
Mr. Middleton is the headteacher. Ms. Bryans needs to retire and seek another line of work. Prison matron comes to mind. Mr. O'Connor is the math teacher. Ms. Thelwell is the first substitute teacher. Ms. Thompson is the phys ed teacher. Mr. Ravi is a teacher who prefers reading the paper to teaching.
One Simon is the passerby who chases the pervert off while the other is a barista who saw her mother. Cristina operates Cristina's Cleaning Company and has employed Edie's mom. Angel is her son. Sylvia is one of her long-term employees. Thomas works for the Camden film office. James is the bartender who helps Jermaine. Trevor Watson is the insensitive reporter from ITD evening news. Officer Murphy is the helpful cop. Jenny and Bill Gilmore are a local foster family. Bedlam is their friendly cat.
In Toronto
Rume is Edie's best friend. Ranice James is the girl she punched out. Mr. White is the principal of the school. Mr. Chahil is the geography teacher for Grade 9. Peaches is the cat Edie has had for four years. Janice is the friend in the grey Toyota. Ms. Sherman was her Grade 4 teacher.
The Cover and Title
The cover is depressing, which is perfect for this story with a frantic teen terrified out of her mind and on the run. Huddled on the concrete, her arms wrapped around her jeans-clad legs and braced against an old brick wall, Edie is, surprisingly, not wearing a jacket even though the weather is so cold.
I suspect the title is Edie's reaction to her mother's disappearance, the things she's been forced to do, to think, Since You've Been Gone.
August 1, 2014
Find more of my review at thereadersroost.wordpress.com
I received an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to NetGalley and Dundurn Group.
This is a relatively short YA book which in some ways makes it a nice, easy read but at the same time, I found myself hungry for more details and a properly resolved ending. Edie is a likable character who is dealing with all the issues of a teenager - bullying, school and boys - on top of being on the run with her mother, Sydney.
The author does not take the time to set the scene properly and we are thrown into action straight away with Edie and Sydney on the run again. I would have appreciated a little back-story on the situation before diving head first into the commotion of the Fraser's lives, rather than being drip-fed the details throughout the book. The synopsis of this book really got me excited about reading it as it sounded like just the type of story I would enjoy but on finishing it, it just left me disappointed with it's rushed plot and anti-climactic ending. The romance seemed very forced and hurried. Edie was talking about having sex with him not even a week after their first meeting and on the same day that she kissed him for the first time. I could have believed just the kiss, but sex...? She is only 15 after all and whilst I'm aware that underage sex does happen, she was supposed to be preoccupied looking for her mother. It just didn't sit right with me. Not in the context of the story.
Another thing that bothered me about the plot is why Edie was so against going to the police. Her mother had been missing for 2 days and Edie knew full well what their pursuer was capable of but still insisted on trying to find her without professional help. I just think that if she was so close to her mum and so concerned about what might have happened then she would have gone to the police straight away. Maybe if she had then things would have turned out differently.
I wish that Payne had explored some of the other characters a little more. Precious and her volatile home life. Savitri with her strict Muslim father and brother. Jermaine and his childhood trauma. The shy, meek Imogen. It seems to me that all of these people could have been used to fill out the story a little more and I would have loved to learn more about them.
The ending both disappointed me and left me wanting Payne to carry on. Everything was just left so unresolved. The romance. The fate of their pursuer. The fate of Edie, even. I think I could have really enjoyed this book if Payne had just bothered to put some more meat on the bones of the plot. It just seemed to me as though she had wanted to get it finished as quickly as possible and as a result she skimmed over major plot points. I was left really frustrated and this is reflected in my 2 star rating.
I received an e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to NetGalley and Dundurn Group.
This is a relatively short YA book which in some ways makes it a nice, easy read but at the same time, I found myself hungry for more details and a properly resolved ending. Edie is a likable character who is dealing with all the issues of a teenager - bullying, school and boys - on top of being on the run with her mother, Sydney.
The author does not take the time to set the scene properly and we are thrown into action straight away with Edie and Sydney on the run again. I would have appreciated a little back-story on the situation before diving head first into the commotion of the Fraser's lives, rather than being drip-fed the details throughout the book. The synopsis of this book really got me excited about reading it as it sounded like just the type of story I would enjoy but on finishing it, it just left me disappointed with it's rushed plot and anti-climactic ending. The romance seemed very forced and hurried. Edie was talking about having sex with him not even a week after their first meeting and on the same day that she kissed him for the first time. I could have believed just the kiss, but sex...? She is only 15 after all and whilst I'm aware that underage sex does happen, she was supposed to be preoccupied looking for her mother. It just didn't sit right with me. Not in the context of the story.
Another thing that bothered me about the plot is why Edie was so against going to the police. Her mother had been missing for 2 days and Edie knew full well what their pursuer was capable of but still insisted on trying to find her without professional help. I just think that if she was so close to her mum and so concerned about what might have happened then she would have gone to the police straight away. Maybe if she had then things would have turned out differently.
I wish that Payne had explored some of the other characters a little more. Precious and her volatile home life. Savitri with her strict Muslim father and brother. Jermaine and his childhood trauma. The shy, meek Imogen. It seems to me that all of these people could have been used to fill out the story a little more and I would have loved to learn more about them.
The ending both disappointed me and left me wanting Payne to carry on. Everything was just left so unresolved. The romance. The fate of their pursuer. The fate of Edie, even. I think I could have really enjoyed this book if Payne had just bothered to put some more meat on the bones of the plot. It just seemed to me as though she had wanted to get it finished as quickly as possible and as a result she skimmed over major plot points. I was left really frustrated and this is reflected in my 2 star rating.
January 15, 2015
3.5 STARS
***I received the eBook free as a review copy from the publisher through Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review***
I don’t usually review contemporaries because I’ve found that they can be quite repetitive for me but this one sparked my interest straight away; and not because the cover reminded me of Kelly Clarkson’s song with the same name so get all the singing out of your system now!
In the end I’m glad I read this book because it wasn’t the happy-go-lucky love story I’ve read before and while some might say it had quite a depressing feel, I’d prefer to say it was more down to earth because it referenced real problems. There were definitely a lot of strong themes mentioned in this book particularly when we see Edie the main protagonist join a new school. It included standing up for yourself against bullies, and moving on whether you do it through forgiveness or forgetting. I would have liked to see them more developed but the full book is only around 200 pages so the plot had to move fast.
Even with a quick pace Mary Payne still included a lot of time for you to get to know the characters in her book, and by doing this through scenes in everyday places like train stations and of course star bucks it made everything more relatable.
Edie is a very (and forgive the phrase) real character and it was easy to envision what she was going through. The author doesn’t have to say exactly what she’s feeling because it’s easy to pick up through her actions, and I think this is the best way to write characters and a great achievement as well. Edie doesn’t quite have the bad-ass attitude I’ve come to enjoy in YA books, and her strength instead shines through in those terrible situations when you have to fight for yourself and the people you love in not such a physical way. This worked well and also showcased more depths to her personality, rather than basing it on whether or not she can knock someone out with a punch to the face.
The other main protagonist is Jermaine, and while I enjoyed learning about his past as well and how it’s changed him I would have liked even more to see how it influenced his relationship with Edie on a longer time scale. It didn’t feel very rushed as I read it but looking back I realised it was very much a new and subtler version of insta-love.
I enjoyed it all the same and would recommend this book when it comes out in January to readers looking for a very quick read about love and trust, which sticks with you even after you’ve finished.
Posted on: http://enchantedbyya.blogspot.co.uk/
***I received the eBook free as a review copy from the publisher through Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review***
I don’t usually review contemporaries because I’ve found that they can be quite repetitive for me but this one sparked my interest straight away; and not because the cover reminded me of Kelly Clarkson’s song with the same name so get all the singing out of your system now!
In the end I’m glad I read this book because it wasn’t the happy-go-lucky love story I’ve read before and while some might say it had quite a depressing feel, I’d prefer to say it was more down to earth because it referenced real problems. There were definitely a lot of strong themes mentioned in this book particularly when we see Edie the main protagonist join a new school. It included standing up for yourself against bullies, and moving on whether you do it through forgiveness or forgetting. I would have liked to see them more developed but the full book is only around 200 pages so the plot had to move fast.
Even with a quick pace Mary Payne still included a lot of time for you to get to know the characters in her book, and by doing this through scenes in everyday places like train stations and of course star bucks it made everything more relatable.
Edie is a very (and forgive the phrase) real character and it was easy to envision what she was going through. The author doesn’t have to say exactly what she’s feeling because it’s easy to pick up through her actions, and I think this is the best way to write characters and a great achievement as well. Edie doesn’t quite have the bad-ass attitude I’ve come to enjoy in YA books, and her strength instead shines through in those terrible situations when you have to fight for yourself and the people you love in not such a physical way. This worked well and also showcased more depths to her personality, rather than basing it on whether or not she can knock someone out with a punch to the face.
The other main protagonist is Jermaine, and while I enjoyed learning about his past as well and how it’s changed him I would have liked even more to see how it influenced his relationship with Edie on a longer time scale. It didn’t feel very rushed as I read it but looking back I realised it was very much a new and subtler version of insta-love.
I enjoyed it all the same and would recommend this book when it comes out in January to readers looking for a very quick read about love and trust, which sticks with you even after you’ve finished.
Posted on: http://enchantedbyya.blogspot.co.uk/
December 2, 2015
www.bookworm221.tumblr.com
Thank You to NetGalley and Dundurn Group for allowing me to read this book in exchange of an honest review.
I have to admit that it took me longer than usual to warm up to this book, but I’ll also admit that I don’t think it was the book’s fault, I was just going through a horrible reading slump, but a couple of days ago I picked it up again at it just grabbed me and didn’t let me go until the end.
Edie and her mother have been running from something since Edie was little, and because of this they have never spend enough time in any place they have lived, and that’s why she doesn’t have many friends or why she hasn’t had normal experiences growing up.
We meet them as they are leaving Canada and running to London, later we find out that the reason why they don’t stay very long in a single place is because they are running from Edie abusive father.
Now in London Edie has a harder time to adjust and she is barely getting her footing when her mom disappears. For the rest of the book we see Edie and her friend Jermaine trying to find her mom. The detective work they do transport us through London and seeing it in the prospective of someone who is equally awed and scared of the big city.
The narrative is exceptional, as I said, once I started reading it again I just couldn’t stop, the events were happening so fast, and I think the author did an amazing job with Edie, the way she reacted to the disappearance of her mother was very realistic once you take into consideration her background. She grew up mistrusting people and afraid that her father was going to find her.
I think the way Mary Jennifer Payne captured the essence of adolescence was spot on, I really enjoyed this book and was definitely left wishing for a sequel.
Keep Calm and Read On
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March 20, 2015Well, this was quite the short book, or maybe it just seemed like it?
Anyway, though I liked to get into the story head first and there are many themes mentioned that people should pay attention to, there were some things I didn't enjoy regarding the story.
First is the main character, I am not sure if she was supposed to annoy the reader or that was just me, but I didn't like her much. And I wish authors would know when it is the right time for a character to decide to do things on her/his own, and when it is the time to let others take care of the situation (like adults, or authorities, or someone). This is a problem that keeps popping up in many YA stories, and it bugs me to no end lately.
Then, there is the rushed action. I felt like there was not enough time for character and situation development and everything started to blur. It seemed like there was too much happening for such a short book, and maybe it would have been better for the author to take the time and define each action and character involved. Not to mention this all leads to an abrupt ending and I was left with needing so much more.
Another things that left we with a meh kind of feeling is the romance... again with the rushing and the under-developing. I know people love romance in a story, but I prefer for it to be left out if there is not enough time for it to feel real, with a realistic pacing.
So I am not sure how to rate this book, I think I'll leave it blank until I figure out my feelings.
Thanks for the opportunity to read it, I hope other people will enjoy it better.
Anyway, though I liked to get into the story head first and there are many themes mentioned that people should pay attention to, there were some things I didn't enjoy regarding the story.
First is the main character, I am not sure if she was supposed to annoy the reader or that was just me, but I didn't like her much. And I wish authors would know when it is the right time for a character to decide to do things on her/his own, and when it is the time to let others take care of the situation (like adults, or authorities, or someone). This is a problem that keeps popping up in many YA stories, and it bugs me to no end lately.
Then, there is the rushed action. I felt like there was not enough time for character and situation development and everything started to blur. It seemed like there was too much happening for such a short book, and maybe it would have been better for the author to take the time and define each action and character involved. Not to mention this all leads to an abrupt ending and I was left with needing so much more.
Another things that left we with a meh kind of feeling is the romance... again with the rushing and the under-developing. I know people love romance in a story, but I prefer for it to be left out if there is not enough time for it to feel real, with a realistic pacing.
So I am not sure how to rate this book, I think I'll leave it blank until I figure out my feelings.
Thanks for the opportunity to read it, I hope other people will enjoy it better.
December 31, 2014
Fifteen year old Edie Fraser had lived the last five years running with her mother. Every time she made friends and felt comfortable in her new setting, they left abruptly. The last place in Canada was one of the worst to leave, Edie is trying to not let it leave a chip on her shoulder but she is tired of this life. When her mother leaves for work at her new job in London, little does she know her life is about to change again and she has no where to turn.
Full review on Single Titles
http://singletitles.com/?p=10370
Full review on Single Titles
http://singletitles.com/?p=10370
July 14, 2014
4.5 stars, rounded up.
Edie Fraser and her mother, Sydney, are on the run. They have been for years - ever since the day Edie's father finally snapped and hit her. All they want to do is have a life where his shadow isn't looming over them. But he can't let them go. He follows them everywhere, he hunts them down, and this last time, they barely escaped before he found them.
They move to London, which seems a world away from Toronto to Edie. But she has to settle in and go to school and make friends, just like she has every other time they've moved.
As someone who's moved a lot - for completely different reasons, however - I find that I can very easily relate to Edie. She's fed up, she's tired of leaving everything she knows and loves behind, and she doesn't want to do it again. But she doesn't have a choice.
Everything gets a little harder when one day, her mother doesn't come home from work. And then another day passes, and another, and she still hasn't turned up. So Edie decides she has to find her mother. She doesn't want to get the police involved in case they send her back to her father. There's nothing she fears more, other than being unable to find her mother.
Edie is a strong, likeable character. Despite what she's been through, she hasn't given up; she and her mother are so close that they're like best friends. Edie isn't just doing things because that's what the author wants; she has agency, she wants to take action, and she does so for good reasons. The plot doesn't drag her along like a limp ragdoll. And she's willing to fight if she has to.
There's a good bit of female friendship in this book, something all too rare in YA. While there's a lot of unfavorable descriptions of other female characters - there's a generic group of mean girls with a rude, bitchy queen bee that goes through Edie's journal; a girl named Imogen who's "incredibly thin and as pale as a dead fish," and treated like she's less of a person by a lot of the other students because of her appearance and awkward personality and even Edie is rude to her; a female teacher named Ms. Bryans who is generally unpleasant and apparently has the beginnings of a mustache; and a couple other mentions throughout the book of unpleasant or disagreeable women, moreso than men, and there was enough of it that I actually noticed it.
Even the two girls who befriend Edie, Keisha and Savitri, can be rude and bitchy at times. However, the focus of the book isn't really in the school setting, and after Edie's mother's disappearance we don't see Edie at school until the very end of the book, so the students and teachers at the school aren't really well developed as characters and honestly, that didn't bother me too much.
There were more PoC characters than I expected - Savitri, most of Edie's friends from her previous home, and Jermaine - not that five or so is a large amount but at least they exist, unlike in some other novels. Edie's casual acceptance of their different traditions and her willingness to experience them are traits I was very happy to see.
There is racism, but the racist characters are portrayed as having bad attitudes, and there aren't any snide comments about race from any of the main characters. The racism wasn't a major focus of the story but I felt it was handled very well.
There's not really any actual romance in the book, which is quite the breath of fresh air. Of course, it doesn't make sense for there to be romance - Edie's been in London for a very short amount of time and searching for her mother doesn't exactly leave time for dating - but that doesn't stop a lot of YA novels.
There were a few moments where Edie noticed the attractiveness of some guy that I thought felt really out of place. For example, she's just been attacked by an old man in a phone box and she ran to tell the closest people so she could get help, and comments, "Though I'm still shaking, I can't help but notice how cute he is." I actually had to stop there for a moment because it was disconcerting to see that in the middle of narrating her escape from a guy that tried to molest her.
One thing I really liked is that this novel did not have a fairy tale happy ending; everything did not end up okay and Edie didn't get everything she wanted. Instead it had more of a neutral ending that I'm not going to spoil, but honestly, it was one of my favorite parts of the whole thing, especially because Edie exhibits a decent amount of character growth.
Very, very refreshing to read this sort of novel in a genre like YA.
*I received a free copy of this ARC from Dundurn Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Any and all quotes are subject to change in the final edition.*
"My life will seem secure for a while, but if you watch long enough, it eventually shifts, just like those plates, and everything I'm used to changes again. The frustrating thing is that each time my life changes, I leave little pieces of myself behind.
Edie Fraser and her mother, Sydney, are on the run. They have been for years - ever since the day Edie's father finally snapped and hit her. All they want to do is have a life where his shadow isn't looming over them. But he can't let them go. He follows them everywhere, he hunts them down, and this last time, they barely escaped before he found them.
They move to London, which seems a world away from Toronto to Edie. But she has to settle in and go to school and make friends, just like she has every other time they've moved.
"I hate this part the most. The part when I'm walking around completely alone, checking my phone twenty times a minute, trying to look like I'm waiting for someone, trying to think about anything other than the fact that I look like the biggest loser on earth."
As someone who's moved a lot - for completely different reasons, however - I find that I can very easily relate to Edie. She's fed up, she's tired of leaving everything she knows and loves behind, and she doesn't want to do it again. But she doesn't have a choice.
Everything gets a little harder when one day, her mother doesn't come home from work. And then another day passes, and another, and she still hasn't turned up. So Edie decides she has to find her mother. She doesn't want to get the police involved in case they send her back to her father. There's nothing she fears more, other than being unable to find her mother.
"Suddenly I realize how tired I am of running. And that's when I decide there's no way I'll be scared into running again. I'm older now. This time I'm ready to fight."
Edie is a strong, likeable character. Despite what she's been through, she hasn't given up; she and her mother are so close that they're like best friends. Edie isn't just doing things because that's what the author wants; she has agency, she wants to take action, and she does so for good reasons. The plot doesn't drag her along like a limp ragdoll. And she's willing to fight if she has to.
There's a good bit of female friendship in this book, something all too rare in YA. While there's a lot of unfavorable descriptions of other female characters - there's a generic group of mean girls with a rude, bitchy queen bee that goes through Edie's journal; a girl named Imogen who's "incredibly thin and as pale as a dead fish," and treated like she's less of a person by a lot of the other students because of her appearance and awkward personality and even Edie is rude to her; a female teacher named Ms. Bryans who is generally unpleasant and apparently has the beginnings of a mustache; and a couple other mentions throughout the book of unpleasant or disagreeable women, moreso than men, and there was enough of it that I actually noticed it.
Even the two girls who befriend Edie, Keisha and Savitri, can be rude and bitchy at times. However, the focus of the book isn't really in the school setting, and after Edie's mother's disappearance we don't see Edie at school until the very end of the book, so the students and teachers at the school aren't really well developed as characters and honestly, that didn't bother me too much.
"Lucky you," Savitri says as she emerges from the bathroom stall. I gasp. Savitri's long, ebony hair is hidden under a black hijab and her face is devoid of any trade of makeup.
"I know, I know," she says, rolling her eyes. "My brother Amir and Dad would kill me if they know what I look like at school."
There were more PoC characters than I expected - Savitri, most of Edie's friends from her previous home, and Jermaine - not that five or so is a large amount but at least they exist, unlike in some other novels. Edie's casual acceptance of their different traditions and her willingness to experience them are traits I was very happy to see.
There is racism, but the racist characters are portrayed as having bad attitudes, and there aren't any snide comments about race from any of the main characters. The racism wasn't a major focus of the story but I felt it was handled very well.
"And that's when Jermaine puts his arm around me. That's right - his arm goes around my shoulders and for a split second I forget about everything else except the electrical feeling I'm getting from our bodies touching."
There's not really any actual romance in the book, which is quite the breath of fresh air. Of course, it doesn't make sense for there to be romance - Edie's been in London for a very short amount of time and searching for her mother doesn't exactly leave time for dating - but that doesn't stop a lot of YA novels.
There were a few moments where Edie noticed the attractiveness of some guy that I thought felt really out of place. For example, she's just been attacked by an old man in a phone box and she ran to tell the closest people so she could get help, and comments, "Though I'm still shaking, I can't help but notice how cute he is." I actually had to stop there for a moment because it was disconcerting to see that in the middle of narrating her escape from a guy that tried to molest her.
One thing I really liked is that this novel did not have a fairy tale happy ending; everything did not end up okay and Edie didn't get everything she wanted. Instead it had more of a neutral ending that I'm not going to spoil, but honestly, it was one of my favorite parts of the whole thing, especially because Edie exhibits a decent amount of character growth.
Very, very refreshing to read this sort of novel in a genre like YA.
"No matter what awaits me in London, I can face it. No more running."
*I received a free copy of this ARC from Dundurn Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Any and all quotes are subject to change in the final edition.*
September 23, 2023
I knew right from the get-go that I was going to struggle with this one. I think DV and displacement and struggle is good in a YA book and I'm glad it's being embraced. But this one, I struggled to connect with. I found too little plot for the tough subject matter and I struggled to like or root for the main character. I wish I'd liked it more.
A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
December 18, 2015
3.5 stars – rounded
I’ve been back and forth while writing this review, wondering just what was prodding me to be uneasy with the story. Mary Jennifer Payne writes beautifully: her descriptions and emotional impact is clear to see, and the character of Edie is instantly sympathetic whether an adult or teen is reading. The underlying reasons for Edie’s story are all too familiar if one reads the headlines, and running away from a bad situation does often seem the only choice for child or parent desperate to keep them safe.
Edie and her mother have fled Canada for London: Edie’s father is horridly abusive, and Sydney is desperate to keep her daughter safe and allow her other options away from the abuse. They’ve been running for years – yet her father keeps finding them and the abuse starts again. In London, Sydney believes that Edie can have that fresh start, and life will start to look more positive. But, when she doesn’t return home from her overnight job, Edie is convinced her father has returned – and this sends her into a series of choices made in desperation….
Gripping and completely engaging, Payne has latched onto the emotional angles that will grab a reader and keep them moving forward. However, there isn’t a ton of introspection or development from Edie: she’s most obviously holding issues of anger from both the abuse and the fact she is thrust into new situations constantly. Her own psychological ills from the abuse and anger are barely touched upon, and her understandable yet somehow not, instant connection to Jermaine seem to contradict her own trust issues with people, men most specifically. We also have her encounters with Precious the Mean Girl, who is simply reflecting and acting out on her own anger and hopelessness at her own family situation.
But, Payne doesn’t attack these issues head on, she dances through them with small mentions. And that is what has me uneasy, I think. Teenagers are capable of dealing with the hard truths of life: it isn’t always pretty and no one has it easy. Learning that Precious was dealing with similar issues that caused her to regain her own power by bullying Edie MAY give teens a sense of understanding as to WHY people act as they do: it isn’t always just because they can. There were so many moments to expand and show with character and scene development that these are issues, not personality, and that issues can be faced, addressed and dealt with.
What emerges is a good and gripping story that, with a touch more character development and a few more head-on attacks of the issues could have been great, and not felt so rushed at the end. There are often no better ways to learn than fictional stories, don’t sell your audience short by not addressing the rough, tough and often distasteful moments that arise. Payne is most certainly an author to watch, and this story will appeal to teens and tweens for the character of Edie alone, I just wish there was a bit ‘more’ meat on the bone.
I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.
I’ve been back and forth while writing this review, wondering just what was prodding me to be uneasy with the story. Mary Jennifer Payne writes beautifully: her descriptions and emotional impact is clear to see, and the character of Edie is instantly sympathetic whether an adult or teen is reading. The underlying reasons for Edie’s story are all too familiar if one reads the headlines, and running away from a bad situation does often seem the only choice for child or parent desperate to keep them safe.
Edie and her mother have fled Canada for London: Edie’s father is horridly abusive, and Sydney is desperate to keep her daughter safe and allow her other options away from the abuse. They’ve been running for years – yet her father keeps finding them and the abuse starts again. In London, Sydney believes that Edie can have that fresh start, and life will start to look more positive. But, when she doesn’t return home from her overnight job, Edie is convinced her father has returned – and this sends her into a series of choices made in desperation….
Gripping and completely engaging, Payne has latched onto the emotional angles that will grab a reader and keep them moving forward. However, there isn’t a ton of introspection or development from Edie: she’s most obviously holding issues of anger from both the abuse and the fact she is thrust into new situations constantly. Her own psychological ills from the abuse and anger are barely touched upon, and her understandable yet somehow not, instant connection to Jermaine seem to contradict her own trust issues with people, men most specifically. We also have her encounters with Precious the Mean Girl, who is simply reflecting and acting out on her own anger and hopelessness at her own family situation.
But, Payne doesn’t attack these issues head on, she dances through them with small mentions. And that is what has me uneasy, I think. Teenagers are capable of dealing with the hard truths of life: it isn’t always pretty and no one has it easy. Learning that Precious was dealing with similar issues that caused her to regain her own power by bullying Edie MAY give teens a sense of understanding as to WHY people act as they do: it isn’t always just because they can. There were so many moments to expand and show with character and scene development that these are issues, not personality, and that issues can be faced, addressed and dealt with.
What emerges is a good and gripping story that, with a touch more character development and a few more head-on attacks of the issues could have been great, and not felt so rushed at the end. There are often no better ways to learn than fictional stories, don’t sell your audience short by not addressing the rough, tough and often distasteful moments that arise. Payne is most certainly an author to watch, and this story will appeal to teens and tweens for the character of Edie alone, I just wish there was a bit ‘more’ meat on the bone.
I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.
January 18, 2015
This book is filled with issues – bullying, domestic violence, verbal abuse, and racism – among other things. And while I can feel sympathetic towards the main character’s situation, I cannot like her as a character. Along with not liking the main character, there’s the fact that the story is not written properly to make any sense. It’s all thrown together and rushed at the end, which is very anti-climactic.
At the start of this story, Edie and her mother are once again on the move. Every time they move to a new location, her father always manages to track them down; he is a psychologist for the police after all, so he has connections. It’s obvious that they are running from an abusive jerk and think that nothing can be done about it because of his status and the friends who would believe him. And then we are off to London, England (they are from Canada but Sydney, Edie’s mother, was born and raised in London) where they try to make a go at a normal life and pray that her father doesn’t track them down. On Edie’s first day of school she is approached by Imogen, or Maggots as the bullies like to call her. First off, Edie is a very self absorbed person. Sure she has had a tough life on the run, but she of all people knows what it’s like to be bullied and ostracized by fellow classmates. So I don’t know why she was thinking about how she didn’t want to be seen with someone like Imogen. Then she meets Savitri and Keshia (yeah, I laughed on the name when I saw it) who become her friends and she soon forgets all about Imogen; even goes as far as ignoring her in the cafeteria at lunch.
There are other characters who are just as bad. Precious, for instance, is the bully of all bullies. She and her minions get off on antagonizing the kids at school, especially Imogen – and now Edie. Then there’s Jermaine, who gets treated like a nobody because of the color of his skin. He too has had a tough life but everyone around him has committed to casting him out despite how, obviously, intelligent he is. When Edie’s mom doesn’t come home after her night shift at work, Edie decides to not go to the police and steals money from her homeroom teacher’s charity fund to find her mom on her own. Of course, Jermaine gets blamed for it and Edie acts as though it’s all about her problems. After that happened, I was done trying to like Edie. Eventually, Jermaine ends up helping her and it all goes downhill from there.
Not only is this story poorly crafted, it is filled with analogy after analogy. There are only so many times that something can be described in comparison to something. I get it, move on please. The only reason this got 2 stars from me is because of the reality of the situation. I abhor domestic violence and all that it entails. I feel bad for the spouses and children involved. I especially don’t condone racism. Those parts of the story made me want to stop reading altogether. I cannot recommend this book to anyone. I’m sure there are better books of the same subject matter for young adults to read; this is not one of them.
At the start of this story, Edie and her mother are once again on the move. Every time they move to a new location, her father always manages to track them down; he is a psychologist for the police after all, so he has connections. It’s obvious that they are running from an abusive jerk and think that nothing can be done about it because of his status and the friends who would believe him. And then we are off to London, England (they are from Canada but Sydney, Edie’s mother, was born and raised in London) where they try to make a go at a normal life and pray that her father doesn’t track them down. On Edie’s first day of school she is approached by Imogen, or Maggots as the bullies like to call her. First off, Edie is a very self absorbed person. Sure she has had a tough life on the run, but she of all people knows what it’s like to be bullied and ostracized by fellow classmates. So I don’t know why she was thinking about how she didn’t want to be seen with someone like Imogen. Then she meets Savitri and Keshia (yeah, I laughed on the name when I saw it) who become her friends and she soon forgets all about Imogen; even goes as far as ignoring her in the cafeteria at lunch.
There are other characters who are just as bad. Precious, for instance, is the bully of all bullies. She and her minions get off on antagonizing the kids at school, especially Imogen – and now Edie. Then there’s Jermaine, who gets treated like a nobody because of the color of his skin. He too has had a tough life but everyone around him has committed to casting him out despite how, obviously, intelligent he is. When Edie’s mom doesn’t come home after her night shift at work, Edie decides to not go to the police and steals money from her homeroom teacher’s charity fund to find her mom on her own. Of course, Jermaine gets blamed for it and Edie acts as though it’s all about her problems. After that happened, I was done trying to like Edie. Eventually, Jermaine ends up helping her and it all goes downhill from there.
Not only is this story poorly crafted, it is filled with analogy after analogy. There are only so many times that something can be described in comparison to something. I get it, move on please. The only reason this got 2 stars from me is because of the reality of the situation. I abhor domestic violence and all that it entails. I feel bad for the spouses and children involved. I especially don’t condone racism. Those parts of the story made me want to stop reading altogether. I cannot recommend this book to anyone. I’m sure there are better books of the same subject matter for young adults to read; this is not one of them.
January 25, 2015
My Star Rating for Since You've Been Gone is: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars.
My ‘Blogging Reader’s Review’ after reading an ARC Copy of ‘SINCE YOU'VE BEEN GONE’(via: BooksMoviesFandoms.wordpress.com):
This is my review of “Since You’ve Been Gone” by Mary Jennifer Payne. The story follows a young fifteen-year-old girl from Canada who is on the run with her mother. They have been running for about five years from her father who was abusive towards her mother and the last straw was when it finally was directed toward Edie. The story is written in the main character’s P.O.V.(point of view), Edie Fraser.
Being on the run from her own father has left her feeling scared and worried. Her mother is all she has and they are both careful about not leaving a trail that can be followed. Edie is starting at yet another new school, this time in an entirely new country. There are the usual loner kids, bullies and friendly people as there are anywhere else. Edie’s mother, Sydney lets Edie know that she will be starting a new cleaning job in London. Everything is looking up for them in this new place.
But as soon as everything seems to shine a little glimmer of positive possibilities, the worst thing that could happen, does. Sydney doesn’t return home after her first night at her night-time cleaning job. Edie tries her best to not think the worst has happened and that maybe her mother simply got lost in a new place. When Edie begins to feel lost and alone, she finds herself confiding in and making a potential ally in a classmate who the school thinks the worst of. The rumors are that he is a killer.
Can Edie actually trust the classmate that she has began to open up to? Will Edie find her mother or has the worst happened? Is her father involved in her mother’s disappearance or is there a new threat? The story had a nice but mild suspenseful storyline but something about it just kept it falling short of being enthralling. The mystery behind the mother’s disappearance was captured well but it seemed like there were many characters and plot points that ended up feeling unnecessary. I enjoyed it enough to read it all the way through, the ending was entertaining and it wasn’t a bad plot at all. It was an okay story but it just fell short because of too much extras that weren’t relevant to the story. Check it out and make your own assessment on it.
My star rating for SINCE YOU'VE BEEN GONE is: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars.
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December 29, 2014
[Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley.]
There are some possible spoilers in this review, but nothing terribly major.
The story in this book was fine. Just fine. It wasn't spectacular, or really anything cutting-edge or amazing. It was fine, average, you know. My problem with it, and why it only gets two stars, was the writing. There was so much in the book that just didn't fit. The main character's mother is missing, and she's freaking out so much that she can't think straight. I get it. But she stops to notice the most irrelevant things, such as the way a bartender's muscles bulge in his shirt while leaping to the rescue of a drowning boy, or a description of what someone is wearing that has absolutely no bearing on anything at all. I still don't really understand the point of the scene on the bus with the guys wielding a knife, because it had absolutely nothing to do with anything else that was going on other than to showcase race relations in London, which had nothing to do with the story. Maybe just to highlight that other people have it rough too and she's not alone? Still, it was out of place.
I think this book takes place over the course of about a week, in which time the main character experiences some great cliches about being the new kid in school, steals some money and lets someone else take the blame (which apparently has no consequences on her once she confesses but the kid she lets take the blame is suspended and threatened with foster care), and then ends up in a relationship of sorts with the boy who takes the blame for stealing the money in the first place. The "romance" isn't written very well.
The ending was so rushed it felt like a non-ending. It's squeaky clean and sunshine and rainbows, except for the fact that she needs therapy for what happened.
Lastly, I'm sure this is just the copy I received because it wasn't a finished edition, but the formatting was awful. The title and author's name kept showing up randomly throughout, in lowercase, right in the middle of sentences. I had to train myself to read around it. There were also a lot of wrong or missing words, like it needs a better editor.
Not a fantastic book, but good for a quick read, I guess. Just "OK," therefore two stars.
There are some possible spoilers in this review, but nothing terribly major.
The story in this book was fine. Just fine. It wasn't spectacular, or really anything cutting-edge or amazing. It was fine, average, you know. My problem with it, and why it only gets two stars, was the writing. There was so much in the book that just didn't fit. The main character's mother is missing, and she's freaking out so much that she can't think straight. I get it. But she stops to notice the most irrelevant things, such as the way a bartender's muscles bulge in his shirt while leaping to the rescue of a drowning boy, or a description of what someone is wearing that has absolutely no bearing on anything at all. I still don't really understand the point of the scene on the bus with the guys wielding a knife, because it had absolutely nothing to do with anything else that was going on other than to showcase race relations in London, which had nothing to do with the story. Maybe just to highlight that other people have it rough too and she's not alone? Still, it was out of place.
I think this book takes place over the course of about a week, in which time the main character experiences some great cliches about being the new kid in school, steals some money and lets someone else take the blame (which apparently has no consequences on her once she confesses but the kid she lets take the blame is suspended and threatened with foster care), and then ends up in a relationship of sorts with the boy who takes the blame for stealing the money in the first place. The "romance" isn't written very well.
The ending was so rushed it felt like a non-ending. It's squeaky clean and sunshine and rainbows, except for the fact that she needs therapy for what happened.
Lastly, I'm sure this is just the copy I received because it wasn't a finished edition, but the formatting was awful. The title and author's name kept showing up randomly throughout, in lowercase, right in the middle of sentences. I had to train myself to read around it. There were also a lot of wrong or missing words, like it needs a better editor.
Not a fantastic book, but good for a quick read, I guess. Just "OK," therefore two stars.
August 23, 2014
www.readingbifrost.com
As soon as a couple of teenage girls started the ‘You don’t know me!’ ‘Well, you don’t know me!’ bickering at the beginning of the book, a little warning bell went off and the eye-rolling commenced. Okay, so we’re talking about 15 year old girls. Noted. Getting past the eye-twitching drama leads to the inconsistencies throughout the book.
Edie is first introduced as a fiery, short-tempered girl who would punch on anyone who crosses her. Skip ahead just a few pages and she turns into cowering kitten. At one point in the story the narration states that she ‘finally’ lets it all out and starts crying, when she’s been crying for the last 20 pages.
Another thing that aggravated me was when I finished the book, I realized there were several things that had happened and several characters that had no point to the story at all, or were just left hanging with no place to go.
The ‘romance’ was probably the worst part of the story. Edie, mother missing, enlists the help of Jermaine, a boy with big issues of his own. The romance seems to start out sweet and innocent enough, but at times Edie completely forgets about her mother missing and her father chasing her. She carelessly flirts with Jermaine, and even eyes several other guys in passing as the two search for her mother.
There’s a lot of adult/authority bashing; cops, teachers, random strangers. There was so much it became disturbing. Edie and Jermaine would be great candidates for the next Children of the Corn movie.
With that all out of the way, there were some good points made though out the story. It hits on topics such as school bullies, domestic violence (and how sometimes those two can coincide), and racism.
Overall the book was okay, but without at least one strong main character and consistent storytelling I can’t really recommend this one.
“The frustrating thing is that each time my life changes, I leave little pieces of myself behind”
As soon as a couple of teenage girls started the ‘You don’t know me!’ ‘Well, you don’t know me!’ bickering at the beginning of the book, a little warning bell went off and the eye-rolling commenced. Okay, so we’re talking about 15 year old girls. Noted. Getting past the eye-twitching drama leads to the inconsistencies throughout the book.
Edie is first introduced as a fiery, short-tempered girl who would punch on anyone who crosses her. Skip ahead just a few pages and she turns into cowering kitten. At one point in the story the narration states that she ‘finally’ lets it all out and starts crying, when she’s been crying for the last 20 pages.
Another thing that aggravated me was when I finished the book, I realized there were several things that had happened and several characters that had no point to the story at all, or were just left hanging with no place to go.
The ‘romance’ was probably the worst part of the story. Edie, mother missing, enlists the help of Jermaine, a boy with big issues of his own. The romance seems to start out sweet and innocent enough, but at times Edie completely forgets about her mother missing and her father chasing her. She carelessly flirts with Jermaine, and even eyes several other guys in passing as the two search for her mother.
There’s a lot of adult/authority bashing; cops, teachers, random strangers. There was so much it became disturbing. Edie and Jermaine would be great candidates for the next Children of the Corn movie.
With that all out of the way, there were some good points made though out the story. It hits on topics such as school bullies, domestic violence (and how sometimes those two can coincide), and racism.
Overall the book was okay, but without at least one strong main character and consistent storytelling I can’t really recommend this one.
December 1, 2014
I have to start by saying I'm not a huge fan of mean girls and bullying, whether or not our main character shows her mettle and quietly stares them down or goes all Hulk on them and shows them she isn't one to be pushed around. I'm just... it's not a favorite theme of mine. So when Edie starts her new school and has her initial run-in with the local mean girl AND quietly gives the cold shoulder to the person who initially welcomes her I wasn't loving that.
BUT... while the bullying theme runs through almost every part of this narrative (Edie's father, the teachers and students at school treating Jermaine like he's a delinquent, the boys on the bus, etc), it worked. She's lived the past five years on the run and she's tired and strung out from always looking over her shoulder and not being able to put down any roots. While her mom is doing everything she can to keep Edie safe, Edie only sees that they're in a new place and she has to learn how to make things work all over again.
Other than her mother, she doesn't have anyone to trust and it drags at her. And, yeah, as a fifteen year old she has some resentment toward the way of life she and her mother lead. When her mother goes missing, Edie sees how fragile their way of life truly is and it's terrifying.
In the end, this book is about standing tall in the face of adversity. Edie finds people she can lean on and she comes to understand that she's not alone. By facing her fears and reaching out to others, she finds a place for herself. It's not without a price, however, and she has to figure out how far to push before she shatters completely.
-Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal
BUT... while the bullying theme runs through almost every part of this narrative (Edie's father, the teachers and students at school treating Jermaine like he's a delinquent, the boys on the bus, etc), it worked. She's lived the past five years on the run and she's tired and strung out from always looking over her shoulder and not being able to put down any roots. While her mom is doing everything she can to keep Edie safe, Edie only sees that they're in a new place and she has to learn how to make things work all over again.
Other than her mother, she doesn't have anyone to trust and it drags at her. And, yeah, as a fifteen year old she has some resentment toward the way of life she and her mother lead. When her mother goes missing, Edie sees how fragile their way of life truly is and it's terrifying.
In the end, this book is about standing tall in the face of adversity. Edie finds people she can lean on and she comes to understand that she's not alone. By facing her fears and reaching out to others, she finds a place for herself. It's not without a price, however, and she has to figure out how far to push before she shatters completely.
-Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal
December 30, 2014
I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This was an extremely quick read. I was able to read the entire book in just a few hours. It was very fast-paced, and there were few dull moments. That being said, it didn't seem like much actually happened.
Edie and her mother have been moving from place to place for the past five years. Every time Edie thinks they might be able to settle down, her abusive father finds them, and they have to run again. Her mother decides to move from Canada to London, thinking that would be enough for her father to lose their trail.
Starting a new school is tough enough, but add in the fact that Edie has an accent and doesn't really understand some of the phrases and customs, and it goes downhill quickly. She is bullied on her first day, and her homeroom teacher seems to already dislike her. To make matters worse, her mother never returns home after her first shift at her new job. Edie is sure her father has something to do with it, and is determined to find her before it's too late.
I struggled with rating this one. It definitely wasn't a bad book, but it wasn't amazing, either. The plot was promising, and while it was intriguing, I never felt like it lived up to its potential. It was well-written, however, and while the characters weren't flat, they could have been fleshed out just a little more. I think I would have enjoyed this more if it had been a little longer. It felt rushed at the end, and I think even a few more chapters would have helped the characters.
In conclusion, I feel this was a very promising book that just fell a little short.
This was an extremely quick read. I was able to read the entire book in just a few hours. It was very fast-paced, and there were few dull moments. That being said, it didn't seem like much actually happened.
Edie and her mother have been moving from place to place for the past five years. Every time Edie thinks they might be able to settle down, her abusive father finds them, and they have to run again. Her mother decides to move from Canada to London, thinking that would be enough for her father to lose their trail.
Starting a new school is tough enough, but add in the fact that Edie has an accent and doesn't really understand some of the phrases and customs, and it goes downhill quickly. She is bullied on her first day, and her homeroom teacher seems to already dislike her. To make matters worse, her mother never returns home after her first shift at her new job. Edie is sure her father has something to do with it, and is determined to find her before it's too late.
I struggled with rating this one. It definitely wasn't a bad book, but it wasn't amazing, either. The plot was promising, and while it was intriguing, I never felt like it lived up to its potential. It was well-written, however, and while the characters weren't flat, they could have been fleshed out just a little more. I think I would have enjoyed this more if it had been a little longer. It felt rushed at the end, and I think even a few more chapters would have helped the characters.
In conclusion, I feel this was a very promising book that just fell a little short.
May 6, 2016
For the past five years, Edie Fraser and her mum have been on the run, trying to escape her abusive rather. This time, things have gone from bad to worse. Not only is she in a new school, but she’s in a new country, her mother has been missing for days and she has no one to talk to without ending up in care.
This was a very short YA book, which was a nice, easy read. However, this meant that although the main story was good, there were lots of little details and minor characters that I would have liked to be explored further.
The book completely sucks you in, it’s fast paced and interesting; I managed to complete it in one sitting. I found Edie was a very likeable character,she was strong and sure minded. She was certain that she would find her mother, without the help of the police in case she ended up in care, or them contacting her father.
The book deals with many large issue that teenagers face in today’s society – bullying, racism, violence, isolation. However, as it was a short story, some of these issues and the characters they surrounds weren’t explored enough to give them justice, especially Precious and her home life and Jermaine and his childhood trauma. Additionally, the romance element was almost thrown on top as if it was as “must have” of a YA book, leaving me finding it rushed, unbelievable and unnecessary.
A hooking book, which will be quickly read and leave you wanting more details.
*Thanks to NetGallery for providing me with a ARC in return for an honest review*
For this review, and others like it, see: https://tumblingintowonderlandbooks.w...
This was a very short YA book, which was a nice, easy read. However, this meant that although the main story was good, there were lots of little details and minor characters that I would have liked to be explored further.
The book completely sucks you in, it’s fast paced and interesting; I managed to complete it in one sitting. I found Edie was a very likeable character,she was strong and sure minded. She was certain that she would find her mother, without the help of the police in case she ended up in care, or them contacting her father.
The book deals with many large issue that teenagers face in today’s society – bullying, racism, violence, isolation. However, as it was a short story, some of these issues and the characters they surrounds weren’t explored enough to give them justice, especially Precious and her home life and Jermaine and his childhood trauma. Additionally, the romance element was almost thrown on top as if it was as “must have” of a YA book, leaving me finding it rushed, unbelievable and unnecessary.
A hooking book, which will be quickly read and leave you wanting more details.
*Thanks to NetGallery for providing me with a ARC in return for an honest review*
For this review, and others like it, see: https://tumblingintowonderlandbooks.w...
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