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Deliver Her
On the night of Alex Carmody’s sixteenth birthday, she and her best friend, Cass, are victims of a terrible car accident. Alex survives; Cass doesn’t. Consumed by grief, Alex starts cutting school and partying, growing increasingly detached. The future she’d planned with her friend is now meaningless to her.
Meg Carmody is heartbroken for her daughter, even as she’s desperate to get Alex’s life back on track. The Birches, a boarding school in New Hampshire, promises to do just that, yet Alex refuses to go. But when Meg finds a bag of pills hidden in the house, she makes a fateful call to a transporter whose company specializes in shuttling troubled teens to places like The Birches, under strict supervision. Meg knows Alex will feel betrayed—as will her estranged husband, who knows nothing of Meg’s plans for their daughter.
When the transport goes wrong—and Alex goes missing—Meg must face the consequences of her decision and her deception. But the hunt for Alex reveals that Meg is not the only one keeping secrets.
Meg Carmody is heartbroken for her daughter, even as she’s desperate to get Alex’s life back on track. The Birches, a boarding school in New Hampshire, promises to do just that, yet Alex refuses to go. But when Meg finds a bag of pills hidden in the house, she makes a fateful call to a transporter whose company specializes in shuttling troubled teens to places like The Birches, under strict supervision. Meg knows Alex will feel betrayed—as will her estranged husband, who knows nothing of Meg’s plans for their daughter.
When the transport goes wrong—and Alex goes missing—Meg must face the consequences of her decision and her deception. But the hunt for Alex reveals that Meg is not the only one keeping secrets.
352 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 2016
1483 people are currently reading
6573 people want to read
About the author
Patricia Perry Donovan
2 books154 followersPatricia Perry Donovan is the author of DELIVER HER, as well as AT WAVE'S END, coming August 15, 2017. She is a journalist who writes about healthcare. Her fiction has appeared in Gravel Literary, Flash Fiction Magazine, Bethlehem Writers Roundtable, and other literary journals. The mother of two grown daughters, Patricia lives at the Jersey Shore with her husband.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 561 reviews
September 21, 2017
Find all my reviews on my blog: https//thesuspenseisthrillingme.com
Date Read: 08/08/16
Pub Date: 05/01/16
3.5 STARS (rounded to 4 on Goodreads)
On the night of Alex Carmody’s sixteenth birthday, she and her best friend, Cass, are victims of a terrible car accident. Alex survives; Cass doesn’t. Consumed by grief, Alex starts cutting school and partying, growing increasingly detached. The future she’d planned with her friend is now meaningless to her.
Meg Carmody is heartbroken for her daughter, even as she’s desperate to get Alex’s life back on track. The Birches, a boarding school in New Hampshire, promises to do just that, yet Alex refuses to go. But when Meg finds a bag of pills hidden in the house, she makes a fateful call to a transporter whose company specializes in shuttling troubled teens to places like The Birches, under strict supervision. Meg knows Alex will feel betrayed—as will her estranged husband, who knows nothing of Meg’s plans for their daughter.
When the transport goes wrong—and Alex goes missing—Meg must face the consequences of her decision and her deception. But the hunt for Alex reveals that Meg is not the only one keeping secrets.
This was a sneaky read indeed, and I mean that in a good way. I seem to be on a roll for picking up books that are completely different than I expected, which I’m grateful for as it seems to be expanding my reading palate. I went in thinking this was going to be a bit more high action and mysterious, when in reality it is a steady, slower paced character study. I think if this one had been marketed better on Goodreads (which is neither the author or publisher’s fault), it would be getting the attention it needs from the proper audience. I might be wrong, but I felt this would be more at home in a General Lit or Domestic Suspense category, as the main focus seems to be on heavily developing the characters.
The author did a knock out job of creating characters that I was interested in, so much so, that I was actually more drawn in to the sections with Meg and her soon to be ex-husband/any scenes connected to their family life than I was in the actual mystery surrounding daughter Alex. If I had to rate this book solely on the character development and writing quality the author had created, this would have been hands down a 5 star read for me. I just felt the mystery and thrilling aspect were a little underwhelming and predictable which took away from the strengths of the story. Again, this might just be a fault in myself not being able to separate my past experience with previous high octane thrillers and my expectations derived from those experiences, so I want to emphasize again that this is definitely a book well worth the read, but I recommend doing it for the right reasons.
Overall, this was a strong story and I intend to read more from Patricia P. Donovan. I’m really interested to see where she decides to go next; she has an immense talent in developing characters who, even though they might be flawed and at times unlikeable, I felt attached to and connected with even after flipping the last page. This was a complex story with layers you had to peel back like an onion; not a speedy read but one to be enjoyed slowly as to absorb all the fine details included to enhance the story. It’s clear Ms. Donovan went the extra mile to instill a feeling of true anxiety and reality into the interactions between each member of the Carmody family, which I greatly appreciated.
* I received a my copy via the author in exchange for an honest and fair review. Thank you so much Patricia for including me and am looking forward to your next book!
Date Read: 08/08/16
Pub Date: 05/01/16
3.5 STARS (rounded to 4 on Goodreads)
On the night of Alex Carmody’s sixteenth birthday, she and her best friend, Cass, are victims of a terrible car accident. Alex survives; Cass doesn’t. Consumed by grief, Alex starts cutting school and partying, growing increasingly detached. The future she’d planned with her friend is now meaningless to her.
Meg Carmody is heartbroken for her daughter, even as she’s desperate to get Alex’s life back on track. The Birches, a boarding school in New Hampshire, promises to do just that, yet Alex refuses to go. But when Meg finds a bag of pills hidden in the house, she makes a fateful call to a transporter whose company specializes in shuttling troubled teens to places like The Birches, under strict supervision. Meg knows Alex will feel betrayed—as will her estranged husband, who knows nothing of Meg’s plans for their daughter.
When the transport goes wrong—and Alex goes missing—Meg must face the consequences of her decision and her deception. But the hunt for Alex reveals that Meg is not the only one keeping secrets.
This was a sneaky read indeed, and I mean that in a good way. I seem to be on a roll for picking up books that are completely different than I expected, which I’m grateful for as it seems to be expanding my reading palate. I went in thinking this was going to be a bit more high action and mysterious, when in reality it is a steady, slower paced character study. I think if this one had been marketed better on Goodreads (which is neither the author or publisher’s fault), it would be getting the attention it needs from the proper audience. I might be wrong, but I felt this would be more at home in a General Lit or Domestic Suspense category, as the main focus seems to be on heavily developing the characters.
The author did a knock out job of creating characters that I was interested in, so much so, that I was actually more drawn in to the sections with Meg and her soon to be ex-husband/any scenes connected to their family life than I was in the actual mystery surrounding daughter Alex. If I had to rate this book solely on the character development and writing quality the author had created, this would have been hands down a 5 star read for me. I just felt the mystery and thrilling aspect were a little underwhelming and predictable which took away from the strengths of the story. Again, this might just be a fault in myself not being able to separate my past experience with previous high octane thrillers and my expectations derived from those experiences, so I want to emphasize again that this is definitely a book well worth the read, but I recommend doing it for the right reasons.
Overall, this was a strong story and I intend to read more from Patricia P. Donovan. I’m really interested to see where she decides to go next; she has an immense talent in developing characters who, even though they might be flawed and at times unlikeable, I felt attached to and connected with even after flipping the last page. This was a complex story with layers you had to peel back like an onion; not a speedy read but one to be enjoyed slowly as to absorb all the fine details included to enhance the story. It’s clear Ms. Donovan went the extra mile to instill a feeling of true anxiety and reality into the interactions between each member of the Carmody family, which I greatly appreciated.
* I received a my copy via the author in exchange for an honest and fair review. Thank you so much Patricia for including me and am looking forward to your next book!
April 4, 2016
I think the product description for this read tells you as much as, if not more than you really need to know before you start to read. It is a very slow moving book, particularly at the beginning and because you “know” what to expect from the blurb, then for the first 45 to 50% you get that feeling that you are just waiting for the main event to start. It is classed as a suspense read but I would describe it as being more of a family relationship drama, as I didn’t really find it suspenseful at all. In fact, what happens in the book was just all too easy to second guess.
As a mother of teenagers I felt that I could readily identify with Meg and I really empathised with her as she tried her level best to do what is right by daughter Alex, who has gone off the rails somewhat since her best friend’s death in an accident. By that some token, I found I didn’t really care about Alex one way or another but that may have been because we are of different generations.
That having been said, I really enjoyed the sections of the book that showed the disintegration of a marriage and the effect it had on the children of the family. It all felt so real and heartbreakingly believable. The “suspense/thriller/action” side of the read just didn’t shine through for me at all however.
As a mother of teenagers I felt that I could readily identify with Meg and I really empathised with her as she tried her level best to do what is right by daughter Alex, who has gone off the rails somewhat since her best friend’s death in an accident. By that some token, I found I didn’t really care about Alex one way or another but that may have been because we are of different generations.
That having been said, I really enjoyed the sections of the book that showed the disintegration of a marriage and the effect it had on the children of the family. It all felt so real and heartbreakingly believable. The “suspense/thriller/action” side of the read just didn’t shine through for me at all however.
April 25, 2016
So, what to say about this book... First and foremost, I think the book dragged on and on, then just fell off a cliff at the end. It literally just stopped... Which was odd to me.
I think that a lot more could have been used in the book around the girls feels around her loosing her best friend, which is what I thought the book was going to be about. WRONG!! I found the book a little tedious to get through due to this.
Don't get me wrong, the book was free with PRIME for this month, for a free book, it was good. I think that I would have been really annoyed had I bought the book.
Here's the thing, the book is solely based on sending a child off to reform school for acting out when she lost her best friend the year before. I think that is a little extreme, especially because the daughter is in high school and trying to figure out who she is as a person and loosing your best friend during that time is hard.
The book also focuses on car accidents, which is fine at first, then it just becomes predictable.
So, really the book was.... just okay. I would give it a solid 3 stars. It's nothing to brag home about!
I think that a lot more could have been used in the book around the girls feels around her loosing her best friend, which is what I thought the book was going to be about. WRONG!! I found the book a little tedious to get through due to this.
Don't get me wrong, the book was free with PRIME for this month, for a free book, it was good. I think that I would have been really annoyed had I bought the book.
Here's the thing, the book is solely based on sending a child off to reform school for acting out when she lost her best friend the year before. I think that is a little extreme, especially because the daughter is in high school and trying to figure out who she is as a person and loosing your best friend during that time is hard.
The book also focuses on car accidents, which is fine at first, then it just becomes predictable.
So, really the book was.... just okay. I would give it a solid 3 stars. It's nothing to brag home about!
May 26, 2018
Deliver Her was such a good audio book! I freaking love mystery books so much and this family was a hot mess. Also, something I love to read about.
Meg, Alex, and Jacob are the hot mess of a family I mentioned. Alex went through something terrible on her 16th birthday. Her best friend Cass died in a car accident. Since that day, Alex has been struggling to go back to the way she was and healing and moving on from that accident. She doesn't get along with her mom and doesn't like that her dad is barely home. Alex needs help because she keeps making all sorts of wrong decisions when it comes to her life. She also needs to grieve for her friend in a healthy way.
Then there's Meg, who doesn't know how to help Alex or Jacob, her husband. She has missed so many signs and hasn't noticed how bad they've gone down the rabbit hole. Of course, she blames herself for not realizing it and for putting these two through it. When she really shouldn't have done that. Even though I felt bad for her because of what she went through with Alex and Jacob, Meg did something about it. She wanted Alex to get help and went around Jacob's back so many times.
Jacob was an asshole. I didn't like him the entire book. I honestly wanted him out of the picture because he only really cared about himself and his career.
Deliver Her had realistic characters dealing with realistic situations. When there's a death involved, characters and people deal with it different. Especially if they were in that same accident and survived. Then of course, parents in any relationship do tend to drift apart. Especially if other things become more important. I felt bad for Meg and what she had to go through. I didn't like that she blamed herself for it all because she wasn't to be blamed at all. Yes, she missed signs but nobody is perfect.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I did get confused sometimes because of the change between past and present. Maybe if this audio went by chapters I probably would've caught on to it and my buddy read updates would've been more consistent.. but this book and I were all over the place. In the end, I liked it. The ending was kind of sudden and I was thinking my audio froze for a second..but nope, it was over. I will definitely be looking into another book by this author as well.
Meg, Alex, and Jacob are the hot mess of a family I mentioned. Alex went through something terrible on her 16th birthday. Her best friend Cass died in a car accident. Since that day, Alex has been struggling to go back to the way she was and healing and moving on from that accident. She doesn't get along with her mom and doesn't like that her dad is barely home. Alex needs help because she keeps making all sorts of wrong decisions when it comes to her life. She also needs to grieve for her friend in a healthy way.
Then there's Meg, who doesn't know how to help Alex or Jacob, her husband. She has missed so many signs and hasn't noticed how bad they've gone down the rabbit hole. Of course, she blames herself for not realizing it and for putting these two through it. When she really shouldn't have done that. Even though I felt bad for her because of what she went through with Alex and Jacob, Meg did something about it. She wanted Alex to get help and went around Jacob's back so many times.
Jacob was an asshole. I didn't like him the entire book. I honestly wanted him out of the picture because he only really cared about himself and his career.
Deliver Her had realistic characters dealing with realistic situations. When there's a death involved, characters and people deal with it different. Especially if they were in that same accident and survived. Then of course, parents in any relationship do tend to drift apart. Especially if other things become more important. I felt bad for Meg and what she had to go through. I didn't like that she blamed herself for it all because she wasn't to be blamed at all. Yes, she missed signs but nobody is perfect.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I did get confused sometimes because of the change between past and present. Maybe if this audio went by chapters I probably would've caught on to it and my buddy read updates would've been more consistent.. but this book and I were all over the place. In the end, I liked it. The ending was kind of sudden and I was thinking my audio froze for a second..but nope, it was over. I will definitely be looking into another book by this author as well.
July 10, 2016
This was pretty much a waste of time. Unlikable characters who do implausible things without getting the facts straight. The dad was a skeevy piece of shit and the daughter, Alex, was a hot mess (and who the hell still hitchhikes in the 21st century?). The mom was pretty believable up until the end, where she's already learned that her daughter was actually not a bad kid all along, and yet jumps straight to the conclusion that Alex, despite being highly successful at her new school, is getting drugs from a friend. Nice trust, Mom.
Really crappy editing, too: a woman shows Alex a picture on her phone of her daughter, wearing pink glasses; later on, Alex remembers a photo in a wallet with a girl in blue glasses. Um, no.
Also, a huge turning point in the story happens when the skeevy dad tells Alex -- at her Sweet Sixteen, no less -- that "nope, we can't afford to send you to the University of Hawaii," because of course those decisions are made spur-of-the-moment two years before college is in the picture and without considering any other options, and of COURSE this is such a major bombshell that it's going to cause all the future problems in the book.
Oh, and the knock-off Phish jam band storyline was really, really dumb.
Really crappy editing, too: a woman shows Alex a picture on her phone of her daughter, wearing pink glasses; later on, Alex remembers a photo in a wallet with a girl in blue glasses. Um, no.
Also, a huge turning point in the story happens when the skeevy dad tells Alex -- at her Sweet Sixteen, no less -- that "nope, we can't afford to send you to the University of Hawaii," because of course those decisions are made spur-of-the-moment two years before college is in the picture and without considering any other options, and of COURSE this is such a major bombshell that it's going to cause all the future problems in the book.
Oh, and the knock-off Phish jam band storyline was really, really dumb.
May 23, 2016
Ahh, this was great. An amazing thriller with a sweet and satisfying ending.
I like the way the author tied in recovering from grief and moving on to such a mysterious plot. It was all really well put together.
It was full of some fantastic characters as well and I loved Alex's and Meg's development and Carl's determination.
A very strong book that I would definitely recommend.
I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I like the way the author tied in recovering from grief and moving on to such a mysterious plot. It was all really well put together.
It was full of some fantastic characters as well and I loved Alex's and Meg's development and Carl's determination.
A very strong book that I would definitely recommend.
I received this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
April 5, 2016
Grade: D-
One Word: Unrealistic
Full disclosure: I only downloaded DELIVER HER because it was free from Amazon Prime First Reads
Alex has been spiraling out of control since her best friend's death, so her mother Meg hires Carl to transport the teen to a therapeutic boarding school, unbeknownst to Alex's father, from whom Meg is separated. But, Alex goes missing from transport and the search is on to find her.
Billed as a suspense novel, I never felt any tension reading DELIVER HER. The plot was contrived, filled with coincidences and cheesy aha moments, more telling than showing and beating the reader over the head with the obvious.
The characters weren't neither sympathetic nor likable. I didn't like the multiple third person POV approach. Perhaps if Patricia Perry Donovan had used at least one first person POV I might have felt connected to at least one of the main characters.
The premise sounded interesting, but the story didn't live up to the hype in the blurb.
One Word: Unrealistic
Full disclosure: I only downloaded DELIVER HER because it was free from Amazon Prime First Reads
Alex has been spiraling out of control since her best friend's death, so her mother Meg hires Carl to transport the teen to a therapeutic boarding school, unbeknownst to Alex's father, from whom Meg is separated. But, Alex goes missing from transport and the search is on to find her.
Billed as a suspense novel, I never felt any tension reading DELIVER HER. The plot was contrived, filled with coincidences and cheesy aha moments, more telling than showing and beating the reader over the head with the obvious.
The characters weren't neither sympathetic nor likable. I didn't like the multiple third person POV approach. Perhaps if Patricia Perry Donovan had used at least one first person POV I might have felt connected to at least one of the main characters.
The premise sounded interesting, but the story didn't live up to the hype in the blurb.
May 16, 2016
Alex’s best friend has died and she is taking the loss very hard. Her school work is starting to suffer, she is doing drugs and making bad decisions. Her mother is trying to help but her teen-age daughter is not in a place to accept any help especially from her mother. Her mother makes the decision to enroll her in a school for troubled teens and on the way Alex disappears. This books is a slow read not the suspense it was listed as but for any parent who has ever worried about their child it could be considered suspenseful. I would like to thank the Publisher and Net Galley for the chance to read this ARC.
December 11, 2019
Meg and Jacob are no happy couple. They're facing a divorce and Jacob now lives in the basement. Then there's their teenage daughter Alex, who went wild several times but when Meg finds multi-coloured pills, she has enough and wants to send her off to boarding school.
When Alex, not only mourning her best friends death but feeling guilty, refuses Meg decides to hire "Begin Again", a service offering smooth transitions for troubled teens.
So Meg betrays not only her daughter, but also her husband and when the transport goes wrong and Alex goes missing, things get completely out of control.
This sounds so promising, doesn't it? But from the first few pages I had a hard time staying intererested in this story.
The characters are heavily developed but for my liking the pace was too slow. I expected an interesting mystery with a twist and I got mostly boring drama with characters I didn't like. If the focus was on their family life plus issues and the girl griefing her best friends accident, including who in fact is guilty, this would have been much better.
This way I was just underwhelmed by a story, that dragged and then just stopped.
I did like Carl, the karaoke singing driver and his colleague Murphy. I understood Meg and how desperate she was to right the mess her life became and help her daughter back on track. I also understood desperate but troubled Alex, especially when she remembers the fateful night of her sweet sixteen, that caused her cutting school and excessive behaviour. Then again she mostly doesn't show her lovely side but a very calculating and sullen. Might be out of helplessness or might not, I don't know.
I just wasn't gripped or drawn or particularly interested in this. The characters and their stories, backgrounds and difficulties might be quite interesting but this just wasn't for me.
When Alex, not only mourning her best friends death but feeling guilty, refuses Meg decides to hire "Begin Again", a service offering smooth transitions for troubled teens.
So Meg betrays not only her daughter, but also her husband and when the transport goes wrong and Alex goes missing, things get completely out of control.
This sounds so promising, doesn't it? But from the first few pages I had a hard time staying intererested in this story.
The characters are heavily developed but for my liking the pace was too slow. I expected an interesting mystery with a twist and I got mostly boring drama with characters I didn't like. If the focus was on their family life plus issues and the girl griefing her best friends accident, including who in fact is guilty, this would have been much better.
This way I was just underwhelmed by a story, that dragged and then just stopped.
I did like Carl, the karaoke singing driver and his colleague Murphy. I understood Meg and how desperate she was to right the mess her life became and help her daughter back on track. I also understood desperate but troubled Alex, especially when she remembers the fateful night of her sweet sixteen, that caused her cutting school and excessive behaviour. Then again she mostly doesn't show her lovely side but a very calculating and sullen. Might be out of helplessness or might not, I don't know.
I just wasn't gripped or drawn or particularly interested in this. The characters and their stories, backgrounds and difficulties might be quite interesting but this just wasn't for me.
February 19, 2017
3.5 / 5
Different from what I was expecting but an enjoyable read overall.
While this book was billed a suspense/thriller, I felt it lacked the tension to qualify as either and instead ended up as more of a family drama with a dash of mystery thrown in. That's not to say that a family drama is a bad thing, but it wasn't quite what I had in mind from the synopsis.
The story is deliveredha from three perspectives (Meg the mother, Alex the daughter, and Carl the transport driver respectively) and I felt that they all had realistically different voices.
Meg is a mom who seems to be in over her head, unable to understand her teenage daughter or her estranged husband. She has a busy job and struggles to communicate with her family. She often assumes the worst due to that lack of communication and she's hasty in making some big decisions.
Alex is a confused teen, grieving over the loss of her best friend and feeling incapable of confiding in either of her parents, who are separated but still living together. Like many teens, Alex is at a loss of how to cope with everything, and thus makes some unwise choices.
Carl is the founder of a transport service which supervises troubled teens on their way to their destination, which in Alex's case is a boarding school her mother picked out. Carl has a past he struggles with but he tries to take life 'one show at a time' and ultimately hopes to help the teens he transports find their way.
I found it very easy to be drawn into the story and I felt like I really understood each character's motivations and choices. By the end of the book, I felt that the character's aren't quite where they want to be just yet, but they're on their way there with confidence.
Though there was a sad lack of diversity and bit of a wish fulfillment vibe, where problems are a bit too easily solved, but overall the story was sweet, simple, and to the point.
That being said, this book can come off a bit like a 'first world problems' meme, because while the family is said to be struggling monetarily, they can still afford to send their daughter to a big boarding school and hire a transport service to take her there. Occasionally, as someone who themselves is effectively broke 24/7, I found myself rolling my eyes at the family's issues. Simultaneously, as someone with depression and anxiety issues, I knew that just because your problems aren't as severe as someone else's, it doesn't mean they're any less painful.
I think that as a reader, you have to decide for yourself whether or not this type of book is for you, and I hope that somehow in my rambling review, I've helped someone decide whether or not to give it a try.
Different from what I was expecting but an enjoyable read overall.
While this book was billed a suspense/thriller, I felt it lacked the tension to qualify as either and instead ended up as more of a family drama with a dash of mystery thrown in. That's not to say that a family drama is a bad thing, but it wasn't quite what I had in mind from the synopsis.
The story is delivered
Meg is a mom who seems to be in over her head, unable to understand her teenage daughter or her estranged husband. She has a busy job and struggles to communicate with her family. She often assumes the worst due to that lack of communication and she's hasty in making some big decisions.
Alex is a confused teen, grieving over the loss of her best friend and feeling incapable of confiding in either of her parents, who are separated but still living together. Like many teens, Alex is at a loss of how to cope with everything, and thus makes some unwise choices.
Carl is the founder of a transport service which supervises troubled teens on their way to their destination, which in Alex's case is a boarding school her mother picked out. Carl has a past he struggles with but he tries to take life 'one show at a time' and ultimately hopes to help the teens he transports find their way.
I found it very easy to be drawn into the story and I felt like I really understood each character's motivations and choices. By the end of the book, I felt that the character's aren't quite where they want to be just yet, but they're on their way there with confidence.
Though there was a sad lack of diversity and bit of a wish fulfillment vibe, where problems are a bit too easily solved, but overall the story was sweet, simple, and to the point.
That being said, this book can come off a bit like a 'first world problems' meme, because while the family is said to be struggling monetarily, they can still afford to send their daughter to a big boarding school and hire a transport service to take her there. Occasionally, as someone who themselves is effectively broke 24/7, I found myself rolling my eyes at the family's issues. Simultaneously, as someone with depression and anxiety issues, I knew that just because your problems aren't as severe as someone else's, it doesn't mean they're any less painful.
I think that as a reader, you have to decide for yourself whether or not this type of book is for you, and I hope that somehow in my rambling review, I've helped someone decide whether or not to give it a try.
October 19, 2019
I'm puzzled that I thought this book was a suspense/thriller. Now that I've finished it, it read more like a character-driven fiction story. I think it was the last part of the synopsis that made me think this would be suspenseful book but alas it just was not.
Still, I loved the development of the characters. There are three alternating POV's: Alex, a troubled teen on a destructive path after surviving a car accident that killed her best friend; Meg, Alex's mother, who is a hot mess; and Carl, the transporter hired by Meg to drive Alex to a boarding school several states away.
All of the characters-main and secondary-have big issues and secrets that create tons of drama and tension. Each one is interesting and well-developed, and I enjoyed reading about them all. I particularly liked the scenes involving Meg and her husband Jacob, who have some big relationship issues and some holy-cow-major-secrets they are keeping from one another. I felt like both of them were complex and written as if they could have been the focal point of the story even though they technically were not.
As important as the story of Alex is, I just don't feel like her voice is as strong as her mother's or even her father's (he is not one of the main POV's). I think that is why I am not as compelled by her. I can tell that she is struggling tremendously with the loss of her best friend. I can tell that her bad behavior is a cry for attention. I can tell many things about her. But I don't feel much of a connection to her when I'm reading, and that makes me sad. I feel like she is supposed to be the link connecting all of the other characters, so I needed her voice to be stronger than it was.
I wish some of the detailing and writing throughout had been a little bit tighter. For example, it kept occurring to me that I didn't really know where Alex and Carl, the transporter, were along their road trip to the boarding school as they drove. Since the road trip took up such a large part of the story, and since the "transport goes wrong" (per the synopsis, not a spoiler), the transport detailing needed to be TIGHT.
This book was okay, but it's worth noting that I definitely liked it better as a character-driven fiction story than as suspense or thriller. It probably won't make it onto my rereads list, but I'm definitely planning to read Ms. Donovan's next release, which will be out in a few weeks.
Still, I loved the development of the characters. There are three alternating POV's: Alex, a troubled teen on a destructive path after surviving a car accident that killed her best friend; Meg, Alex's mother, who is a hot mess; and Carl, the transporter hired by Meg to drive Alex to a boarding school several states away.
All of the characters-main and secondary-have big issues and secrets that create tons of drama and tension. Each one is interesting and well-developed, and I enjoyed reading about them all. I particularly liked the scenes involving Meg and her husband Jacob, who have some big relationship issues and some holy-cow-major-secrets they are keeping from one another. I felt like both of them were complex and written as if they could have been the focal point of the story even though they technically were not.
As important as the story of Alex is, I just don't feel like her voice is as strong as her mother's or even her father's (he is not one of the main POV's). I think that is why I am not as compelled by her. I can tell that she is struggling tremendously with the loss of her best friend. I can tell that her bad behavior is a cry for attention. I can tell many things about her. But I don't feel much of a connection to her when I'm reading, and that makes me sad. I feel like she is supposed to be the link connecting all of the other characters, so I needed her voice to be stronger than it was.
I wish some of the detailing and writing throughout had been a little bit tighter. For example, it kept occurring to me that I didn't really know where Alex and Carl, the transporter, were along their road trip to the boarding school as they drove. Since the road trip took up such a large part of the story, and since the "transport goes wrong" (per the synopsis, not a spoiler), the transport detailing needed to be TIGHT.
This book was okay, but it's worth noting that I definitely liked it better as a character-driven fiction story than as suspense or thriller. It probably won't make it onto my rereads list, but I'm definitely planning to read Ms. Donovan's next release, which will be out in a few weeks.
May 5, 2016
This was a part of the Kindle First program... It sounded so intriguing. Then I read it... These are the reviews I don't like writing. Writing a constructive review for a book that was nothing like the hype always makes me question the validity of the hype. I know that not every book is for everyone. I do. But sometimes I question if I read the same book as others did.
I am not sure where to start with this book. I guess with the fact that this book was labeled as a suspense novel. There wasn't any suspense. None. I am sure the author tried to build some suspense, but it didn't come through to me that way.
I could not connect with the characters in any way. I really tried. They were too unrealistic. I don't care that this is a fictional story. Readers have to be able to connect with the characters in some way. These characters felt very underdeveloped in many ways and over exaggerated in other ways.
When I have characters that I can't jive with it makes the plot of the story drag. And this is such the case with this book. The plot wasn't smooth and easily read. I was hoping that it would pick up and redeem itself but it never did.
I am not sure where to start with this book. I guess with the fact that this book was labeled as a suspense novel. There wasn't any suspense. None. I am sure the author tried to build some suspense, but it didn't come through to me that way.
I could not connect with the characters in any way. I really tried. They were too unrealistic. I don't care that this is a fictional story. Readers have to be able to connect with the characters in some way. These characters felt very underdeveloped in many ways and over exaggerated in other ways.
When I have characters that I can't jive with it makes the plot of the story drag. And this is such the case with this book. The plot wasn't smooth and easily read. I was hoping that it would pick up and redeem itself but it never did.
April 1, 2016
This is a beautifully written book about choices, and how the choices that you make can change things so far down the road, so drastically, in wyas that you never could have possibly conceived.
The book revolves around three main characters' POVs; Meg, her daughter Alex, and Carl, who owns a business transporting troubled teens from their homes to rehab type schools. All of the characters in this book are really well-developed and relatable. Meg isn't the perfect mother; she makes critical mistakes, like all mothers do, in the raising of her children. She does what she feels is best for her kids; she's lost, unable to help her daughter deal with the loss of her best friend and the downward spiral her life has taken since her best friend's death. Alex is struggling, with school, with drugs and is completely losing control of her life, and all her mother wants to do is help her, although that help often comes out in a way that her daughter rejects completely.
I'm the mother of a teenager; I know how stubborn and hard-headed they can be once they've set their minds on a certain path. And I know how hard it can be to try and wind your own head down the same path. It made it that much easier to connect with Meg, to understand her fears and frustratons and her sadness. Her marriage was falling apart, her daughter was falling apart and she just wanted to make everything better. While I could sit here and shake my head at some of her decisions, knowing that they aren't good decisions, I can totally see myself making the same ones in her shoes, with the knowledge that she has.
Alex is also a totally relatable character; you can feel her pain and her guilt, over her friend's death and the decisions that she's made since, while you can also understand why she continues to make said decisions. Donovan does a wonderful job of really getting you into the character's heads and helping you understand why they make the choices they do, and how each choice ties back to another choice. She shows you how the smallest things that you don't even notice later can affect someone else in a way that you would never have anticipated.
Carl's story was an interesting addition to the book; not necessarily a needed point of view, but not a bad addition. It gave you a little of an outsider's perspective to Alex and Meg, but one with a developed story behind it. Carl's part of the story was able to give us a view of what was going on when Alex disappeared, later in the book, as he was an instrumental part of the search for Alex.
This book is a good, quick read; the writing is beautiful and flows well throughout the story and Donovan was able to hit on a lot of different points that should appeal to a wide range of readers, whether this is a genre they would typically enjoy or not. It's really outside of my normal reading scope, but it was a nice change. Once I started the book, there was no putting it down, so I was glad that today was the rainy and nasty kind of day that is perfect for devouring a book in one sitting.
**I received this book as part of Amazon's Kindle First program; the above review is a true reflection of my thoughts regarding this book and has not been influenced in any way.**
The book revolves around three main characters' POVs; Meg, her daughter Alex, and Carl, who owns a business transporting troubled teens from their homes to rehab type schools. All of the characters in this book are really well-developed and relatable. Meg isn't the perfect mother; she makes critical mistakes, like all mothers do, in the raising of her children. She does what she feels is best for her kids; she's lost, unable to help her daughter deal with the loss of her best friend and the downward spiral her life has taken since her best friend's death. Alex is struggling, with school, with drugs and is completely losing control of her life, and all her mother wants to do is help her, although that help often comes out in a way that her daughter rejects completely.
I'm the mother of a teenager; I know how stubborn and hard-headed they can be once they've set their minds on a certain path. And I know how hard it can be to try and wind your own head down the same path. It made it that much easier to connect with Meg, to understand her fears and frustratons and her sadness. Her marriage was falling apart, her daughter was falling apart and she just wanted to make everything better. While I could sit here and shake my head at some of her decisions, knowing that they aren't good decisions, I can totally see myself making the same ones in her shoes, with the knowledge that she has.
Alex is also a totally relatable character; you can feel her pain and her guilt, over her friend's death and the decisions that she's made since, while you can also understand why she continues to make said decisions. Donovan does a wonderful job of really getting you into the character's heads and helping you understand why they make the choices they do, and how each choice ties back to another choice. She shows you how the smallest things that you don't even notice later can affect someone else in a way that you would never have anticipated.
Carl's story was an interesting addition to the book; not necessarily a needed point of view, but not a bad addition. It gave you a little of an outsider's perspective to Alex and Meg, but one with a developed story behind it. Carl's part of the story was able to give us a view of what was going on when Alex disappeared, later in the book, as he was an instrumental part of the search for Alex.
This book is a good, quick read; the writing is beautiful and flows well throughout the story and Donovan was able to hit on a lot of different points that should appeal to a wide range of readers, whether this is a genre they would typically enjoy or not. It's really outside of my normal reading scope, but it was a nice change. Once I started the book, there was no putting it down, so I was glad that today was the rainy and nasty kind of day that is perfect for devouring a book in one sitting.
**I received this book as part of Amazon's Kindle First program; the above review is a true reflection of my thoughts regarding this book and has not been influenced in any way.**
June 18, 2018
I won a copy of
Deliver Her
from a Goodreads Giveaway and the author was kind enough to sign it.
** Spoilers ahead **
The premise sounds intriguing; teenage Alex is still reeling from the loss of her BFF from a car accident and has been acting out, cutting school and hanging out with a bad crowd.
Her mother, Meg, is at her wit's end and decides on sending her to a reform boarding school. She enlists the help of a driver named Carl to pick Alex up on a day when her husband is out of town, since they disagree on this course of action.
Unfortunately, a car accident derails their plans, injures Carl's colleague and allows Alex the opportunity to escape.
Will she be found in time? What will Meg do when her husband finds out?
This wasn't a bad plot except it was.
The lack of suspense and thrills notwithstanding, the narrative is split into three parts; mother Meg, daughter Alex, and the driver Carl.
Meg is a bit of a doormat, talking constantly about the inability to control her daughter and though I am not a parent, it doesn't sound like she's trying hard enough but that's just me.
Alex is the most sympathetic character; I can empathize with her loss, her tears and destructive behavior. Death is hard to understand, especially when you're young and think you're invincible. But it hurts the most when you blame yourself.
Carl is the most useless character voice. I didn't care for him nor did I find his narrative to be especially vital to the story.
The plot lacks suspense and thrills even though you expect some degree of disturbance when Alex goes missing, but I didn't feel it. That might be because I didn't really like anyone.
The story is also incessantly bogged down with inferences to Alex's favorite band and her slavish devotion to it, the Grateful Dead-like cult following this band has inspired in their legions of fans, of which Carl counts himself as one.
I didn't care about this band or how much Alex and Carl loved them and what it meant to her. It detracted from the story, of which I was quickly losing interest in once she escaped from the car wreck.
In the course of following her trail, Alex and Carl meet a woman and her daughter, who assist them on their journey in finding peace with their lives and themselves.
At the same time, Meg discovers the truth of the death of Alex's BFF from a frenemy of her daughters.
As other readers have commented, there was an eye rolling lack of communication and misdirection that could have easily been cleared up by the main characters just speaking to one another.
I also have to mention the always unnecessary family drama of Meg and her husband in the process of splitting up and his disclosure about the drugs she found and automatically accused her daughter of owning.
There was just too much going on and none of it interesting or suspenseful. The story dragged, the characters were boring and naturally, the ending is predictably predictable.
** Spoilers ahead **
The premise sounds intriguing; teenage Alex is still reeling from the loss of her BFF from a car accident and has been acting out, cutting school and hanging out with a bad crowd.
Her mother, Meg, is at her wit's end and decides on sending her to a reform boarding school. She enlists the help of a driver named Carl to pick Alex up on a day when her husband is out of town, since they disagree on this course of action.
Unfortunately, a car accident derails their plans, injures Carl's colleague and allows Alex the opportunity to escape.
Will she be found in time? What will Meg do when her husband finds out?
This wasn't a bad plot except it was.
The lack of suspense and thrills notwithstanding, the narrative is split into three parts; mother Meg, daughter Alex, and the driver Carl.
Meg is a bit of a doormat, talking constantly about the inability to control her daughter and though I am not a parent, it doesn't sound like she's trying hard enough but that's just me.
Alex is the most sympathetic character; I can empathize with her loss, her tears and destructive behavior. Death is hard to understand, especially when you're young and think you're invincible. But it hurts the most when you blame yourself.
Carl is the most useless character voice. I didn't care for him nor did I find his narrative to be especially vital to the story.
The plot lacks suspense and thrills even though you expect some degree of disturbance when Alex goes missing, but I didn't feel it. That might be because I didn't really like anyone.
The story is also incessantly bogged down with inferences to Alex's favorite band and her slavish devotion to it, the Grateful Dead-like cult following this band has inspired in their legions of fans, of which Carl counts himself as one.
I didn't care about this band or how much Alex and Carl loved them and what it meant to her. It detracted from the story, of which I was quickly losing interest in once she escaped from the car wreck.
In the course of following her trail, Alex and Carl meet a woman and her daughter, who assist them on their journey in finding peace with their lives and themselves.
At the same time, Meg discovers the truth of the death of Alex's BFF from a frenemy of her daughters.
As other readers have commented, there was an eye rolling lack of communication and misdirection that could have easily been cleared up by the main characters just speaking to one another.
I also have to mention the always unnecessary family drama of Meg and her husband in the process of splitting up and his disclosure about the drugs she found and automatically accused her daughter of owning.
There was just too much going on and none of it interesting or suspenseful. The story dragged, the characters were boring and naturally, the ending is predictably predictable.
February 24, 2017
3.5 ⭐️s
Ok, so there are 2 pretty major things I need to address first up:
1. The blurb gives way too much much away (literally didn't happen until 48% of the way through the book, according to my kindle). So it kinda felt like the first half of the book was just a slow moving, long winded build up for the real story to begin. That's not really true, but that's how the blurb makes it seem. If you haven't read the blurb yet, don't! Or read the first sentence or two and then stop.
2. This book is grossly mis-genred. For some unfathomable reason, it has been marketed as a suspenseful psychological thriller. Wtf? It is not that in the slightest. It is an emotional, contemporary family drama. I have absolutely no idea why they would do that. It is a good contemporary family drama; It is a terrible suspenseful psychological thriller. Lucky I like both genres or I would have been hugely disappointed!
But if I look at the book in its own right - pretending I haven't read the blurb, pretending I know nothing of the books genre - it was a good, enjoyable story that made me feel for and care about the characters and want to keep reading. It was a little slow in parts, but perhaps that did help build the emotion. The only thing I found a little cringy was the use of 'Youth slang' the author (who is, presumably, far from a teenager) made the teens use. "You know, like, YOLO?" Actual quote.
Ok, so there are 2 pretty major things I need to address first up:
1. The blurb gives way too much much away (literally didn't happen until 48% of the way through the book, according to my kindle). So it kinda felt like the first half of the book was just a slow moving, long winded build up for the real story to begin. That's not really true, but that's how the blurb makes it seem. If you haven't read the blurb yet, don't! Or read the first sentence or two and then stop.
2. This book is grossly mis-genred. For some unfathomable reason, it has been marketed as a suspenseful psychological thriller. Wtf? It is not that in the slightest. It is an emotional, contemporary family drama. I have absolutely no idea why they would do that. It is a good contemporary family drama; It is a terrible suspenseful psychological thriller. Lucky I like both genres or I would have been hugely disappointed!
But if I look at the book in its own right - pretending I haven't read the blurb, pretending I know nothing of the books genre - it was a good, enjoyable story that made me feel for and care about the characters and want to keep reading. It was a little slow in parts, but perhaps that did help build the emotion. The only thing I found a little cringy was the use of 'Youth slang' the author (who is, presumably, far from a teenager) made the teens use. "You know, like, YOLO?" Actual quote.
September 11, 2016
In a word: unrealistic.
In more words: this will appeal to you if you fall within the top 5% socioeconomic bracket and never leave your gated community.
As a school counselor, I've had THREE 6-year-olds who've seen a parent's head shot off, and couldn't qualify for therapy because they were uninsured or on Medicaid. I have kids cry because they're hungry or sleepy (because it's hard to get a good night's sleep in a car or on the floor), and kids as young as 5 who try to kill themselves.
So please, rewrite this book about a kid with NO protective factors who doesn't have the option of a cushy trauma retreat because Mom and Dad are passed out from meth, and if you make it to 16 alive there's no party--it just means you should be happy to have outlived 1/4 of your friends...
And FFS, people driving in the real world get shot in drive-bys or during road-rage incidents, they don't hit goddamned moose.
In more words: this will appeal to you if you fall within the top 5% socioeconomic bracket and never leave your gated community.
As a school counselor, I've had THREE 6-year-olds who've seen a parent's head shot off, and couldn't qualify for therapy because they were uninsured or on Medicaid. I have kids cry because they're hungry or sleepy (because it's hard to get a good night's sleep in a car or on the floor), and kids as young as 5 who try to kill themselves.
So please, rewrite this book about a kid with NO protective factors who doesn't have the option of a cushy trauma retreat because Mom and Dad are passed out from meth, and if you make it to 16 alive there's no party--it just means you should be happy to have outlived 1/4 of your friends...
And FFS, people driving in the real world get shot in drive-bys or during road-rage incidents, they don't hit goddamned moose.
April 4, 2016
This is a great story for anyone that needs a little help, a little faith or a little push in the right direction. Alex made one mistake on her 16th Birthday that forever changed her life. This is the story of what her loving mother does to try to fix things. The book takes you on an emotional roller coaster and pulls you into the story at the beginning. I loved the plot line, and the connection of music to this happy place. I think this book would be great for any teen struggling through life, or parents that need a little help and guidance with their child. Definitely a feel good book at the end.
April 18, 2016
I enjoyed this book and it certainly kept my attention. A troubled teen whose best friend died in a car crash. She blames herself. Her frantic mother trying to pull her out of her guilt depression takes drastic steps to get her help, without consulting her estranged husband who still lives in the same house. But nothing about the plan happens the way it is supposed to.
May 22, 2016
The story isn't earth-shattering; but instead focuses on one struggling family. A hard-working mom struggles to rein in her teenage daughter when she begins to spiral out of control after a terrible loss. It was an easy read and I really grew to like/ invest in the characters and their all too human foibles. A good summer read.
May 8, 2016
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I thought it was a very creative story and quite intense in spots. Very well written. I look forward to reading more books by this author!
May 17, 2018
Meg doesn't know what to do with her daughter Alex. Since Alex's best friend was killed in an auto accident, she's been acting out, hanging with the wrong crowd, drinking, etc. Making matters worse is a strange arrangement she has with Alex's father, who wants a divorce but because of financial reasons is still residing in the house with the family. The constant fighting and bickering between Jacob and Meg are taxing everyone, especially Alex. In a desperate move, Meg decides to send Alex away to a rehab school in New Hampshire, and contracts with a specialized company to transport her there.
This book preyed upon a lot of my fears as a mother. When you know your kid is in trouble but you don't know how to help them - at what point are you so desperate that you seek outside help? This book also emphasized that the actions and reactions of the parents to Alex's sensitive emotional state were a big part of how she got so messed up. It's scary as a parent to think everything you do and say could mess someone up so much!
It was a good book. The author did a particularly good job with the characters of the teenagers and Meg (the mom).
This book preyed upon a lot of my fears as a mother. When you know your kid is in trouble but you don't know how to help them - at what point are you so desperate that you seek outside help? This book also emphasized that the actions and reactions of the parents to Alex's sensitive emotional state were a big part of how she got so messed up. It's scary as a parent to think everything you do and say could mess someone up so much!
It was a good book. The author did a particularly good job with the characters of the teenagers and Meg (the mom).
September 6, 2017
A workmanlike novel, this had me turning pages eagerly in places (and I love the giant frog shrine that appears), but ultimately the mysteries that get revealed are not very mysterious. Also, we are told throughout what the characters are thinking and feeling through the device of three point-of-view characters, all narrated in close third person. They're sympathetic enough, and I do like that things aren't wrapped up with a tidy bow at the end. However, the author never lets the characters be characters. She's too busy marching them from scene to scene to make the story work to observe them and let them reveal themselves or us to discover them.
July 20, 2017
I enjoyed the story and it's upbeat ending about a teenager beset by trauma from death of a best friend, the demise of her parent's marriage and the mirror car accident where she lost her BFF. The story was shared from her mother's, the teenager's and the transporter's perspective and provided insight to all three characters.
I recommend this book especially to those of us raising teenagers today.
I recommend this book especially to those of us raising teenagers today.
March 26, 2020
This was a great book about a family in chaos. The first part of the book was very slow but it is one of those books that you have to get through the slow part to really get in to the action of the story. The mother and father live in the same house but are estranged. Divorce is imminent. This has an effect on Alex the daughter who starts acting out . She is involved in an accident and her best friend is killed. Alex takes this very hard and the rest of the book follows how the family deals with her and with each other. This is a tragic story of a family disconnected and well worth the read. However it does end with no finality and am hoping the author continues the story.
October 26, 2019
20% in and no interest... moving on...
October 25, 2022
Definitely not what I thought it would be from the description. It was an enjoyable read about family and friends, addiction and forgiveness.
September 23, 2025
3.5 rounded up to 4
March 22, 2017
Not great.
February 12, 2017
This book grabs you from the very beginning. Alex was just a normal teenager and the she was involved in accident that turned her whole world upside down. How will she ever survive this horrible nightmare? I will be honest and I was reading from the perspective of having a daughter the same age and if this ever happened to me I would be just as confused and lost as Alex's mom Meg. Will she be able to save her daughter?
Meg has no idea where to turn for help, they have tried everything. Her last hope is a school in the North East, The Birches, for troubled teens. But how will she get there? They've tried to get her in the car for a "trip" before and that didn't go well, obviously. But the final straw, the prescription pills Meg found in the basement, after a party, sent her overboard. She hired a transporter that would get Alex from their home to school.
Everything seems to be going smoothly from point A to point B, but they never quite make it to Point B. Are they alive? Dead? What has happened to Alex? Where is she? Has she been kidnapped?
Pick up this book today and I guarantee you won't be able to put it down till it's over!
Meg has no idea where to turn for help, they have tried everything. Her last hope is a school in the North East, The Birches, for troubled teens. But how will she get there? They've tried to get her in the car for a "trip" before and that didn't go well, obviously. But the final straw, the prescription pills Meg found in the basement, after a party, sent her overboard. She hired a transporter that would get Alex from their home to school.
Everything seems to be going smoothly from point A to point B, but they never quite make it to Point B. Are they alive? Dead? What has happened to Alex? Where is she? Has she been kidnapped?
Pick up this book today and I guarantee you won't be able to put it down till it's over!
January 23, 2018
I received this book through Amazon’s Kindle Firsts and overall it was okay but there were a few pitfalls for me.
This book was originally classed as a suspense/thriller but I didn’t find it suspenseful at all. The back of the book gave most of it away and it was pretty easy to guess the events that follow through the book. Categorizing under Family Life would be more fitting. There were multiple POV’s in the story but I felt as though Alexs’ was unnecessary. Her POV all but disappears through half of the book and much of it discusses her heartbreak and grief over the loss of her best friend. I think Meg’s POV of witnessing this spiral into the darkness would’ve helped me connect with Meg’s character better.
With that being said, there were a few things I liked about the book. Having Carl’s POV was a great decision by the author as it presented another side of Alex for the reader since he’s an outsider to the family. I really enjoyed his character through his devotion to searching for Alex when she goes missing as well as him overcoming his dark past into helping other struggling teens. I think the author’s theme of making choices and being able to live with their consequences held strong through the entire book. The emotional roller coaster of the characters made them genuine and relatable.
This book was originally classed as a suspense/thriller but I didn’t find it suspenseful at all. The back of the book gave most of it away and it was pretty easy to guess the events that follow through the book. Categorizing under Family Life would be more fitting. There were multiple POV’s in the story but I felt as though Alexs’ was unnecessary. Her POV all but disappears through half of the book and much of it discusses her heartbreak and grief over the loss of her best friend. I think Meg’s POV of witnessing this spiral into the darkness would’ve helped me connect with Meg’s character better.
With that being said, there were a few things I liked about the book. Having Carl’s POV was a great decision by the author as it presented another side of Alex for the reader since he’s an outsider to the family. I really enjoyed his character through his devotion to searching for Alex when she goes missing as well as him overcoming his dark past into helping other struggling teens. I think the author’s theme of making choices and being able to live with their consequences held strong through the entire book. The emotional roller coaster of the characters made them genuine and relatable.
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