If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch

Goodreads Blurb

There are some things you can’t leave behind…A broken-down camper hidden deep in a national forest is the only home fifteen year-old Carey can remember. The trees keep guard over her threadbare existence, with the one bright spot being Carey’s younger sister, Jenessa, who depends on Carey for her very survival. All they have is each other, as their mentally ill mother comes and goes with greater frequency. Until that one fateful day their mother disappears for good, and two strangers arrive. Suddenly, the girls are taken from the woods and thrust into a bright and perplexing new world of high school, clothes and boys.
Now, Carey must face the truth of why her mother abducted her ten years ago, while haunted by a past that won’t let her go… a dark past that hides many a secret, including the reason Jenessa hasn’t spoken a word in over a year. Carey knows she must keep her sister close, and her secrets even closer, or risk watching her new life come crashing down.

This was a different kind of book for me, so maybe that's why I'm a bit hesitant to review this. It was...weird. The writing was beautiful, yes, and the story was captivating! But there was something slightly off about it. Sometimes we were info dumped with backstory, and sometimes we were told very little. And instead of loving the suspense, it sort of frustrated me because...well, it was obvious. But Carey was just oblivious to what was sitting in front of her, and she doesn't really realize it till the end. 

The romance also bothered me a bit because of the fact that she was technically 14 and the guy was 17. I'm not sure why that's a problem, since some of my favorite couples have larger age differences, but 14's always been that in-between number. It could be MG or YA, so it just felt weird. But what she'd been through was absolutely horrifying and made me want to cry or gasp in horror.

I adored some of these characters and I definitely could acknowledge Murdoch's capability of writing the perfect school antagonist! Oh she was one giant...bee. And the perfect mean girl to push Carey along! I couldn't really connect to Carey though because I have a issue with dropping g's in narration. I don't know. It added to the story, but it made me a bit uncomfortable. I loved Nessa, and Ryan seemed to be pretty sweet! I wish we saw some more of her school friends, though. They seemed like they could have some amazing characterization, but their brief scenes ended up making them a but flat in my opinion.

The pacing felt perfect for this novel and I adored the plot, though not many things really came as a surprise. There were many subplots, mainly including the relationships between each character, and I was a bit disappointed that most all of them ended with a Happy Ever After.

If You Find Me is a heartbreaking story that made you realize that the world isn't as perfect as we hope. It's a gritty, beautifully told story that can make you see the world in a different way. And, using a cliche, it'll make us thankful for what we have. And what we don't.

Pages: 256

Genre: Contemporary

Series: Stand alone

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Release Date: March 26, 2013

Rating: 3 stars