Howdy, everyone! Today I have a fun post for you all once again! Today, I'll be reviewing Aftermath by Clara Kensie as part of the blog tour hosted by The Fantastic Flying Book Club so a huge thanks to both of them!
I was sent an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review as part of this blog tour.
Down below, of course, is my review and thoughts on the book as well as a couple of my favorite quotes from the book. There will also be links to where you can purchase a copy of the book for yourself, the author links, a blogger' choice playlist and last but not least, a GIVEAWAY! I hope you all enjoy!
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Rating: PG-13
Genre: Contemporary
Score: ❤❤❤❤
Page Count: 288
Stand Alone
Publisher: Merit Press
Published: November 1st, 2016
Charlotte survived four long years as a prisoner in the attic of her kidnapper, sustained only by dreams of her loving family. The chance to escape suddenly arrives, and Charlotte fights her way to freedom. But an answered prayer turns into heartbreak. Losing her has torn her family apart. Her parents have divorced: Dad's a glutton for fame, Mom drinks too much, and Charlotte's twin is a zoned-out druggie. Her father wants Charlotte write a book and go on a lecture tour, and her mom wants to keep her safe, a virtual prisoner in her own home. But Charlotte is obsessed with the other girl who was kidnapped, who never got a second chance at life--the girl who nobody but Charlotte believes really existed. Until she can get justice for that girl, even if she has to do it on her own, whatever the danger, Charlotte will never be free.
Rating:
PROS:
1. Not going to lie, when I first saw the cover of this book I thought it was going to be a cute contemporary about falling in love and making mistakes. When I read the synopsis, however, I was a little shocked to find out what this book was really about. I just had to read this book once I discovered the kinds of things this book would potentially be tackling and goodness was I in for a little bit of a surprise. Here's the review: 
2. This book is a story of recovery. We follow our main character Charlotte who's been held captive for four years by her kidnapper and follow her journey to recovery as she comes home to a family she feels she no longer recognizes. Charlotte was a strong character that was emotionally unstable and scarred from the things she went through over those four years that she was being held prisoner. Charlotte's family is not the one she remembers when she returns home and that causes a lot of emotions to fly for both her and her parents and twin sister. Charlotte was quite a heartbreaking character as we learn more about her experiences and discover how her family fell apart soon after her disappearance. This story is both heartbreaking and inspiring as the characters in this book have to overcome guilt, sorrow, grief, anger, and forgiveness of each other. 
3. The themes of family and recovery are very apparent as the story goes on. The emotional rollercoaster ride that the characters have to go on as the story progresses isn't an easy one by any means. With every chapter of the book, the truth about the things Charlotte went through and the ways her family dealt with her disappearance are heartbreaking, frustrating, and weigh heavy on the characters. It affects their choices, their emotional balance and surrounds them as they struggle to come together and fix the broken bonds between them all. I loved the theme of moving forward in life when it seems like nothing is going right and that it isn't easy at first. I think this is a very important topic in books and I loved that this book highlighted it many times.
4. This book isn't a light read, in fact it's quite heavy, heavier than I anticipated. I found myself having to put the book down every few pages in order to catch my breathe and remind myself there's still some good in the world. This book was literally taking my breath away as I read it and I totally recommend it if you love a good and realistic story about overcoming your worst nightmares. I would not recommend it to younger readers since this book does deal with rape and abuse so if you're uncomfortable with reading about those topics, probably wait until you're ready. I would say this is for fans of such books as THE LOVELY BONES or STOLEN.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book in the most heartbreaking way and I think this was a very well written story about a touchy subject. The reason I didn't give this book a five-star rating, however, is because I felt the ending was a little rushed and could've used a couple more chapters to wrap the story up a little better. Though this book did have a few moments when I was shocked and my mouth literally dropped in surprise. And so many feels.
You Can Purchase The Book Here:
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About The Author:
Winner of the 2015 RITA Award for Best First BookClara Kensie grew up near Chicago, reading every book she could find and using her diary to write stories about a girl with psychic powers who solved mysteries. She purposely did not hide her diary, hoping someone would read it and assume she was writing about herself. Since then, she's swapped her diary for a computer and admits her characters are fictional, but otherwise she hasn't changed one bit.
Today, Clara is the author of dark fiction for young adults. Her debut, the super-romantic thriller RUN TO YOU BOOK ONE: DECEPTION SO DEADLY is the winner of the prestigious RITA Award for Best First Book.
The RUN TO YOU series was named to several Best Books of 2014 lists, including RT Magazine Editors' Pick. The two-book series was originally published as a six-part serial by Harlequin Teen in 2014 (First Sight, Second Glance, Third Charm, Fourth Shadow, Fifth Touch, and Sixth Sense). By popular demand, the six-part serial is now available as two full-length books: DECEPTION SO DEADLY and DECEPTION SO DARK.
Her next book is AFTERMATH, a dark, ripped-from-the-headlines contemporary about a girl who returns home four years after being kidnapped, only to find her family has fallen apart in her absence. To fix her broken family--and help find the body of her captor's first victim--the girl must first heal herself. AFTERMATH is a story of hope, healing, and triumph over tragedy, perfect for fans of ROOM and THE LOVELY BONES. Available November 15th 2016 from Merit Press.
Clara's favorite foods are guacamole and cookie dough. But not together. That would be gross.
Author Links:
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BLOGGER'S CHOICE PLAYLIST!
I'll just let the music speak for itself on this one. SO. MANY. FEELS. IN. THIS. BOOK. I hope you all enjoy!
WINTER by Kina Grannis
STAND IN THE LIGHT by Jordan Smith
FLY by Maddie & Tae
FOOTPRINTS by Sia
INVINCIBLE by Kelly Clarkson
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FOLLOW THE TOUR!
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What a brilliant review of this, Anissa! I actually love your review a whole lot more than mine, because it reads so clearly. I have to agree with you - the cover is so deceiving, right? I think this was written so well and handled all those themes incredibly well!
ReplyDeleteAww, thank you!! I really appreciate that!! You're review was great, Olivia! I loved it :D And yes! The cover was such a lie to me XD
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