Well, the second person narration took me forever to get used to. Actually, I'm still not used to it, even after I finished the book. Why? Because during the entire reading, I kept wondering why she was writing to her kidnapper. Because she was writing him in prison? Was she dead? Was he dead? All those questions kept rushing through my mind, so the ending wasn't as traumatic as I was imagining. Gemma is kidnapped from a Bangkok airport by a man who looks familiar. He's been "watching" her for years, and when she hears about this, it freaks her out. He was that bum in the park who talked to her when she was little. He was the cute boy working in landscaping in the park a few years later. He was her rescuer when a drunk friend accosted her late one night. And, now, he's her captor in the Australian outback. She has no one besides him and can't survive without him. He is her savior, and after a few days together, Stockholm syndrome begins for her. She starts to understand him--caring for him when he is hurt, admiring his gorgeous body, etc. As the reader, you think, "Ugh!" But, hey, she is a hurt and confused teenager who believes she is stuck forever with him. Alone. And so she starts to cope.
I remember reading a lot about this book when the ARCs came out, so I searched through Goodreads and Amazon to see what people were writing. I disagree with those who say this isn't a YA book. It is. It reminded me of a Sara Zarr, Gail Giles, or Elizabeth Scott novel. It's dramatic, but that's what some teenagers like. It's emotional, but that's what some teenagers like, too.
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