Don't Try To Find Me
A Novel
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3.9 • 61 Ratings
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- $6.99
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
When a fourteen-year-old runs away, her parents turn to social media to find her—launching a public campaign that will expose their darkest secrets and change their family forever, in this suspenseful and gripping debut for fans of Reconstructing Amelia and Gone Girl.
Don’t try to find me. Though the message on the kitchen white board is written in Marley’s hand, her mother Rachel knows there has to be some other explanation. Marley would never run away.
As the days pass and it sinks in that the impossible has occurred, Rachel and her husband Paul are informed that the police have “limited resources.” If they want their fourteen-year-old daughter back, they will have to find her themselves. Desperation becomes determination when Paul turns to Facebook and Twitter, and launches FindMarley.com.
But Marley isn’t the only one with secrets.
With public exposure comes scrutiny, and when Rachel blows a television interview, the dirty speculation begins. Now, the blogosphere is convinced Rachel is hiding something. It’s not what they think; Rachel would never hurt Marley. Not intentionally, anyway. But when it’s discovered that she’s lied, even to the police, the devoted mother becomes a suspect in Marley’s disappearance.
Is Marley out there somewhere, watching it all happen, or is the truth something far worse?
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
At the start of Brown's plodding debut, 14-year-old Marley Willits walks out of her parents' Northern California house. Marley's mother, Rachel, has no idea why her seemingly happy daughter would do such a thing. She and her no-nonsense husband, Paul, turn to the Internet to find Marley when local police fail to provide assistance to track down yet another runaway. Paul, who's as cold and calculating as Rachel is histrionic and emotional, sets up FindMarley.com, and uses social networking sites to put the word out about their missing teenager. Brown negates most of the suspense by narrating portions of the novel in Marley's voice she's left home very much on her own accord and by making her current plight far more predictable than nail biting, casting a run-of-the-mill Facebook predator as the boogie man, whose identity is revealed far too soon. Instead of wondering about Marley's safety, the reader is left pondering whether everyone is actually better off away from each other.
Customer Reviews
Very good story
I couldn't put it down trying to figure out when this chick was going to go back home, if she did. I didn't give it 5 stars because I think the whole media cover involved to find Marley was a bit exaggerated for a run away. However, in the middle of reading this book (it took me weeks to finish it. I was busy), my own 15 year old ran away, and I could not feel more identified with this story. My daughter came back after 2 weeks. I also turned to social media to get to her, and it actually helped. The news wouldn't help me because they didn't cover run aways, but the local newspaper did. I now understand better my daughter's needs and I'm working on giving her a little more freedom, which was really the reason why she decided to leave. Thank you for all of the indirect advice you provided. I would recommend this book.