Skip to main content

DEAD TO YOU by Lisa McMann


copyright date: February 2012
primarily marketed for: young adults (14 and up)

I started Dead to You by Lisa McMann one night before I went to sleep.  I also finished  Dead to You by Lisa McMann before I went to sleep that night.  I just couldn’t close the book without knowing the end.

Dead to You is the story of Ethan, who was abducted when he was only seven-years-old, returning to his family as a teenager. 

As he tries to adjust to his current life at home as a teenager with his younger brother Blake and new younger sister Gracie, Ethan struggles to make sense of his past.  Blake pushes him to find out why he got into that car with strangers and challenges Ethan’s memory every chance he gets.  Gracie is too young to understand who Ethan really is, since she grew up in their family without him. 

Ethan fights to remember the family he left behind and struggles to understand his need to protect Ellen, the woman who he has known as “mom” most of his life.

Although this is not a fast-paced story, it is filled with the tension of what it takes to rebuild a life after unspeakable trauma. 

I read straight through the night just to find out the truth of Ethan’s past and how it will shape who he is now that he is a teenager.  If you pick this book up, I think you might read it just as quickly!

Reading Threads:
Counterfeit Son by Elaine Marie Alphin
The Tension of Opposites by Kristina McBride
The Year Without Michael by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Labels

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

THE MISFITS by James Howe

copyright date: 2001 primarily marketed for: grades 4-8 In honor of No Name-Calling Week, the idea for which originated with this book, I thought I would post a review of The Misfits by James Howe.    This book has one of my favorite leads: "So here I am, not a half-hour old as a tie salesman and trying to look like I know what I am doing, which have got to be two of the biggest jokes of all time, when who should walk into Awkworth & Ames Department Store but Skeezie Tookis. " I think I like it because it is such an inviting introduction to Bobby and Skeezie, two of the four friends referred to in the book’s title.   Bobby, Skeezie, Addie, and Joe are seventh graders who decide to create their own political party to run in the student council election.   Their goal is simple: to put an end to name-calling.   Who doesn’t think that is a good idea? The wonderful things about this book aren’t limited to the positive messages about acceptance and k...
5 comments
Read more

THE FAULT IN OUR STARS by John Green

You knew it was coming.  How could I not share?  EVERYONE MUST READ JOHN GREEN’S LATEST WORK OF ART: THE FAULT IN OUR STARS .  Throughout my life (well, at least from 4 th grade, when I was introduced to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl until now, the 7 th month of my 34 th year of noticing the universe) the name ‘Augustus’ immediately evoked an image of a chubby, stubborn, chocolate-loving boy, doted upon by his mother, with the last name of Gloop.  The name ‘Augustus’ made me giggle about this character’s gluttonous follies inside the chocolate factory. Until reading John Green’s beloved new book The Fault in Our Stars . From now on, the name ‘Augustus’ will forever evoke an entirely different image and an entirely different set of emotions.  A casually hot, lean, limping ‘Augustus Waters’ has forever replaced the ‘Augustus’ of the book I treasured as a child—an unlit cigarette held loosely between his lips.  A longing sigh ...
9 comments
Read more

PLAYGROUND by 50 Cent

I had seen this book all over the place since I attended the NCTE convention in November.  Every time I see it, I am drawn to the cover.  The cover claims that Playground is “The Mostly True Story of a Former Bully.”  However, I was hesitant to buy it because I had little faith that it was quality literature.  Sure, it might be appealing enough for some of you to pick it up and read, but was the story really going to be the kind of message I wanted my students to read?  Was it really based on 50 Cent’s experience?  Would it really send a message about the negative effects of bullying?  Then I came across Crazy Quilt Edi’s book review of the book.  She said after reading she wondered, “Did 50 Cent really write this on his own?”  That was all I needed to know.  Her question told me it must be better than I thought it would be.  And it was. Aside from the gratuitous use of mild swear words and some minor, but noticeable e...
5 comments
Read more