Title: The You I've Never Known
Author: Ellen Hopkins
Series/Standalone: Standalone
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, LGBT, Verse
Pages: 608
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Year Published: 2017
Format: Library Copy
"For as long as she can remember, it's been just Ariel and Dad. Ariel's mom disappeared when she was a baby. Dad says home is wherever the two of them are, but Ariel is now seventeen and after years of new apartments, new schools and new faces, all she wants is to put down some roots. Complicating things are Monica and Gabe, both of whom have stirred a different kind of desire.
Maya's a teenager who's run from an abusive mother right into the arms of an older man she thinks she can trust. But not she's isolated with a baby on the way, and life's getting more complicated than Maya ever could have imagined.
Ariel and Maya's lives collide unexpectedly when Ariel's mother shows up out of the blue with wild accusations: Ariel wasn't abandoned. Her father kidnapped her fourteen years ago.
What is Ariel supposed to believe? Is it possible Dad's woven her entire history into a tapestry of lies? How can she choose between the mother she's been taught to mistrust and the father who has taken care of her all these years?"
My Rating: 2/5
After writing out that synopsis I'm a little confused on the point of this story. I thought that the whole idea was finding out how Maya and Ariel connected and what happened all those years ago. But the description pretty much does it justice.
I have read other works by Ellen Hopkins in the past, mainly while I was in high school and I will say that I do love the use of verse in her stories. In other novels, it helps to capture a feeling that words might be able to describe and keep the reader hooked. In this story I just found it to be drawn out and frustrating. Overall this book was ok for me, but I'm not sure I understand the purpose other than to inform people about the issues of spousal kidnapping (it's more common than you think).
Thanks for reading,
Sidny
So let's start this off by saying that I rarely read the synopsis in a book and I'm certainly glad that I didn't in this one. After writing it out I see that any idea of mystery or wonder is totally explained in the description. I found it extremely frustrating that this is the case. I understand that the author is using her voice to describe a situation that in some ways was own voices. A terrifying tale to say the least, but this is more common than some may think. That being said, as someone who works in childcare, I understand how these things could happen.
Overall I just found this story to be too drawn out for me. I enjoyed the verse, but it didn't have the same effect on me that it has in some other books by the author. I also found that the characters were difficult to connect with.
Characters:
Ariel/Casey: I think that her character is difficult to read from. Watching her walk on eggshells around her father and talk about her love for him was difficult to stomach, but that's the only life she remembers. Seeing her develop relationships with those around her was also good, but just not in depth as I thought that it would be.
Jason: I do believe that he has a mental disorder. I'm not sure what, but the way he manipulates and uses Ariel/Casey against Maya is horrifying to think about. That and the way he is able to lie so convincingly made me extremely uncomfortable. I do wonder what happened to all the women he used and abused along the way.
Maya: I enjoyed her end journal entry's to be able to better understand her life with and without her daughter. The hope she lives with is amazing.
Monica: Her character wasn't as fleshed out as I hoped it to be. At some points, she was spoken as this kick-ass girl who knew who she was and other times she almost appeared meek.
Gabe: I liked him, but probably based on every basic guy I've ever met.
Hillary: I'm more interested in her life. Was she running away on her horse? What is she going to do now that she can't ride? Does she miss it? Like we're not going to talk about this?
Thanks for reading,
Sidny
