Feiwel & Friends
October 6, 2015
224 pages
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On her way to a writer’s conference, a bestselling teenage author takes a detour that has been deliberately set up by her biggest fans—a mother and daughter who kidnap her.To say Livvy Flynn is 'full of herself,' is quite the understatement. Yes she and her YA series are a big deal - and she absolutely knows it. She is a massively off-putting character almost from the beginning.
Livvy Flynn is a big deal—she’s a New York Times-bestselling author whose YA fiction has sold all over the world. She’s rich, she’s famous, she’s gorgeous, and she’s full of herself.
When she’s invited to an A-list writer’s conference, she decides to accept so she can have some time to herself. She’s on a tight deadline for her next book, and she has no intention of socializing with the other industry people at the conference.
And then she hits the detour. Before she knows it, her brand new car is wrecked, she’s hurt, and she’s tied to a bed in a nondescript shack in the middle of nowhere. A woman and her apparently manic daughter have kidnapped her. And they have no intention of letting her go.
She is not someone you're going to like.
Still, that doesn't mean she deserves to be kidnapped and locked in a room in someone's house.
Except that it seems that someone - and her daughter - seem to believe that is exactly what Livvy deserves.
A lot of the elements of The Detour are easy to guess, to figure out. Either because of some heavy handed hint dropping or just logic, readers are likely to know a lot of what is going to happen. It is the tension of the story, of Livvy's captivity and her desire to get free that keep that from taking away from enjoyment of the novel.
While you might know the 'what' it is the 'how' and the 'when' that will keep you reading. That and what may happen to Livvy, what may be done to her or what she may discover along the way.
I did not like Livvy and that did not really change over the course of the book. She is full of herself, condescending, unappreciative, and kind of a brat. She also fails to notice a lot about those around her - even wither her own mother - and seems to lack empathy.
Who she is, though, does fit in well with the story and what happens to her. That she is a writer played well into how she approached certain situations and how she thought. Still, it made me question more, hr interpersonal and observational failings.
I quite liked The Detour for the tense, suspenseful and creative mystery/danger/thriller side of the story. I did not like main character, which would have been fine, but I am not sure there was enough growth - or consequences due to a lack of growth - by the end.
The Detour is fun, suspenseful book that readers will find an enjoyable read, so long as they'er not looking for a main character they can like!
thank you to the publisher for digital review copy through NetGalley
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