Parents' Guide to

Right Where You Left Me

By Andrea Beach, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Teen copes with kidnapped dad in OK family drama.

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Kids say (1):

Author Calla Devlin's second novel about coping with a parent's kidnapping should be a lot more of a compelling page-turner than it is. Right Where You Left Me stays too emotionally flat to take the reader on what should be an emotional rollercoaster ride. Narrator Charlotte is easy to relate to, but not very easy to connect with emotionally. Secondary characters who aren't very well developed don't add much to the story.

The resolutions of both Charlotte's relationship with her mother and her father's kidnapping have a magic-wand feeling; we don't get to actually experience the changes or how they came about. That being said, thoughtful teens who enjoy family drama will find a lot of food for thought about mother-daughter dynamics, how events continue to affect families for years, and how we shouldn't assume we know what others are thinking and feeling.

Book Details

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