ARC Review: Notes from my Captivity

About The Book:

  Title:  Notes from my Captivity 

  Author: Kathy Parks 
  Pub. Date: July 10th, 2018 
  Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books 
  Pages: 352

  Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary 

  Rate: 3/5 stars 

Synopsis :

Girl meets boy… and the family holding her hostage.

Adrienne Cahill cares about three things: getting into a great college; becoming a revered journalist like her idol, Sydney Declay; and making her late father proud of her.

So when Adrienne is offered the chance to write an article that will get her into her dream school and debunk her foolishly optimistic stepfather Dan’s claim—no, belief—that a legendary family of hermits is living in the Siberian wilderness, there’s no question that she’s going to fly across the world.

After all, it is the trip of a lifetime.

But the Russian terrain is even less forgiving than Adrienne. And when disaster strikes, nothing—not the flirtatious guide or her stepdad’s obsessively detailed preparations—can protect Adrienne from the sheer force of nature. Now, Adrienne’s being held captive by the family she was convinced didn’t exist, and her best hope for escape is to act like she cares about befriending them, even if it means wooing the youngest son.

Review:

Notes from my Captivity is a new YA novel about a girl who gets kidnapped by a hermit family living off the grid in Siberia. Most people think this family is a myth, which is what brings Adrienne to the Siberian wilderness in the first place. Her stepfather is in search for this family - The Osinovs, to prove to the world they exist. However, insanity ensues, and Adrienne ends up captured by them. And she believes they just might be trying to kill her.

I did like the characters in this novel. Adrienne was strong and funny. She was very sarcastic and I looove sarcastic narrators. The Osinov's were my favorite part of this, though. They were definitely super creepy, but intriguing at the same time. I loved the different dimensions of their character and motivation, it's what kept me interested in this novel. While the plot was different than your typical YA, there were definitely times that I anticipated what was going to happen. That would have been my least favorite part of the novel. it the situations were more surprising, I'd definitely have given this novel 4 or maybe even 5 stars. 

I did like this book. The beginning was definitely slow, but the second half was very hard to put down. I will say that this one honestly is like a YA I've never read before. I think the book could be for fantasy and contemporary fans alike, as there are big components of both. Have you read Ms. Park's previous novel, The Lifeboat Clique? I am hesitant about picking it up because it doesn't seem like something I'd like based off of the description, but this book was up my alley, so I'm thinking about giving it a try. Have you heard about Notes from my Captivity? Are you interested in giving it a try?

Thank you to Harper Collins for providing
this book in exchange for my honest review

- Jocelyn