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There are currently 36 member reviews
for Where You Can Find Me
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Kathy S. (Danbury, CT)
Where You Can Find Me
I've heard that books considered "literature" do not usually sell well commercially, and "Where you Can Find Me" falls into that category for me. While I can see the appeal of this book on a scholarly level (evidenced by the fellowship and university support), I expected this story to be about Caleb, his experiences and the effect the kidnapping and subsequent reunion had on his family. The book begins after Caleb has been rescued and returned to his family by the FBI. The events of the kidnapping itself and the three years Caleb was "gone" are told in veiled flashbacks. Although Caleb was the main character, Marlene's relationships really detracted from what little story there was.
I usually read 3-4 books a week, and this book dragged on forever. I found myself looking for interruptions to avoid reading it. I was expecting a grand story devoted to the impact Caleb's kidnapping had on his family and their efforts to refocus and rebuild their family when Caleb returned. This book had so much potential and could have been an outstanding read.
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Debra C. (Vienna, GA)
Where You Can Find Me
At first, I used the age rule: Before you put a novel down, read the number of pages equal to your age. After fifty-five pages, I made myself age another twenty years; unfortunately, as I ended the novel, I was the age of Methuselah!!! Joseph's
novel just didn't capture me - children, abduction, abuse, beautiful setting, marriage issues, and family responsibilities - suggest a great read. It never happened...too many details, too much description, and action without dialogue plagued her latest novel.
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Colleen L. (Casco, ME)
A Little slow...Where You Can find Me
"Where you Can Find Me' has some interesting moments when the author describes scenery in Costa Rica. The plot, however, is slow going. The book is about a boy who was kidnapped from his parents at age eleven. The story starts at the point when the boy has been returned to the family by the FBI. As is so common in these situations, the dynamics in the family are tense and uncertain. In an effort to shelter the boy from publicity, the mother decides to move the family to Costa Rica. The author could have had a winner in this novel. There are so many perspectives that she could have taken. The character development is weak, however, and you never get a true sense of who any of the characters are. There are also so many unanswered questions throughout the book. I guess I don't have to have everything spelled out but answering a few questions would have been nice. I wasn't thrilled by the ending either. It seemed like the author ran out of steam and just decided to finish. I normally don't have a hard time finishing books but this one was a struggle to finish. On the positive side, I would love to visit Costa Rica now!
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Kathleen B. (LAS VEGAS, NV)
Missing boy returned
I usually read a book in two days. This book took over a week. I kept putting it down because it just was so slow and boring. The synopsis of the book sounded so exciting but it didn't pan out. It seemed jumbled and unclear, never giving a direct answer to what really happened to the family. And more importantly Caleb. It was hard to believe that Caleb wanted to go back to his captor. But that is what happens to brain washed people. So I do think the author touched on many important points but didn't flesh them out. The ending caught me by surprise.
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Christina C. (Powells Point, NC)
Far Fetched and Perverse
I found this book hard to get through. It was a slow read, difficult to pick up again.
I found the story a bit far fetched, with plot lines I just found unbelievable. I could not get past these holes to fully believe the book or actions of the characters.
I also do not agree this book is about a family, or even the rebuilding of a family. I found this book to be a lot more about pedophiles and perverse things. It actually was unsettling to read an entire book devoted to this subject, especially featuring underage children and related family members.
I have never read a book with this subject as the plot and am unsure which category to even place it in. I suppose crime or suspense. However, the ending has no true resolution. A lot of the questions formed remain unanswered, or vaguely touched upon, left to the reader's imagination to fill in the blanks.
Overall, this book left me with a disturbed feeling. I read it on high alert, weary of upsetting plot lines. I wish more pages had been devoted to the family and their rebuilding, as well as resolving the crimes for a more concrete ending.
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Duane F. (Cape Girardeau, MO)
Where You Can Find Me
While I thought the suject matter was of great interest and timely, the characters and their struggle believeable, and the setting of great beauty, the prose in this novel overwhelmed it. I felt that Ms. Joseph's use of every discriptive possible to the point of distraction, was a major flaw. It left the reader wading through a maze of adjectives thereby almost forgetting the story itself. The beauty of the jungle was not enhanced, nor was a character more understood by the fact that everything was over explained. I would rather have had more character interaction and less "color". It was difficult to follow what was important to the storyline as we wandered off lost among the details.
This was an important story to tell, the struggle of a family trying to rebuild a life together after such a horrific act. It was big and powerfull. Caleb had so many ghosts to contend with and had to do so while he also went through what any teenager faces. The fact he still had attachments to his kidnapper added to his conflict and made the story one I was interested in.
I felt I could have enjoyed it as a whole if the author had not tried so very hard to make it a conceptual work of art. Sometimes less is more, leave to us, the reader, some sense of imagination and discovery. I love good prose, I want good prose, but also want the author to trust me enough to understand I don't need to know the color of every dress, every flower or how much the jungle dripped at every moment.
Sorry, this good story just felt tedious.
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Shelly B. (Staten Island, NY)
Where You can Find Me
The story line seemed so interesting, it was my kind of book. A boy kidnapped and found after three years. This story line had so much potential. Unforunately, it did not meet my expextations in any way. I was very disappointed.
Some stories just pull you in and the writing flows. You keep reading and never want the book to end. When it ends, you just want to savor the feelings of the book. This did not happen with Where You Can Find Me. I didn't care.
I thought the writing was repetitve. and plodding, it just dragged. The sentences seemed to start in the middle of a thought, they were not written in complete sentneces or thoughts. Sometimes I had to reread passages over more than once because some passages did not make sense to me.
If not for having to write this review, I would not have finished the book.
