Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Jul 2018
352 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
Notes from My Captivity is a sharp, sensitive, and darkly funny novel perfect for fans of Libba Bray's Beauty Queens and Adam Silvera's More Happy Than Not.
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 foolish stepfather's 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.
But the Russian terrain is even less forgiving than Adrienne. And when disaster strikes, none of their extensive preparations seem to matter. 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 them, even if it means wooing the youngest son.
"Starred Review. Haunting. Mesmerizing. Completely unforgettable." - Kirkus
"Offering danger, romance, and a few ghosts, this is a trip that will capture readers' attention. A fast-paced read for fans of survival fiction with well-developed characters." - School Library Journal
"Parks (The Lifeboat Clique) creates an inventive, multilayered tale about family, faith, mysticism, and survival, offering harrowing life-or-death adventure, as well as robust characters as memorable as they are unique. While Parks's story leans heavily on the idea of an afterlife, she does not linger on the question of religion or God, allowing readers to draw their own conclusions. Ages 13 and up." - Publishers Weekly
"I loved this book. ...like Siberia itself, this story is wild, mysterious, full of danger - and then, quite unexpectedly, captivates you with its beauty. I was so glad I went on the adventure." - Goldy Moldavsky, New York Times bestselling author of Kill the Boy Band
"A wildly original story of love, loss, and of course a possibly-mythical possibly-cannibal family creeping around the Siberian wilderness. I couldn't put it down!" - Jilly Gagnon, author of #famous
This information about Notes from My Captivity was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Kathy Parks was thrown out with the bathwater as a baby. This experience shaped her life and art. She is the author of novels including The Lifeboat Clique and Notes from My Captivity, and she also works as an advertising copywriter. She lives with her husband, Michael, in Boulder, Colorado.
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