Rachel found the note written in Marley's handwriting
affixed to the stainless steel fridge. It said, "Please
don't try to find me." Her daughter, Marley, was 14,
quiet, innocent, a sheltered
high school student with everything she could possibly
want
even her own therapist, Dr. Michael. She had a mother and
father who loved her. This is a parents worse nightmare,
and Rachel asks the universal question, "what did I do
wrong?" Refusing to believe that Marley is gone she tells
herself, " No, it is impossible. Marley loves me." She
calls Paul, her executive huband, who says "It's
dramatics." " She'll come home soon."
When they report Marley missing, they discover the police
have limited resources to devote to runaways. Paul jumps
in and tries to do everything and anything to find his
daughter. He befriends the investigating officer,
Officer
Strickland, while Rachel upsets him; works with a PR.
who
sets up personal interviews during which Rachel appears
uncommunicative and the public turns against her; he
launches a nationwide campaign to try to find their lost
daughter and the attention turns a spotlight on Rachel.
The character examinations of a broken family are front
and
center and Rachel is in their sights. What is she hiding?
Why are their crisis modes so different? Paul is right-
on,
determined, and works non-stop 24/7, while Rachel, cries,
whines, is withdrawn and appears weak. I prefer Paul and
found Rachel lacking except when she got her get-up-and-go
going and then I applauded her.
This intense drama is told alternately from a
mother/daughter perspective and as we trace it from the
beginning it becomes obvious that Rachel, as a mother has
been self-absorbed with her own issues, and did not know
her daughter as well as she thought she did. Her "more
than a friend" relationship with Dr. Michael is revealed
as well as the information that he gave her prescriptions
for several drugs causes additional stress and heartbreak
for Rachel and Paul.
The character of B. was slimey and it took much too long
for Marley to see his lies and deceptions. but in reality
she was only 14 so we'll allow for that. Her writing is
the secret for her future success so let's hope she makes
the most of it, knows that her mom is her best friend and
her dad will always be there for her. So back to school,
enjoy and stay off Facebook!
The message I gained from this worthwhile and
contemporary
issue is "Don't stop trying to connect with your kids no
matter how old they get." Good lesson for us all. DONT'
TRY TO FIND ME is a great
book by Holly Brown. Looking forward to another soon.
t
When a fourteen-year-old runs away, her parents turn to
social media to find her—launching a public campaign that
will expose their darkest secrets and change their family
forever, in this suspenseful and gripping debut for fans of
Reconstructing Amelia and Gone
Girl.
Don’t try to find me. Though the
message on the kitchen white board is written in Marley’s
hand, her mother Rachel knows there has to be some other
explanation. Marley would never run away.
As the days
pass and it sinks in that the impossible has occurred,
Rachel and her husband Paul are informed that the police
have “limited resources.” If they want their
fourteen-year-old daughter back, they will have to find her
themselves. Desperation becomes determination when Paul
turns to Facebook and Twitter, and launches
FindMarley.com.
But Marley isn’t the only one with
secrets.
With public exposure comes scrutiny, and when
Rachel blows a television interview, the dirty speculation
begins. Now, the blogosphere is convinced Rachel is hiding
something. It’s not what they think; Rachel would never hurt
Marley. Not intentionally, anyway. But when it’s discovered
that she’s lied, even to the police, the devoted mother
becomes a suspect in Marley’s disappearance.
Is Marley
out there somewhere, watching it all happen, or is the truth
something far worse?
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