Began reading: 6.8.2017
Completed reading: 9.8.2017
Overall rating: 3 stars
There was no sign of a struggle.
She took her phone but left her laptop behind.
Apparently, she’d met someone online.
Did she leave?
Or was she taken?
The first time Aiden Kendrick hears about Lizzie Summersall’s disappearance is when the police appear at his front door. Aiden doesn’t know it yet, but with Lizzie’s disappearance his life is about to take a twisted and desperate turn.
Follow Me Back by Nicci Cloke is a contemporary young adult fiction novel that contains thriller and mystery elements. I have wanted to read this book for a while, but when I saw it at the library I hesitated. I’m glad that I finally read it, but it didn’t really stand-out from similar novels so I was a little disappointed.
Aiden Kendrick didn’t know that his classmate Lizzie Summersall had disappeared until the police showed up at his house. Through the police, Aiden learned that Lizzie had met various strangers online, and they suspected that she had been abducted. At school, the news of Lizzie’s disappearance spread like wildfire, and everyone suspects Aiden. In the year leading up to her abduction, Aiden spent much of his time with Lizzie – in person and online. Nobody knows that he and Lizzie were more than friends, except Autumn Thomas – a girl Aiden recently befriended online. As the police delve deeper into the investigation, Aiden’s interactions with Autumn continue, but is Autumn really who she says she is? Searching for who is responsible for Lizzie’s disappearance will make Aiden – and his fellow classmates – realise that not everyone you meet online are who they say they are.
This novel was well-written, especially in relation to pace. I found the book very easy to read, and I wasn’t surprised that I managed to read so much in such a short amount of time. Cloke utilised a range of literary techniques to add detail to the narrative, including suspense, metaphors and flashbacks. There were also some great quotes throughout the book, including:
[…] when you get divorced from someone there are so many little things you have to leave behind, not just that person (p. 28).
It’s all so weird, how someone can become famous just by letting a camera follow them around. How people want to watch other people just do ordinary things, how they can idolise or hate someone just for their wardrobe, their relationship, their friendships. Like somehow it sets these people apart, just putting that stuff out there. Maybe it does, I don’t know. Maybe it’s brave, opening yourself up like that (p. 77).
I push myself hard over this stretch, running at my absolute limit, and it feels good, my heart hammering against my chest even as my breathing regulates itself. I love this part of training; my body adapting, my muscles remembering this feeling, this pain. Maybe it’s a bit sadistic, but it’s a pain that’s not really a pain. It’s like proof that you’ve worked, proof that you’ve done something, that you’re getting better (p. 78).
I have noticed that in some of the books I’ve read include numerous protagonists and many have failed to create unique voices for each. Cloke managed to make each character possess an individual voice, which was great. The narrative is told primarily through Aiden’s perspective, but the sections with other characters were clearly defined by their distinct voices. In my opinion, accomplishing this aspect in a story demonstrates an author’s proficient writing skills. This directly applies to Cloke and this book because I was surprised how distinctive each voice was.
I have mentioned in previous reviews that a protagonist can make or break a story. A good protagonist can assist with conveying emotion and empathy to readers. It is important that there are likeable characters in a book. In contrast, a badly-presented protagonist can be irritating for readers, as they are stuck with them for the remainder of the novel or series. Unfortunately, I didn’t like Aiden as much as I expected to. I had high hopes for him, but I found him to be confusing, judgemental, paranoid and dim-witted. I still don’t understand the plot line that explained why the police suspected Aiden – I understand that he wanted to feel closer to Lizzie, but why did it take so long for us to discover his secret? I just didn’t agree with his character, and it should have been better developed.
At the beginning of this review, I stated that I was hesitant to pick this book up. The reason for this was because I have read other novels with similar plots and I have been left a little disappointed. With that being said, I didn’t find this book’s plot to be unique or innovative. In fact, I found it was somewhat dull. There wasn’t a significant turning point in the story, nor was there a climax. The resolution provided closure, but the build up of suspense fizzled out by the time the narrative concluded. Like I said, it was similar to other thrillers associated with social media, so I found it to be monotonous and unsurprising.
Speaking of unsurprising, I found the main plot twist (who abducted Lizzie) to be predictable. When I began reading, I instantly began suspecting everyone for Lizzie’s disappearance. I had a premonition that a particular character was behind it, AND I WAS RIGHT, but that’s beside the point. The point is that predictable plot twists have the potential to ruin a book. In this case, it didn’t ruin the book but it did kill the suspense. I was confused by their motive, and that further irritated me. I was expecting the discovery to be darker, so I was disappointed.
Similarly, I found the identity of ‘Autumn Thomas’ was anti-climactic. I was surprised to find out who was behind the online girl, and I believed that this twist had potential to add intrigue to the narrative. However, after we found out who ‘Autumn’ really was, nothing really happened between Aiden and this character, so I lost interest. I liked the person’s motive for creating this identity, but they should have played a bigger role in Lizzie’s disappearance. Looking back, I wonder what the point of that plot twist really was. I know why they did it, but it didn’t really contribute to the book’s novel so that was a let-down.
My favourite character was Scobie because he was the most relatable, kind, caring, talented and genuine. I thought that I would like Lizzie or Aiden, but Scobie stood out. He genuinely cared for Lizzie, which demonstrated that he was a loyal friend. While I didn’t agree with everything he did, he had good intentions which is why he’s my favourite.
There was something about almost every character that made me dislike them. Aiden was irritating, Lizzie was gullible, Kevin was weird, and so on. If I had to pick one character that I hated the most, it would be Cheska for obvious reasons. She was shallow and cold-hearted.
My favourite part of the book was Lizzie’s flashbacks because they provided an insight into her and Aiden’s past. While Aiden didn’t seem to want to admit that he had such an intimate relationship with Lizzie, she wasn’t so adamant to share. Her sections in the book provided interesting insight into her relationship with Aiden and her thoughts on the mystery guy she’d met online.
Recommendation time! If you like Fake by Beck Nichols, Destroying Avalon by Kate McCaffrey, Pretty Girl by J.C. Burke, and Risk by Fleur Ferris, you will love this book. Also, I recommend this book to anyone who likes The Call, Taken series, Gone, Kidnap, Gone Girl, and Catfish.
Happy reading!
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