Book Blurb:
Can a troubled young girl reenter society after living in isolation?
When a beautiful 16-year-old girl named Sophie is found sequestered in a cage-like room in a rundown house in the desolate hills of Arbon Valley, Idaho, the entire community is shocked to learn she is the legendary Callidora--a baby girl who was kidnapped from her crib almost seventeen years ago and canonized in missing posters with portraits of what the fabled girl might resemble. Authorities soon learn that the cage was there to protect people from Sophie, because her biological father believes she is cursed.
Sophie is discovered after the man she knows as Papa, shoots and injures Damien, a young man who is trying to rescue her. Now, unsocialized and thrust into the world, and into a family she has never met, Sophie must decide whether she should accept her Papa’s claims that she is cursed and he was only trying to protect others, or trust the new people in her life who have their own agendas. Guided by a wise cousin, Sophie realizes that her most heartbreaking challenge is to decide if her love for Damien will destroy him like her Papa claims, or free her from past demons that haunt her mind.
My thoughts:
Sophie's story is a tough one to read. She suffers from what is called "Stockholm Syndrome." Yes, she should love her father, but what he has done to her is unforgivable. She doesn't know any better, though, and is quick to defend him. At the same time, she is torn because she senses something isn't right. She deserves love but is brainwashed to think otherwise. She doesn't understand that people can love her. She doesn't understand what a normal teen's life is like. She has no idea what beauty is. I think one of the most heartwrenching parts is when her cousin finds a self-portrait that Sophie drew. It is all distorted, because the only reflection of herself she has ever seen is the one in the toaster. You just want to reach in and beat the man she calls "Papa." The more you get to know, though, you also start to feel a little sorry for him. It's heartbreaking.
Living with her grandparents, it is like the cycle begins all over again, only by different means and from multiple directions. Thank God for her cousin Stephanie, who is the source of truth and light in her life now.
Three stories are being told at the same time. One is present-day, told by Sophie in the first person, as she gets used to her new life with her family and away from Papa. A second one is set a few years before, also told by Sophie, about her growing relationship with Damien. The third is told in third-person about a man named Luke and the love of his life, Vee. Their story is also a tragic one. At first, when the story shifts to this first flashback about Luke, you're thrown off for a bit. As the book progresses, you begin to see how the stories eventually merge together.
What is frightening about this story is how plausible it could be. Think of the high profile kidnapping cases we have seen over the last several years. It doesn't even have to be a kidnapping case for some girls to be abused in this way. It's really sad, and unfortunately, that is what makes it so intriguing to read. I felt protective of Sophie, just like I would for any of my own "kids."
Where to buy:
Kindle buy link - $2.99 | Nook buy link - $4.95 | iBookstore buy link - $4.99 | Google buy link - $3.79 | Smashwords buy link - $4.99 | PDF buy link - $4.95
Brenda Stanley is the former news anchor at her NBC affiliate KPVI in Eastern Iadho. Her writing has been recognized by the Scripps Howard Foundation, the Hearst Journalism Awards, the Idaho Press Club and the Society for Professional Journalists. She is a graduate of Dixie College in St. George, Utah, and the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. Brenda lived for two years in Ballard, Utah, within the Fort Duchesne reservation where the novel is set. She and her husband live on a small ranch near the Snake River with their horses and dogs.
Andi, thanks for feeling protective of Sophie :)
ReplyDelete