Hello beautiful people! Welcome back to a new review! For this review, I get into a first-time read for this author The Nowhere Child by Christian White. A riveting and delicious mystery filled with family secrets, lies, and a disgruntled understanding of the world, the book dives into an adult woman finding out who she really is for the first time.
Main Characters:
- Kimberly Leamy (Sammy Went): Kim is an Australian woman who has her entire world turned upside down when she is contacted by a man with information in which he believes she is Sammy Went a toddler who was kidnapped from America when she was two, when it becomes evident that Kim really is Sammy she goes to America to meet her biological family and try to find out why her mother would have kidnapped her and brought her so far away that long ago
- Carol and Dean Leamy: Kimberly’s parents raised her as a child, her mother died of cancer a few years ago and given that Dean is Kim’s step Dad he doesn’t have the answers for her that she needs when she wants to find out why she was taken from her biological family
- Jack and Molly Went: Kim’s biological parents, Jack gives the reader a past perspective to let us see what the family life was like before and after Sammy was taken from them, despite their long marriage Jack and Molly Went could not be different from each other Molly is a religious zealot and Jack and atheist, they didn’t start out that way but even when their views change they stay together
- Emma and Stanley Went: Kim’s biological siblings who we see go through losing their sister as children and how that affects them as adults
- Travis Eckles: lives in the same town that Sammy was kidnapped from, due to their family reputation Travis is automatically assumed to have something to do with it while having nothing at all, the struggle is he just can’t tell the police what his real alibi is
My Review
The Nowhere Child by Christian White had popped up in my recommended for a while and when I read the blurb for the book I knew it would be an interesting one to check out. A very character-centred mystery The Nowhere Child follows around the topic of the fragility of life and how things can change at a moment’s notice. I honestly found The Nowhere Child to be extremely unique and really unlike any other book I’ve checked out before. Although the mystery element of the book is very strong and pulls you in, the strengths of the characters really make this book, unlike others. The realness and rawness in the characters make you want to stick with them all the way and just see how things go.
I gave The Nowhere Child an 8/10 rating. I rated the book just a smidge lower than I wanted to just because I felt like the ending of the book got exposed a bit too early for my liking. As I was writing that I was thinking about the fact that I may have actually figured the end out before it was intended and that may be why it seemed so early, but I am not really sure. I feel like it was intended for the reader to make the connections, but I would love to know what others who read it thought about the ending.
The Nowhere Child follows Kim Leamy a young Australian woman who is a professional photographer. Living a fairly average life Kim is rattled when a man approaches her asking to speak with her about an investigation. The investigation follows a 26-year-old story in which a two-year-old Sammy Went was taken out of her bedroom window and was never seen again. Presumed to be dead most of her family members had given up on ever seeing her again, but some were hopeful that she could still be out there and kept the investigation alive. Kim doesn’t understand why this American is here talking to her about this little girl, and then it becomes clear, that he thinks she’s Sammy Went. What she soon comes to find out is that not only does he think she is Sammy Went, but he knows. Having matched her DNA to a relative Kim is now forced to face the truth, her mother, the woman who claimed to have birthed her kidnapped her. Not only that but she went to extreme lengths to get her to another country. Getting on a plane and heading to Mason, Kentucky Kim tries to find answers as to who took her and why, and if her biological family members can fill any of the gaps. Struggling with this new identity that she doesn’t connect with at all, people she thought she knew, and people who think she knows her, this thriller also follows a deep story of discovery and family.
I really enjoyed the characters in this book, and I think they are the strength of the whole thing. I like how imperfect the characters are. With Kim finding out this earth-shattering news about herself she handles it in a really real way. At first, she runs away from it desperate for her life to not change, but eventually sees that she has to do this. She makes impulsive choices and blocks people out in an attempt to try and piece together who she is. Her biological family is mixed in their reactions like any family would be. Not that this is the same thing but my grandpa was adopted as a child and his father’s family had no idea he existed. When he finally figured out who his father was and introduced himself to the family some embraced him and some were wary. The DNA was clear, he was a member of the family, but that didn’t mean that everyone was comfortable with him right away. The way Kim’s biological family was with her reminded me so much of that. It wasn’t that anyone didn’t believed that she wasn’t Sammy, but the reality was that she wasn’t Sammy, she was Kim. Family isn’t just DNA, it’s who you connect with, and who you have a history with. Two unmemorable years wasn’t enough history to connect her with these people. I appreciated how mental health was handled in this book and I felt like it was very real but was also very respectful.
I honestly haven’t read a book like this before and I really enjoyed how unique and character-centered it was. If you enjoy mystery thrillers that aren’t gory at all and are more just emotional and dynamic then you should definitely check this one out.
*** Don’t go any further if you don’t want to see any spoilers ***
The big question in the book was did Kim’s mother Carol kidnap her as a child or get her from someone who kidnapped her, and why did she do it?
Well, I am skipping over a lot here but it gets exposed that Kim isn’t the only one with a double identity. Dean her stepfather is actually Travis Eckles’ brother Patrick. However, this doesn’t answer a lot because Patrick was incarcerated at the time of the kidnapping, so who did it?
While in prison Patrick started a romantic relationship through letters with a local girl from his area named Becky. Becky was part of a family who ran a local fundamentalist church with extreme zealot views and dangerous practices. Becky unhappy with her life essentially reaches out to a bad boy in hopes of saving him and herself. She and Patrick hit it off quickly but he doesn’t expect that when he gets out she is going to have a little girl hiding away for them to pass off as their own.
Alright so Becky kidnapped Sammy, but why? Well, Molly Sammy’s mother was an active member of Becky’s family’s church. Molly was suffering with extreme post-partum after giving birth to Sammy but due to being a part of this church she never received a diagnosis or care for it. Her husband Jack who was actively taking part in his real sexual identity with Travis was not present for her and missed most of the signs that she was unwell. The church believed that Sammy was the devil or possessed and that for Molly to feel better she needed to be dealt with. Out of fear that Sammy would be hurt, Becky kidnaps her. However, before escaping with Sammy and Patrick she is discovered by her brother who kills her. Patrick escapes with Sammy believing he was doing the right thing like Becky said and following through with her plan. Getting them fake identities he took them to Australia to live new lives. Taking on the identity of Dean he meets Carol and eventually tells her the truth. The two decide to switch the story and say Kim is biologically hers.
What I felt like that gets exposed early on is that Becky and Patrick take Sammy. I am grappling with if it’s meant to be exposed this early but I honestly don’t think it takes away from the desire to finish the book or see what happens next.
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