Cut Me Free by J. R. Johansson (Website, Blog, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads)Published by Macmillan on January 27th 2015
Genres: Social Issues, Young Adult
Pages: 304
Format: ARC
Seventeen-year-old Charlotte barely escaped from her abusive parents. Her little brother, Sam, wasn't as lucky. Now she's trying to begin the new life she always dreamed of for them, but never thought she'd have to experience alone. She's hired a techie-genius with a knack for forgery to remove the last ties to her old life. But while she can erase her former identity, she can't rid herself of the memories. And her troubled history won't let her ignore the little girl she sees one day in the park. The girl with the bruises and burn marks.That's when Charlotte begins to receive the messages. Threatening notes left in her apartment--without a trace of entry. And they're addressed to Piper, her old name. As the messages grow in frequency, she doesn't just need to uncover who is leaving them; she needs to stop whoever it is before anyone else she loves ends up dead.
Cut Me Free by J.R. Johansson was a book that pulled me into the story and made it really hard to put the book down. There is a definite darkness to this story and the main character has suffered through something that is unimaginable but she comes through it with a toughness that helps her survive when she is on her own.
Piper has escaped her abusive parents and now she is trying to live in a world outside of the attic she has lived in for her entire life. In order to do that, Piper needs a new life and she hires Cam to give her a new identity. Now she is Charlotte and she has an apartment and Cam helps her get a job. Just as she begins her new life, Charlotte is pulled back into a situation she thought she would never have to face again.
Something new for Charlotte is the fact that Cam wants to help and be her friend. This is not something she has ever had before and while she doesn’t necessarily trust anyone, she realizes he really is a good guy. I liked Cam and he was a good balance for Charlotte. She (with good reason) had to be very careful and I loved how he slowly broke down the walls she had put up.
As the story moves forward, we know what Charlotte has gone through and we also find out what she has recently done when she sees a girl in the park that has marks that are very similar to those she has suffered. Things start to get dangerous and weird for Charlotte when she starts receiving threatening messages. Now Charlotte has to figure out who is behind the messages and what she is going to do.
I loved the mystery aspect of this story and the way the story unraveled. There is no question, Charlotte is strong but she is stronger with Cam helping her out and when she finally realizes he isn’t really going anywhere, she actually begins to rely on him. In the end she does try to keep him out of the danger but that does backfire on her and Cam refuses to let her handle this problem alone.
I liked the overall story here. It isn’t necessarily a pretty story, but it is about survival and the suspense tied in is believable. As I mentioned, I found myself unable to put this book down because I needed to know what was going to happen next for these characters and who was behind everything. Plus, I was trying to figure how it was all going to come together.
If you like an emotion packed story with a mystery plus some solid characters, definitely check this one out. I was excited to get my hands on a copy and will definitely be checking out other books by Johansson as soon as I can.
Thank you to the publisher for the review copy.
Piper has escaped her abusive parents and now she is trying to live in a world outside of the attic she has lived in for her entire life. In order to do that, Piper needs a new life and she hires Cam to give her a new identity. Now she is Charlotte and she has an apartment and Cam helps her get a job. Just as she begins her new life, Charlotte is pulled back into a situation she thought she would never have to face again.
Something new for Charlotte is the fact that Cam wants to help and be her friend. This is not something she has ever had before and while she doesn’t necessarily trust anyone, she realizes he really is a good guy. I liked Cam and he was a good balance for Charlotte. She (with good reason) had to be very careful and I loved how he slowly broke down the walls she had put up.
As the story moves forward, we know what Charlotte has gone through and we also find out what she has recently done when she sees a girl in the park that has marks that are very similar to those she has suffered. Things start to get dangerous and weird for Charlotte when she starts receiving threatening messages. Now Charlotte has to figure out who is behind the messages and what she is going to do.
I loved the mystery aspect of this story and the way the story unraveled. There is no question, Charlotte is strong but she is stronger with Cam helping her out and when she finally realizes he isn’t really going anywhere, she actually begins to rely on him. In the end she does try to keep him out of the danger but that does backfire on her and Cam refuses to let her handle this problem alone.
I liked the overall story here. It isn’t necessarily a pretty story, but it is about survival and the suspense tied in is believable. As I mentioned, I found myself unable to put this book down because I needed to know what was going to happen next for these characters and who was behind everything. Plus, I was trying to figure how it was all going to come together.
If you like an emotion packed story with a mystery plus some solid characters, definitely check this one out. I was excited to get my hands on a copy and will definitely be checking out other books by Johansson as soon as I can.
Thank you to the publisher for the review copy.
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