Tanya Anne Crosby

DNF. I rarely stop a book part way through, but the writing was cliched and clunky and the heroine was driving me crazy in a way I don't think she's meant to grow out of by the end. She 'acted before she could think' with alarming regularity for a situation where people's lives are genuinely at stake *eye roll*, and was just kind of childish and entitled. I think her self sacrificing for particular individuals was supposed to help endear her, but it seemed much more to do with her own show more martyrish tendencies, or heavy-handed need for an excuse to take some 'bold stance', than it was actually about the other people.

From the blurb I knew that the Vikings were coming to attack but she had foreseen it. Which had definite potential. I imagined she'd likely have used that information to put some sort of plan in place even. No. She has the dream, which isn't the first time she's had a premonition of future events, and her mother apparently had the sight as well, so it's a little strange she's so skeptical, but whatever, she's concerned enough to go stand out on the ramparts waiting, (but not enough to maybe wake up the sleeping guard apparently). And in fact *does* see the Vikings approaching... and just continues to stand there. She's very concerned about tipping anyone off to the danger because 'what if they ask her questions?!', *even after she's seen them with her first sight, you know, her actual eyeballs!* lol. Like the people who might survive by escaping into the woods before the Vikings reach the keep will return and be like 'hey, the important question is really- why were you awake!?!?' Even if they did she could say that she 'couldn't sleep', or 'needed fresh air', or 'heard a noise', or 'had a bad feeling', or anything in the world besides 'I might be a witch actually, better start the fire!' that she's apparently so worried about. I can't even fathom getting a prior warning, confirming it, and then *still doing nothing* about it, when it's maybe the difference between life and death for her people. Gah! I went on with several more scenes, but overall I just can't take it. show less

DNF. I rarely stop a book part way through, but the writing was cliched and clunky and the heroine was driving me crazy in a way I don't think she's meant to grow out of by the end. She 'acted before she could think' with alarming regularity for a situation where people's lives are genuinely at stake *eye roll*, and was just kind of childish and entitled. I think her self sacrificing for particular individuals was supposed to help endear her, but it seemed much more to do with her own show more martyrish tendencies, or heavy-handed need for an excuse to take some 'bold stance', than it was actually about the other people.

From the blurb I knew that the Vikings were coming to attack but she had foreseen it. Which had definite potential. I imagined she'd likely have used that information to put some sort of plan in place even. No. She has the dream, which isn't the first time she's had a premonition of future events, and her mother apparently had the sight as well, so it's a little strange she's so skeptical, but whatever, she's concerned enough to go stand out on the ramparts waiting, (but not enough to maybe wake up the sleeping guard apparently). And in fact *does* see the Vikings approaching... and just continues to stand there. She's very concerned about tipping anyone off to the danger because 'what if they ask her questions?!', *even after she's seen them with her first sight, you know, her actual eyeballs!* lol. Like the people who might survive by escaping into the woods before the Vikings reach the keep will return and be like 'hey, the important question is really- why were you awake!?!?' Even if they did she could say that she 'couldn't sleep', or 'needed fresh air', or 'heard a noise', or 'had a bad feeling', or anything in the world besides 'I might be a witch actually, better start the fire!' that she's apparently so worried about. I can't even fathom getting a prior warning, confirming it, and then *still doing nothing* about it, when it's maybe the difference between life and death for her people. Gah! I went on with several more scenes, but overall I just can't take it. show less

The Girl Who Stayed by Tanya Anne Crosby is a recommended contemporary novel of suspense.

Zoe Rutherford may ostensibly be on Sullivan's Island to clean and fix up her parents' house, which has been rented out for years, in order to sell it. She, along with her younger brother Nick, has stayed away from the house for years. But in reality she has been running away from the house and all it represents for years. It is where her family was living when her younger sister, Hannah, disappeared show more without a trace. It is where she endured her father's verbal and emotional abuse. It is where she witnesses her mother's withdrawal into herself. Zoe's latest- and last - violent fight with her boyfriend/abuser Chris gave her the impetus to leave him and finally do something about the house.

While there she has to face a plethora of emotions related to her father's cruelty, Hannah's disappearance, and her rocky unhealthy relationship with Chris. These are the three things that keep swirling around Zoe's head, repeatedly, obsessively, occasionally with added details. Her father never liked her. let alone loved her. His abuse became more pronounced when Zoe was 10 and Hannah 8. That is when Hannah went missing. Nick, who was 6 at the time, seems to have been immune to the abuse. Zoe still obsesses over her missing sister, an event that occurred thirty years ago, and the lack of closure.

Zoe's relationship with Chris is related to her poor self-esteem and search for love and acceptance no matter the cost, all traits that started being developed when she lived on Sullivan's Island. Now Zoe has a scar/wound on her forehead that was inflicted by Chris as she was leaving. She worries about people seeing it and wondering what caused it. A lot. She has a difficult time connecting to people. She has traumatic memories that haunt her still and some she may be suppressing.

Crosby does a wonderful job with the setting and creating the character of Zoe. I did find some of the repeated obsessing (over the scar, Hannah, Chris, her father) to be tiresome after so much reiteration. I also wondered why Zoe had such a hard time after therapy for years coming to terms with at least a few of her issues. On the other hand Crosby slowly has Zoe provide more information about bits and pieces of her childhood and her current relationship with Chris throughout the whole novel. It is also understandable that going to the island after being gone for so many years would bring back memories you thought you had banished or handled years before.

When the end comes it is startling and surprising enough to overcome some of the problems I had with The Girl Who Stayed. Up until the end there were really no startling surprises; however, the pacing was even and there were enough new facts disclosed along the way that it kept my interest. This would be a good airport or vacation book. It will keep your attention and entertain you

Disclosure: I received an advanced reading copy of this book from the publisher and TLC for review purposes.
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The Girl Who Stayed is billed as a mystery/thriller, but trust me when I say that it's so much deeper than that. This is the story of Zoe Rutherford's return to her childhood home of Sullivan's Island. A place of memories, most of them unpleasant. What begins as a quick trip to clean and fix up her childhood home, quickly turns into an introspective look at Zoe's life. Be warned, there are a plethora of emotions here, with childhood and adult abuse mixed in. This isn't the easiest story to show more read, but it was definitely more intriguing, than I expected it to be.

Zoe's head is a tough place to be. She's a prickly, and initially rather unlovable character. There's a wall miles tall between her and everyone else, set in place to protect her from more hurt. The fact that she obsesses over the same things, in an endless loop, makes for a tough read at times. As her abuse at the hands of both her father, and her recent ex-boyfriend started to come to the surface, I began to understand her more. It takes a lot of guts to finally walk away from something so damaging. Zoe ended up being stronger than I expected her to be, and I slowly grew to appreciate her for that. She may have been a bit broken, but only because she kept all the people who could have helped at arms length.

The mystery part of this is two-fold. One the one hand, Zoe has never let go of the unsolved disappearance of her younger sister Hannah. Her childhood was broken enough as it was, but Hannah's possible death has never let Zoe go. Crosby slowly unearths snippets of this traumatic event, bringing the reader further and further into Zoe's mind. When the second part of the mystery is presented, which I won't spoil for you, it actually fits in quite well. While I was pretty committed to this story for most of the book, the ending was what really brought it all home.

This wasn't a perfect story. It dragged at times, and Zoe isn't a character that everyone is going to love. However The Girl Who Stayed pleasantly surprised me. It ended up being much deeper than I expected it to be, and well-written at that. If you're in the market for a mystery/thriller that has a contemporary feel to it, this fits that bill. It's a worthwhile way to spend a few hours. show less