What do readers think of Where You Can Find Me by Sheri Joseph? Write your own review.

I was drawn into the story immediately, but found that when I was 3/4 done with the book I gave up. I had expected to have the story be more about Caleb, his experience and the effect this had on the family. Although I believe that was what this book was intending to be - I missed it. I was disinterested in Marlene, Lowell and most of the characters ... and felt that it went on & on never giving me what I wanted in a read. Part of me feels that I just missed the whole point of the book, and the other part was never drawn in further to are.

This book takes an all too familiar from the headlines today and turns it into a good novel. An 11 year old gets snatched after his birthday and is not found for 3 years. The boys parents try desperately to find him, and when they get him returned the mother runs away with him to Costa Rica because of the press. It is a good story, but gets slow in spots, and the plot seems to fizzle some, but all-in-all I enjoyed this novel.

This book although about young Caleb who is reunited with his family after 3 years, is really also the story of his sister Lark who is gone "missing" in another sense. Her brother's abduction has left her lost and alone amid her family's struggles. I found this aspect of the book the most interesting because Caleb's abduction and what happened to him are left fairly ambiguous and wanting. His parent's relationship with all their entanglements really distract from the story. I am glad I read it and I think it would generate good discussion.

.

The premise of this book sounds great - kidnapped boy comes back; shattered family; move to Costa Rica ..yet I felt that the story moved so slowly it just didn't capture my interest - I had to force myself to continue reading until the end, and it never really pulled me in. The characters are just okay - the mother, Marlene, seems underdeveloped, you never really get a sense of her, the chapters with the sister, Lark, are just dull. I really wanted to like it, because I thought the storyline sounded great, but it fell short of my expectations.

I was really looking forward to getting this book because the story sounded so interesting. Unfortunately I had a hard time getting through it. The book didn't have any intrigue until the last hundred pages, and even then it was short lived. I really wanted it to get better, but I was just left with a deficient feeling.

I've heard that books considered "literature" do not usually sell well commercially, and "Where you Can Find Me" falls into that category for me. While I can see the appeal of this book on a scholarly level (evidenced by the fellowship and university support), I expected this story to be about Caleb, his experiences and the effect the kidnapping and subsequent reunion had on his family. The book begins after Caleb has been rescued and returned to his family by the FBI. The events of the kidnapping itself and the three years Caleb was "gone" are told in veiled flashbacks. Although Caleb was the main character, Marlene's relationships really detracted from what little story there was.

I usually read 3-4 books a week, and this book dragged on forever. I found myself looking for interruptions to avoid reading it. I was expecting a grand story devoted to the impact Caleb's kidnapping had on his family and their efforts to refocus and rebuild their family when Caleb returned. This book had so much potential and could have been an outstanding read.

At first, I used the age rule: Before you put a novel down, read the number of pages equal to your age. After fifty-five pages, I made myself age another twenty years; unfortunately, as I ended the novel, I was the age of Methuselah!!! Joseph's
novel just didn't capture me - children, abduction, abuse, beautiful setting, marriage issues, and family responsibilities - suggest a great read. It never happened...too many details, too much description, and action without dialogue plagued her latest novel.

"Where you Can Find Me' has some interesting moments when the author describes scenery in Costa Rica. The plot, however, is slow going. The book is about a boy who was kidnapped from his parents at age eleven. The story starts at the point when the boy has been returned to the family by the FBI. As is so common in these situations, the dynamics in the family are tense and uncertain. In an effort to shelter the boy from publicity, the mother decides to move the family to Costa Rica. The author could have had a winner in this novel. There are so many perspectives that she could have taken. The character development is weak, however, and you never get a true sense of who any of the characters are. There are also so many unanswered questions throughout the book. I guess I don't have to have everything spelled out but answering a few questions would have been nice. I wasn't thrilled by the ending either. It seemed like the author ran out of steam and just decided to finish. I normally don't have a hard time finishing books but this one was a struggle to finish. On the positive side, I would love to visit Costa Rica now!