Synopsis from Goodreads:
When Naomi Jensen is kidnapped, it takes her parents two days to realize she's missing. Escape isn't high on her list of priorities when all she has to return to is an abusive boyfriend and parents who never paid much attention to her. For the first time in her life she's part of a family-even if it is a family of criminals. But she's still a captive. In a desperate attempt to regain some control in her life, Naomi embarks on a dangerous plan to make one of her kidnappers think she's falling in love with him. The plan works too well, and when faced with the chance to escape, Naomi isn't sure she wants to take it.
Review:
As soon as I read the blurb for THE BREAKAWAY, I knew I had to read it. It sounded really intriguing. My gut instinct didn't let me down; The Breakaway was a fantastic story and the ending left me craving for more. Argyle writes wonderfully; I felt like I was in Naomi's head throughout the course of the story and could understand how and why her feelings changed as the story went on. I actually wish the story was longer as I would liked to have read more about her imprisonment and developing relationships (particularly with Jesse) than the few hundred pages allowed.
The story opens when Naomi wakes up in a motel. She has just been kidnapped. She has no idea why she has been kidnapped but her kidnappers inform her that she has seen too much of whatever criminal activities they were doing. Rather than kill her, they grudgingly take her with them and lock her in a room in an innocent-looking suburban house.
Over the course of her captivity, Naomi has to come to terms with the life and people that she has lost; her uncaring parents and her overbearing boyfriend. Slowly, her feelings about her abductors begins to change to something more positive... but will she ever be free?
The characters were complex and puzzling. Though I never did like Naomi's parents, I could understand why they were the way they were. Naomi's four kidnappers were mysterious. I really wanted to figure them out. What reasons could they have for kidnapping?
They were threatening and violent and almost at the same time comforting and sympathetic. Argyle was great at portraying these complex paradoxical behaviours in her characters by making it believable. I wanted to understand Eric, Evelyn and Jesse and while I did come to know them better throughout the story, I believe there was a lot more Argyle left unsaid (unwritten).
Naomi and her love interest's relationship was what gripped me. As Naomi's feelings for him morphed, I didn't know whether it was her real feelings or Stockholm Syndrome in play. I guess I was feeling exactly how Naomi was feeling; confused.
Naomi was a strong and brave character. She was put into a nightmare situation and tries to deal with it in the best way that she can. The Breakaway was suspenseful and gripping. I read it in one night. Though the ending was fulfilling, I still wish I was given a few more answers at the end. I dislike loose endings/open-endings in most cases. Luckily, Argyle is planning to write a sequel for The Breakaway which will be out next year, entitles Pieces. I have subscribed to her newsletter so I can be informed about this.
Overall, The Breakaway was a terrific book, not one I will forget soon. Most of all, I loved the characters and their interactions. I felt that there was so much more under the surface. Survival is every human's most natural and primitive instinct. It is amazing how much a human can endure to ultimately survive. I would like to read more books like this. I would recommend everyone read The Breakaway.
Rating: 5/5
Author: Michelle Davidson Argyle
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