And Then She Was Gone by Rosalind Noonan Book Review

 

I’ve had this book on my shelf for quite some time now, decided to give it a read. I had no idea what to expect as I didn’t read the blurb, just picked it up because it sounded interesting.

I will say that this book may be quite triggering to more sensitive readers in its content and how it explores what Lauren went through after being abducted from the neighbor’s front lawn because Kevin was not a nice guy.

Eleven years old and all she wanted to do was look at a hummingbird and, being an artist, the green grass and purple flowers caught her attention. She had to sketch them! Walking home from school should have been safe.

And this story is set in Oregon, my hometown.

I can only imagine how parents, in this case the O’Neil family, would feel not knowing what happened to their child. For six long years, Rachel (the mom) kept her faith that Lauren would return home to them.

The other aspect I found quite interesting, and quite realistic, was how Sierra (the younger sister) felt. I think the exploration through these pages of how she was coping/dealing with Lauren’s abduction and ultimately her being found was handled quite well. Not to add a spoiler, but Sierra felt she was overlooked because her mom’s energy went into finding Lauren, organizing search parties, her teaching job, etc. I think that was an especially important aspect to this tale because things like this don’t just affect the person who was taken, it affects everyone involved.