published May 25th 2010 by EgmontUSAdetails Hardcover, 288 pages
isbn 1606840851
4 stars
Synopsis from Goodreads…”It’s been two years since Noelle disappeared. Two years since her bike was discovered, sprawled on a sidewalk. Two years of silence, of worry, of fear.
For those two long years, her best friend Tessa has waited, living her own life in a state of suspended animation. Because how can she allow herself to enjoy a normal high school life if Noelle can’t? How dare she have other friends, go to dances, date boys, without knowing what happened to the girl she thought she would share everything with?
And then one day, someone calls Noelle’s house. She’s alive.
A haunting psychological thriller taken straight from the headlines, The Tension of Opposites is a striking debut that explores the emotional aftermath of a kidnapping on the victim, and on the people she left behind.”
Tessa is an ordinary teenage in a small town who’s life is devastated when her best friend Noelle is kidnapped one day off of the streets. Her reaction is accurate and gripping as she struggles with PTSD, codependency and her life lines become blurred with the one friend she loves the most. How can she ever trust again?
As Noelle is found and introduced back into Tessa’s life, she is different…a ghost of the person she once was. She begins to deal with media scrutiny, experimentation with drugs to numb the pain, a dead end relationship all the while attending therapy. The social worker in me loved how accurate the trials Elle endures are. The feelings she shares and things she experiences are haunting. It’s a book with adult situations that happen to a teenager in captivity so be prepared for sexually graphic and mature content. Adults may be wise to process this with their teen or read it along with them. Also, teachers and therapists my want to note the story of Salt Lake teen Elizabeth Smart as an example in contrast of how kidnap victims may handle the dynamics of coming back into society and healing. All in all, this reminds me a lot of Halse Anderson’s books Speak and Wintergirls as it handles a real life situation. I do love how McBride adds hope and actual visible change into all of her characters. We actually see them shift as the story progresses. Four out of five stars to a deep and interesting read!
Email us if you are interested in reading and reviewing The Tension of Opposites as part of our ARC tour.
Book Crazy Jenn
Wonderful review, I really enjoyed this one, from it’s story line to the whole photography thing, each part of this story struck a cord with me.