You Are My Only by Beth Kephart

You Are My Only by Beth Kephart

EgmontUSA, October 25, 2011

Summary from Goodreads:

Emmy Rane is married at nineteen, a mother by twenty. Trapped in a life with a husband she no longer loves, Baby is her only joy. Then one sunny day in September, Emmy takes a few fateful steps away from her baby and returns to find her missing. All that is left behind is a yellow sock.
Fourteen years later, Sophie, a homeschooled, reclusive teenage girl is forced to move frequently and abruptly from place to place, perpetually running from what her mother calls the "No Good." One afternoon, Sophie breaks the rules, ventures out, and meets Joey and his two aunts. It is this loving family that gives Sophie the courage to look into her past. What she discovers changes her world forever. . . .
The riveting stories of Emmy and Sophie—alternating narratives of loss, imprisonment, and freedom regained—escalate with breathless suspense toward an unforgettable climax.

I was very anxious to read and review this novel. The idea of a baby getting kidnapped right from her yard is, for a parent, horrifying. I was expecting big, scary things from this novel. Unfortunately, while the storyline was good, the plot just wasn't as developed as I would have liked. The story is told in alternating viewpoints, and while Sophie is pretty forward about her upbringing, Emmy is more reluctant to share how she ended up where she did. The whole hospitalization thing seemed forced--something that may have been believable in the 1950s but less so in the late 1990s (but perhaps I'm putting the late 1990s in a better light than they deserve?). I was also so completely confused by the many references to Kepler. I get that the mother is slightly delusional and thinks that this stuff is important--and maybe it is, but it wasn't explained that well in the book. It was kind of like, hmmm, what is this model that she's making? Am I intrigued enough to get up and look it up?" Ultimately, the answer was no. I feel like that kind of information is going to be put in a book, it should have some kind of lasting relevance to the storyline.

eGalley received from NetGalley.
Enjoy your reading!
Christi