Title: Disconnected
Author: Lisa M. Cronkhite
Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Young Adult
Age Group: Young Adult
Rating: 4 stars
Purchase: Amazon
Review copy provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Seventeen-year-old Milly has a huge problem on her hands. She is being bullied by Amelia Norris. Day in and day out, Amelia torments Milly and even threatens to hurt her, but she can’t tell anyone—not a soul. Milly’s reasoning—she does not want anyone to know where her tormentor lives. They only share one thing in common. Both co-exist as one in the same body. Milly is so disconnected from her past that she feels compelled to find out what truly happened to her when her parents were still alive. After a mysterious fire, she and Grandpa George move into Aunt Rachel’s Victorian home where Milly then begins to unravel puzzling clues to her family history. Through dreams and scattered memories, Milly journals her breaking story, trying to cope by putting the shattered pieces back together, all the while resisting with her inner demon. Amelia is determined to cut Milly out of the real world—literally.Milly starts to wonder who her real family is after stumbling across Aunt Rachel’s notebook—having the intuitive sense that something terribly awful is missing. All she had thought to be true now seems like one big lie.
Disconnected is the story of seventeen-year-old Milly, who has a huge problem. She suffers from shizophrenia, and is being bullied by the voices in her head, the voice who is called Amelia. By some miracle, Milly manages to keep Amelia hidden from the outside world for the most part, although her grandfather, and later on, her aunt, are suspicious that something is wrong. But Milly grows more and more frustrated toward Amelia, who seems to be hiding something, and who is always up to no good.
When a fire burns down half of grandfather’s house, Milly has to go live with her aunt. Her aunt is a novelist, and Milly barely knows her, but she doesn’t really like her. At least, Amelia doesn’t. But the more time Milly spends at her aunt’s house, the more she starts uncovering secrets of the past, secrets that might explain what happened to her parents, and how she ended up with Amelia tagging along for everything she does.
Lisa M. Cronkhite combines the very real issue of mental illness with a delightful mystery that has so many twists and turns I was entertained from start to finish. I liked Milly, and heck, I even liked Amelia. The two of them combined form an interesting duo, and it’s not very often that mental illness plays a large part in a book, although it’s a pressing issue for those who suffer from it.
The story matter however, is quite dark, and not always for the faint of heart. I found the big reveal toward the end to be a fitting conclusion, but it all happened rather fast – a bit too fast to take in.
Nevertheless, an entertaining, thought-provoking read that’s great for fans of YA mystery.
[…] Disconnected by Lisa M. Cronkhite […]