When Tessa is in middle school, her best friend Noelle is abducted by a stranger. There were no clues left behind except for Noelle's red bicycle, lying in the street. Then one day, Noelle's little brother gets a phone call. It's from Noelle. She's alive, and is taking her chance to escape. Tessa can only imagine what it's going to be like to have her best friend back, but is sorely disappointed when Noelle returns. She doesn't want to speak to Tessa, much less see her. Tessa realizes she has to move on with her life, and meets a new guy, Max, in her photography class. When he shows interest, she's so hung up on renewing her friendship with Noelle that she pushes him away. Eventually she and Noelle speak, but it's not easy. Noelle has been through terrible things, and no one understands why she didn't just run away. But Noelle has her reasons.
There have been several real-life headlines about cases like Noelle's recently. The kidnapped person isn't tied up, and is allowed to walk around in the community, and sometimes even make friends. But for some reason or another, he/she doesn't tell the police that they are being held against their will. Sometimes they are suffering from Stockholm Syndrome, a condition where the kidnapped person begins to sympathize with his/her captor. Others, like Noelle, are afraid that the captor will take it out on their families.
I enjoyed seeing Noelle's perspective, and it was heart-wrenching as Tessa struggled to regain what she'd lost. I think the added element of Tessa's romance with Max was sort of unnecessary to this story, but other than that, I really liked this one.
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