Blog Tour: The Detour by S.A. Bodeen {Review}

Release date: October 6, 2015
Author info: Website | Twitter
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Pages: 224
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher provided for review
Buy the book: Barnes & Noble | Amazon | The Book Depository

On her way to a writer’s conference, a bestselling teenage author takes a detour that has been deliberately set up by her biggest fans—a mother and daughter who kidnap her.

Livvy Flynn is a big deal—she’s a New York Times-bestselling author whose YA fiction has sold all over the world. She’s rich, she’s famous, she’s gorgeous, and she’s full of herself.

When she’s invited to an A-list writer’s conference, she decides to accept so she can have some time to herself. She’s on a tight deadline for her next book, and she has no intention of socializing with the other industry people at the conference. 

And then she hits the detour. Before she knows it, her brand new car is wrecked, she’s hurt, and she’s tied to a bed in a nondescript shack in the middle of nowhere. A woman and her apparently manic daughter have kidnapped her. And they have no intention of letting her go.

The Detour is a Misery-like thriller that never lets you stop questioning just what's going on. With a YA-centric premise, thriller fans are going to enjoy figuring out why Livvy has been kidnapped and how she'll get out.

I, personally, loved that Livvy is a young adult author, with the interesting addition that she's just barely out of high school, having reached meteoric success. But Livvy is far from likable. In the beginning, she's at times smug and acts as if she's entitled to the success she's enjoyed. It's off-putting, but she's got a big experience ahead of her. There's more to Livvy than meets the eye, and her background is more interesting than you'd expect. And her time in the basement uncovers a lot while also changing even more.

While I thought several of the twists were easy to anticipate, I still enjoyed reading how Livvy's experience worked out--how she'd deal with the time in the basement, whether she'd escape or be saved, the details as to why she was kidnapped, and the aftermath of the experience. Even without too much surprise, it's interesting to see.

The Detour is more psychological than action-packed, but it's fascinating and quite the quick read. The second half flies by as you find more questions and keep hoping your suppositions are correct.

About the author:

S.A. Bodeen grew up on a dairy farm in Wisconsin. She graduated from UW-River Falls with a degree in Secondary Ed., then joined the Peace Corps with her husband and went to Tanzania, East Africa. Her first picture book, Elizabeti's Doll (written as Stephanie Stuve-Bodeen) was published in 1998, followed by six other picture books.Her first YA novel written as S.A. Bodeen, the award-winning The Compound, came out from Feiwel and Friends in 2008. The novel count is up to five, with two more releasing in 2015. She has lived in eight states, two African countries, and an insular possession. Currently, she lives in the Midwest with her husband and two daughters.