Mindy Mejia | LEAVE NO TRACE

Plot (via Goodreads):

There is a place in Minnesota with hundreds of miles of glacial lakes and untouched forests called the Boundary Waters. Ten years ago a man and his son trekked into this wilderness and never returned.

Search teams found their campsite ravaged by what looked like a bear. They were presumed dead until a decade later...the son appeared. Discovered while ransacking an outfitter store, he was violent and uncommunicative and sent to a psychiatric facility. Maya Stark, the assistant language therapist, is charged with making a connection with their high-profile patient. No matter how she tries, however, he refuses to answer questions about his father or the last ten years of his life

But Maya, who was abandoned by her own mother, has secrets, too. And as she’s drawn closer to this enigmatic boy who is no longer a boy, she’ll risk everything to reunite him with his father who has disappeared from the known world. 

Review:

I love the writing style of Mindy Mejia. Everything You Want Me to Be is so different from Leave No Trace and yet you can tell that it is written by someone who can not only keep you guessing, but emotionally gut you at the same time. This one begins with an amazing bang and doesn't pump the breaks until the author acknowledgements. And I am not even close to joking.

This novel is an exceptional blend of psychological suspense, mystery, and an emotionally charged character driven novel. Sound good? You have no idea. This novel is almost adventurous and delicious to read. I couldn't stop once I started. I loved the way Mejia blended together two completely different lives and kept me guessing with both storylines the entire time. I was captivated with this read and I still think about it weeks later. I genuinely cared for these characters and was emotionally invested in where their lives were headed. I'm ecstatic that Mindy Mejia brought me on a journey 

Here's what I'll say about about the novels that Mindy Mejia writes - they are brilliant. I love the combination of emotion and suspense with each novel being set apart from anything else out there. She is a storyteller with a heavily detailed imagination that will leave you guessing and a little lost. Lost in a good way. Lost in wondering where you go from now. Be prepared for an emotional vacation after this one, you'll need it with a haunting read like this one.

Special thanks to Atria for this copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: 4/5