Customer Reviews

When Jeff Comes Home

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

WHEN JEFF COMES HOME is the book I wish I could have written. Ms. Atkins brings Jeff, his fear, confusion, his heartbreak and finally his courage to stunning realization in this first person POV. Jeff, kidnapped at thirteen, then released and returned to his family at sixteen doesn't know who he is anymore. Recent criticisms of the book focusing on why the kidnapper releases him have missed the subtleties of the book. Jeff is too old to be of sexual interest to Ray, his kidnapper, but retaining control and continuing to torture him in another way is the second act of Ray's vicious drama. And Jeff doesn't know who to protect. Ray, who did release him, his family, or himself.

The art of this book is in what isn't said. The writer trusts the reader to see through Jeff's mental confusion. The reader desperately wants Jeff to recognize his path to recovery. Easily the best YA I've read this year.

What an achievement this novel is! Not only has Catherine Atkins brought to life an engaging yet enigmatic adolescent named Jeff, but has also created a "ring true" set of characters around him whose lives he affects in deep ways. Abducted and sexually abused for two and a half miserable years, Jeff is finally able to return home. What are his chances of leading a "normal" family and school life after what he has been through? In search of that answer, Ms. Atkins takes us places we would rather not be, but we go anyway. We cannot help but root for Jeff and his family. We want their pain to end. We want justice to prevail. Most of all, we want this terrible chapter in all their lives to close.

This novel is astonishing. It goes to the heart of family life, and tells us that there is as much fear, guilt and sorrow in it as there is joy, fellowship, and forgiveness. Bravo to Ms. Atkins. You are a fine writer, and Jeff is a fine book!

I'm really interested in kidnappings and have read lots of books about them, both fiction and nonfiction. This I think is one of my favorites. All the characters were very well done, particularly Jeff and Vin. Vin was my favorite character, the way he wouldn't give up, trying to help Jeff even as Jeff pushed him away. What happened to Jeff, the beatings and the molestations, are written about in such a way so that you know it all but not too much -- many writers less talented would turn this story into something like sadomasochistic pornography, but Catherine Atkins is much more subtle than that. Jeff's recovery with all the fits and starts seems realistic to me, and I felt like cheering when he said he was ready to talk though of course it will be years before he ever feels really safe again. A great novel; I look forward to reading future works by this author.

If you heard about something like this on the news, or on "America's Most Wanted"--KIDNAPPED TEEN WHO SPENT TWO YEARS AS SEX SLAVE IS HOME-- you'd shed a tear, and think "how wonderful that he was returned home, they must be so happy now", and then you'd go back to your dinner, or your book, or your crossword.

How many of us actually ever think about what happens after the happy ending? Can you imagine going home, and then having to lead a "normal" life, where EVERYONE knows what you went through? It's one thing to be recognized because you want to--actor, musician, politician. It's another thing to be recognized everywhere you go because everyone knows what happened to you. This book makes the reader think about that. This is the book about what happens after the happy ending that we see in the tabloids. And it isn't a comfortable thing to have to think about.

This is an excellent novel, well written, suspenseful and disturbing. I only have two questions--why did Ray return Jeff in the first place? Just because Jeff pretended to love him? It doesn't ring true. And why didn't someone immediately hook Jeff up with a counsellor? Even if he wasn't ready to talk, some effort should have been made to put him in touch with someone qualified to deal with traumatized kids.

Definitely worth reading however.

As a librarian, I just read and reviewed this book as part of my job. I was glad that I also discussed it with other colleagues, and got teen comments about it as well. The book is very well written, fast to read, realistic, scary, and disturbing -- especially from my vantage point as a mother. Colleagues have already noted that it has been very well received by teens, some of whom have come up to tell us so. This is high praise for a 230-page young adult novel. The story is told in the first person, by Jeff himself, and his pain is so real and so palpable that I can't imagine it having been written any better. The tense mood of the book never lets up; there is very little lightness or humor to give the reader a chance to breathe. This technique would not have been my choice, but I can see that it will keep teen readers going right up to the end. I have only a few slight criticisms about the story: What really compelled Jeff's kidnapper to bring him home? Does this really ever happen? And, why is there no mention of a counselor or therapist for Jeff? If my son had come home so obviously disturbed and in pain, my first phonecall would have been to seek professional help. I don't quite understand that omission in the story. I hope it really isn't standard police operating procedure NOT to include the help of a therapist for an individual like this! -SMS

This book is REALLY good. If I were a teacher I would have my class read this book. I can't imagine going through something like Jeff, the main character, did. Not only did Jeff have to live with what happened, but he also had to endure the criticism of his peers after it was all over. I don't think that I would be able to live with myself after an experience like that. I can completely understand the reason for his apprehensiveness towards touch. Ray, the guy that had originally kidnapped Jeff, is unimaginably horrible. You will have no idea, until you read this book. But the plot through this book is not only interesting and nerve wracking, but it's also a complete twist at the end that I never would have expected.

Even a trigger warning could not have prepared me for the gut-wrenching reality of this story. When I was 12 and 13, I was abused repeatedly by a knife-wielding counselor at a summer camp. I just can't imagine how the author managed to get into Jeff's head the way she did and KNOW so much about how it really is. Maybe the author's name is really Jeff Atkins and this autobiographical? If not, I'm amazed at Ms. Atkins' powers of perception. If this never happened to you and you want to know what it's like, read this book. Just have a box of tissues handy.

John M.

Through Jeff's eyes, Catherine Atkins shows how victims often feel guilt,shame and somehow responsible for their situation. Anger, low self-esteem, depression, and fear...all these feelings are tangled up inside of him, when Jeff comes home. He thinks he's expected to act normal, but how can he, with what he's been through? Pretend you're human, he tells himself.

Before I read this book, I empathized with abuse victims, but never really understood how deeply the assault affects a victims' psyche. Atkins skillfully puts the reader in the victim's shoes. I felt Jeff's emotional scars and pain so vividly, I had a lump in my throat while I read. When Jeff Comes Home is a sensitive portrayal of a young victim of sexual abuse, a book well worth reading and discussing.

A family's prayer is answered When Jeff Comes Home after being held captive by a sadistic pedophile. This is the story of Jeff's struggle to cope with his pain and move on with his life. The emotional scars run deep. Shame, guilt, fear, depression and self-hatred haunt him. Catherine Atkins did an excellent job of putting the reader in Jeff's shoes. A sensitive portrayal of a young victim of sexual abuse, this is an emotional book sure to rouse empathy.

When Jeff Comes Home must have been a challenging book to write. It is an equally challenging one to read. Catherine Atkins is a courageous author, who writes about something most people would prefer not to consider: What happens to abducted children, and what are the emotional scars left on those who are abused? In writing Jeff's story, she manages to craft a page-turner that challenges, then reworks, our ideas of happy endings. All the characters are realistic, and Jeff's relationships with his father, his sister, and his best friend (especially) are compelling. This IS the new young-adult, a book that will keep teens thinking and discussing. A must read.