Lost Boy

I really really really ENJOYED The Lonely, so I was really looking forward to hearing Eli's POV, and even though I knew what was going to happen I loved loved loved this book. ****stop here if you haven't read 'The Lonely' and go read that first!!!****First, let me warn the readers who rage about companion novels - THIS IS NOT A NEW STORY. It's basically a retelling of The Lonely from Eli's point of view. There are a lot of the same conversations and situations but with an entirely new perspective and thought process. There is also a lot of additional scenes that we were not privy too when reading The Lonely from Sarah's POV and it tells us about when Eli first found her and became her Guardian.I was not aware how close Eli and Stuart were and I loved the relationship and silent (sometimes not so silent) support and friendship they provided to each other. It was like they were TWO lost boys who found each other and became friends / brothers on a level that you can't put words too. Eli was worse off than I imagined. That man was obsessed / desperate in a way I didn't understand in the first book, but I totally get it now.If you enjoyed The Lonely, here's your chance to re-read the book, but in a different way = )Would I recommend this book? ABSOLUTELY.

This is a companion to The Lonely. It's much more than just The Lonley retold from Eli's POV.Tara Brown calls this book `weird'. THIS IS NOT WEIRD! It's incredibly smart and simply amazing.Experiencing the story through Sarah's eyes was amazing, but seeing it through Eli's is PHENOMENAL.It is remarkable how Sarah and Eli coped with what happened in very different ways. The experience through his eyes is very different than that seen through hers. Sarah dealt with it through her OCD. Eli never really dealt with it. He became obsessed with proving Sarah existed.This story makes you understand Eli and his reasoning behind everything that happened. A lot of the holes are filled in, and all of the WTF and holy S%$#& moments from The Lonely are put in perspective. The lengths he went to protect her were just.... just... I don't know -- indescribable. His dedication and devotion to her is heart melting. There is a lot to Eli you don't see in The Lonely. You don't realize the extent of pain and suffering he endured all those years. It was desperately hard for him to walk the fine line between detached and involved when it came to interacting with Sarah.When The Lonely ended (even with the Epilogue), it still felt unsettled and I was left wanting more. The Epilogue in The Lost Boy fixed all of that. It was PERFECT and fit the story of Eli and Sarah perfectly. Am I sad their story is over? Yes, but I'm happy with the ending; it feels complete and I am okay walking away from it at this point. But, that doesn't mean I wouldn't looooooove to see a novella with Eli and Sarah. Hint, hint Tara Brown.

Lost Boy is the companion piece to The Lonely. It is for all intents and purposes the exact same story, only from Eli's point of view. It was enjoyable and Eli is basically a likable character. In both The Lonely and Lost Boy I found his distaste of urban lingo and texting abbreviations to be strangely endearing. For some reason I found I actually liked Em/Sarah more seeing her through his eyes.Despite that the 2 stories are almost identical, I would recommend reading The Lonely first. I think I would have been confused had I started with Lost Boy and Lost Boy did answer some questions left over from The Lonely. SPOILER...so thank you for clarifying the paddling the feet. Apparently it is "a thing" but also had relevance to the storyline. END SPOILER.Lost Boy had very little original story, outside of an epilogue which extends beyond what was included in The Lonely. My preference would have been to have the 2 books combined in to 1 with chapters alternating between Em/Sarah and Eli's point of view; and that may have cut down on some of the redundancy between the 2 books.While the premise of both books is at it's heart fairly dark; the stories themselves I thought were actually very sweet and sort of heartwarming.

From Boston to Clovis, New Mexico and back again, this is a roller coaster ride of emotions for the main characters.Eli Adams has been conflicted for much of his life. His therapist, Dr. Jane Bradley, finally believes she has him cured. However, his sufferings are deeply rooted and he is suffering from PTSD. What happened to him as a child is beyond belief. Another girl, Sarah Masterman, was with him when this childhood trauma occurred She also has Dr. Bradley as a therapist.Eli (with the advice from their therapist) tries to assist Sarah in her recovery. This is the story of their healing process and their love-hate relationship.This is a fascinating read that delves into the lives of ones that have trauma resulting from childhood experiences. How does one let go of the pain? Or, can they ever let go completely ?Sarah's statement to Eli is so telling about the manner in which she was raised at the orphanage. She basically said that there are always people that have it worse and she had been taught not to feel sorry for herself. She has an inner strength that is truly amazing.As the author suggests, this book is for mature audiences..Highly recommended and most thought provocative...