Review: Out of Reach by Carrie Arcos

Title: Out of Reach

Author: Carrie Arcos
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication date: October 16th, 2012 

Genre(s): Young Adult (Contemporary)

Source: Own

Format: Finished Copy

Pages: 256

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How do you find someone who doesn’t want to be found? A girl searches for her missing addict brother while confronting her own secrets in this darkly lyrical novel.

Rachel has always idolized her older brother Micah. He struggles with addiction, but she tells herself that he’s in control. And she almost believes it. Until the night that Micah doesn’t come home.

Rachel’s terrified—and she can’t help but feel responsible. She should have listened when Micah tried to confide in her. And she only feels more guilt when she receives an anonymous note telling her that Micah is nearby and in danger.

With nothing more to go on than hope and a slim lead, Rachel and Micah’s best friend, Tyler, begin the search. Along the way, Rachel will be forced to confront her own dark secrets, her growing attraction to Tyler…and the possibility that Micah may never come home.

Before Out of Reach even came out, I was always eyeing it and have always wanted go pick it up. I just never did, until now, and I'm glad I finally did. Out of Reach was the perfect emotional roller coaster ride I expected it to be. It was a beautiful book that just felt so real to me, it honestly gave me the chills. Amy lost her brother to drugs, and now she's trying to find him and take him back. Amy and her brother always had each-others back, and lying was effortless for the both of them. It was all fun and games until Amy's older brother, Micah, got involved with drugs, even though he told Amy he had things 'under control'. The weed was fine, but when Micah started using crystal meth, Amy started to get a bit worried that Micah might have actually lost control instead. Not wanting to be disloyal to her brother, she never said anything to her parents, until they found out themselves.

Amy and Micah's relationship is understandable. If anyone has siblings,they would understand we tend to cover up for each other (but not when one of us uses drugs!!). It pained me even more when I put my self in Amy's shoes, because if that happened to my older brother, I'd be as lost as her. Carrie Arcos truly captured Amy's character, and I really enjoyed her. Tyler, Mica's friend who goes with Amy to help her find Mica, is an interesting character addition to the story.  Although this book is revolved around the relationship between the sister and brother, the little romance was definitely a nice break from all the tension. Tyler, although a bit of the typical bad boy, is still a great character whom I enjoyed reading about. Together, I think the search was much more interesting to read about rather than if it was just Amy herself.

Has this book made me cry? yes. Topics such as drugs really get to me, as so many people have allowed it to become such a norm. It all starts out as just "for fun", but not when your own family starts to realize your change in character and your obvious addiction. Drugs are dangerous, and have led to destruction of bodies, families, and much more. As stated in the book:

"Love is the strongest drug"

When you see a loved one get lost in a drug, its so painful because all you can do is stand and watch. Out of Reach is a beautiful book that captured all the ugliness and truthfulness of dealing with drugs, and how is affects all those around you. Definitely recommended to fans of Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson.