Dead To You Summary

The setting of the novel, Dead to You by Lisa McMann is set in Belleville, Minnesota. The mood of this novel is mysterious and suspenseful. This book is about a teen boy who was abducted at seven and found his way home at sixteen. It is told in first person by the abducted teen boy. The main character in this book is Ethan Manuel DeWilde. He is the protagonist in this novel. Ethan is 16, with green eyes. He is scared, worried, betrayed, and angered easily. “Gasping for air, tripping down the steps, when my knees give out.” (97). His nerves are welling him up making him anxious, causing him to fall down the steps. He was taken from his front yard at the young age of seven, finding his family and way home at sixteen years old. The next character

A family is awestruck when their seven year old son is taken from their front yard in broad daylight. Now, nine years later, he has made his way back home. Ethan now has to get to know a family he doesn't remember anything about. He meets his old best friend Cami at his welcome home party. Ethan ends up falling in love with her. Cami is always there for him, supporting him with absolutely everything. Tension begins to rise when Blake, Ethan’s brother, makes an accusation about Ethan not being the real Ethan. When the family soon finds out that things aren’t always as they

The conflict is fully resolved when the cops show up to the house saying they found Ethan’s remains. After hearing this, Ethan runs away from the family he thought was his. This all explains why he couldn’t remember anything from before the abduction.

The main theme throughout the novel is you never know what lies ahead. No one expected he would be taken from his front yard. ‘“We searched for you for, like three weeks. It was on the news everyday.”’ (69). Cami says this because it’s showing how unexpected his disappearance was. He found out he wasn’t the real Ethan. Explain why he couldn’t recall anything from before.

This novel was one of the greatest novels a person could. I, personally, loved every single aspect of the book. The raw dialogue that everyone used. It was absolutely fantastic. This novel is so mysterious and suspenseful making it very exciting. “I turn my face outward and see Blake watching.” (5). The reader has no idea why Blake is just watching, leading the reader to speculate. There wasn’t anything I didn’t like about this book. An officer says to Maria DeWilde, Ethan’s mother, ‘“... I’m afraid we have some sad news. We’ve found the remains of Ethan’s body… Tests confirm it’s your son, Ethan…”’ (238-239). I’ve learned that, things aren’t always as they