5 Star review
Angered by the oil spill in her hometown on Santa Barbara's coast in 1969 and being sent to Catholic school, fifteen-year-old Jolie absconds from her family with her twenty-four-year-old activist boyfriend, Will. Hoping she would now be free from her parents' control, she is instead kept under Will's dictatorial command and prevented from contacting her family. With Jolie forced to lie about her name, age, and identity, Will moves them around the country, bent on evading private detectives and his arrest. Meanwhile, as Will's Socialist Reform Movement grows, he increasingly begins to demean any facet of Jolie's life outside of his own. Unbreakable, however, with the help of Buddhism and her supportive friends, she finds the wisdom to become attuned to her heart and discover the independence she has long been searching for in Joye Emmens' debut novel, She's Gone.
Joye Emmens deftly explores the political landscape of 1960s America, weaving the war-weary nation with its sundry insurgent groups, from hippy urbanites leaving the city to live off the land in isolated communes to zealous anti-capitalist socialists and the ever-growing Women's Liberation Movement. It is this turbulent country she aptly portrays to reflect Jolie's personal troubles and make us feel for her situation with striking empathy. Often, I found myself enthralled in the affairs of Jolie's life and after each page wished she was closer to harnessing her inner strength in order to leave her controlling boyfriend. Additionally, Emmens' descriptions of the historical topography of the places Jolie lives in greatly elevates the story's engaging veracity. She's Gone, besides being an entertaining exposition into the counterculture that reigned in America's mid-twentieth century, is a captivating tale of a girl's adventuresome transition into womanhood.
Joye Emmens deftly explores the political landscape of 1960s America. I truly loved reading, “She’s Gone.” I sat down to read a few pages before I went somewhere. Several hours later, I found myself still reading and unable to stop until I finished. Jolie’s story really reached out to me. I could relate to her feelings of not fitting in and know what it was like to be flattered that an older man was interested in her. I loved that she fought to hang on to her individual identity. In spite of hard times, she pursued her own interests and continued to want to make a difference. I highly recommend “She’s Gone” for young adults and people who just enjoy immersing themselves in a really good story. Children of the 1960’s will also enjoy going back into this time period. Paige Lovitt for Reader Views - 2016 Reader Views Reviewers Choice Award
Joye Emmens creates a thorough world within She's Gone. It is easy for readers to be sucked in to the story, grabbing the attention from the earliest chapters. The emotions that are felt by Jolie are echoed in the readers. A voice that is distinct, let alone relationships that are unique from one another, is an accomplishment that not every author is able to achieve. The story that was created was one that was rich in character development, in language, and in depth, and one that is recommended to all readers." Red City Review
She’s Gone is an excellent story of a young woman who struggles to find her identity in the midst of chaotic times. Her loyalty to the environmentalist movement and the Women’s Liberation Movement goes to show the level of awareness women had acquired in the 1960s. An excellent book that keeps the reader turning pages until the last chapter. Highly recommended.” San Francisco Book Review
Literary Fiction - Reader Views Reviewers Choice Award 2016
Semi-finalsit Kindle Book Awards
Top 20 Literary Fiction