Assessment:

Plot/Idea: The author recounts the ups, down, and existential crises of her early life (which was quite an eventful youth). Her stories range from entertaining to meaningful, and she holds nothing back about her sexual experiences, both pleasurable and traumatic.

Prose: The writing is clear and engaging. The timeline jumps around somewhat, which is largely effective, but there are certain places when the timeline becomes confusing for readers.

Originality: The author had an action-packed youth, and her narration of these events is largely gratifying and illuminating. There are points at which the author raises issues (like her mother going to great lengths to protect her) that are left as cliffhangers (presumably to be discussed again in later volumes). These left the reader wanting more answers -- and thus interested in reading the next volume in the series. 

Character/Execution: The memoir keeps the reader invested, but the narrator introduces a number of experiences--particularly those involving violence and trauma--that may leave contemporary readers wanting to gain a deeper sense of the emotional/mental impact of these events. Some of the strongest moments in the memoir occur when the author describes the secondary trauma she experiences concerning the holocaust -- that type of honest vulnerability would have been appreciated in other areas of the memoir, too. 

Blurb: In Found, the first volume of Barbara Ann Quinlan's memoir series, the author narrators her youthful journey from New York to California and then Paris and Poland as she searches for passion, peace, and love. 

Date Submitted: October 08, 2022