Dark Room Etiquette by Robin Roe

Dark Room Etiquette is a YA thriller that was sent to me by the publisher. This book will be released in two weeks on October 11. 

Sayer Wayte has grown up with a life of money and privilege. One day, a man run Sayer off the road and kidnaps him. This man, Caleb, chains Sayer and tells him that he is his real father, that Sayer's parents kidnapped him when he was 10 and that his real name is Daniel. He eventually acts the part of Daniel to survive, as the months go by and his escape attempts continue to fail. But eventually, he loses himself. Eventually faced with a re-entry into society, Sayer must rediscover who he is.

I'll admit, I had trouble caring about Sayer in the beginning, when he was a bully. But nobody deserves what happened to him. I haven't read a book that made me cry, really cry, in a long time. I'm not sure if that is embarrassing or not, but Dark Room Etiquette is emotionally jarring with how real it feels. There was one particular scene in the classroom with crayons that stirred something inside me. I don't think I have ever read a book so accurate about Stockholm Syndrome and the lasting trauma that follows, likely due to Roe's experience in psychology and special education. It also makes me upset that the school didn't offer him more support. The nerve of that guidance counselor! Doesn't he know what Sayer went through? 

Many books surrounding kidnappings end pretty quickly after the person is found or escaped, but I loved that a good chunk of the book focused on the aftermath of that event. The dynamic between Sayer and Evan was particularly interesting to me, and I was so happy that he had someone to talk to, to help him make sense of what he went through in that house. Dealing with this trauma has a different component when his memories became distorted, when everything that he thought was true and his beliefs about himself and the people he loved were challenged. For some parts that I was reading, I actually wondered if Caleb was telling the truth. Roe manipulated Sayer just as the reader. We are both in the dark and battling the same lack of knowledge. 

I highly recommend this book! I already re-read it, as I loved it so much.

Title: Dark Room Etiquette 
Author: Robin Roe
Publisher: Harper Collins
Pages: 512
Series: No
Rating: 5 Stars
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