One page. That is all it takes to become obsessed with Krissy and Jasper and Mountain Girl. Like its main character under the grips of Stockholm syndrome, readers find themselves torn between liking Krissy’s captor and being completely repulsed by him.
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What:Mountain Girl (Oolichan Books 2016)Who:Shelby Cain became passionate about writing after having her two young daughters. Her work can currently be seen in several publications, including the FernieFix and Kootenay Mountain Culture magazines. Raised in Cranbrook, BC, she now lives an hour away in Fernie. Why you need to read this now:One page. That is all it takes to become obsessed with Krissy and Jasper and Mountain Girl. Like its main character under the grips of Stockholm syndrome, readers find themselves torn between liking Krissy’s captor and being completely repulsed by him.After being abducted four years ago, the now twenty-one-year-old is suddenly back, emerging from the deep woods with an ill child and a husband. At the hospital, Krissy’s husband Jasper is taken into custody and arrested for her kidnapping. In her absence, her family has been torn apart and Detective Jake Umbry is pushing for answers. If only everyone would understand that Jasper is not a bad guy.As the days go by, cracks begin to form in Krissy’s selective memory of her years held captive. Nobody understands her feelings for Jasper, especially not Detective Umbry, who has hunted for her relentlessly since she vanished. But, then, he has his own motivations.Mountain Girl is a study in what the brain does to protect itself from emotional trauma: from Krissy suffering from Stockholm syndrome to the wreckage of Krissy’s family in the wake of her abduction. Mountain Girl is a tale of how lives can change completely in one moment, a compilation of the things that haunt and the things that help us survive.As the page-turning story unfolds, the lines between good and bad are blurred. Is Krissy’s abductor really all that evil? Is the detective in charge of her case really all that virtuous? Mountain Girl is a stark reminder that reality is only our own experiences filtered through our own perspectives.X plus Y:Cain has said, “Mountain Girl is the culmination of what haunts me.” In this lies the soul of Mountain Girl. Great loves haunt us just as much as great fears. Mountain Girl is a hybrid of the romantic and the horrific. Refuge and asylum. Love and hate. And it continues to haunt you long after the final page is turned.
* * *Thank you to Oolichan Books, especially Carolyn, for sharing this fantastic summer read with us. If you love discovering new authors, check out our previous First Fiction Friday picks.
