The first, which I actually read two years ago, is the autobiography Stolen Innocence by Elissa Wall. Elissa Wall is a former member of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (FLDS) and gave a powerful courtroom testimony that help put Warren Jeffs behind bars. It describes her upbringing with several mothers, brothers and sisters, and only one father and their day to day life. Forced into marriage at the age of 14 to her first cousin, she recounts the nightly rapes she endured from the man that was 'appointed by God' to be her husband. Elissa finally broke free when she turned 18 and has since gotten married and had two children with her now husband. There is so much more to this book and to her story and I really do encourage everyone to read it. It is an eye-opening, heart breaking work, and I am amazed that she had the strength to confront not only Warren Jeffs, but her former 'husband' in Jeffs trial and then write a tell-all about it. I encourage anyone who is curious about the FLDS to read this book. Another book that I have and have yet to read is Escape by Carolyn Jessup, who was also a member of the FLDS who escaped the grasp of the church.
The second book I'm going to talk about is one many have already read, A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard. This is a phenomenal book. The fact that someone could go through what she went through for more than 18 years and still live and have the courage to tell about, is beyond incredible to me. We all know the story, she was kidnapped on her way to the bus stop when she was only 11 years old, held in captivity by two people, Phillip Craig and Nancy Garrido, gave birth to two daughters, and was finally rescued after police noticed suspicious activity. The things she wrote about brought me to tears, yes, I was actually shedding tears on the Metro (where I do most of my reading). I know people who have children, daughters mostly, who have read this book and it has rocked them to their core. This could happen to any child, anywhere at any time. I don't think I would have been able to make it all the way though this book if I had children. I recently read some reviews for it on Amazon.com and mostly focused on the ones that gave the book a 1-star review. I was shocked and disgusted by what some of the people had to say that gave the book a 1-star rating: "It doesn't evoke emotion, it simply beckons boredom. I started skipping over parts because I just couldn't read another paragraph in extreme detail about another cat or dog and how much she loves it or it loves her, or her wondering about her mother in no actual terms, just generically speaking. The whole story felt vacant - generic. So I would not recommend this book" and "It's nearly impossible to accurately describe how badly this book is written. Possibly the worst book I've ever had the misfortune of reading, certainly in a very long time. The author's utterly harrowing story is presented so ineptly, so disjointedly and awkwardly, you just keep skipping ahead hoping it gets better. It doesn't." Many people criticized her writing abilities, which if you hadn't been in school since you were 11, do you think you could do better? I really didn't find any flaws in her writing. I understand that SHE wanted to write the book, not hire a bunch of writers to do it for her. She prepares the reader for her skipping around and how the book is somewhat disjointed, because this is how she remembers it. She does go into great detail about the dogs and cats on the property because these were the only things she felt loved her and she loved back. It really amazes me at how many people are out there just critiquing her writing abilities and not the fact that she survived daily torture from a man and woman who kept her in their backyard like an animal for almost 18 years. If you haven't read this book, and are up for an emotional challenge, I would recommend it. I will warn you though, you will cry and it will really make you realize how lucky you are that you or your children were not abducted and held like she was. 
The book I just finished yesterday, The End of Everything was a novel set in the 1980's, told from the perspective of a 13-year-old girl who's best friend is kidnapped one afternoon after school. Lizzie, the main character, takes in upon herself to investigate what really happened to her friend. No, this is not some sort of 13-year-old detective story, but more of an emotional ride of what a 13-year-old would go through if her best friend was kidnapped and how she would find out what really happened to her. Discovering things about her best friend made her realize that maybe she didn't really know her as well as she thought she did. I would recommend this book to fans of fiction. It's not necessarily a mystery novel, but it is on the dark side of fiction.
The next two books I have up on my plate are: Graveminder by Melissa Marr and 77 Shadow Street by Dean Koontz. I'm really hoping that this book by Koontz is better than his last one, "What the Night Knows." I personally didn't like it because I felt like it dragged on, and in all honesty, gave up 3/4 of the way through. His Frankenstein series however, whats phenomenal! Happy Reading!
xoxo
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