Hannahwhere

By: John McIlveen

Narrated by: Mary Ann Jacobs

Length: 12 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

In a suburb on Boston's North Shore, a catatonic little girl is found behind a dumpster. She is a mystery. As social worker Debbie Gillan pieces together the puzzle of the child's identity, she discovers the child had disappeared two years earlier along with a twin sister. She also discovers Hannahwhere, an alternate world that is both a haven and a prison. Life-altering trauma becomes the key to unraveling the truth about the children, about Hannahwhere, and about Debbie herself. Truths that could either save them or destroy them all.

©2015 John McIlveen (P)2016 David N. Wilson

Not my genre but...I loved it!

Any additional comments?

I don't *do* children oriented fiction generally. Actually, I avoid such stories. Not. My. Thing. However, from the beginning I enjoyed this listen. The writing is superb and draws you in...even if you don't want to be drawn. Bravo, Mr. McIlveen for leading me outside my literary comfort zone!

Emotionally Charged Story

I wasn’t sure what I was getting into with Hannahwhere, not totally my type of story but a really good one. Definitely gets into the darkness of evil men and some of the awful things they can do, but I thought despite the graphic bad details it had a positive message. Seemed like a coming of age story for Hannah with Debbie finding her way and discovering who she really is. It played out like a drama that contained some paranormal events. While these events clearly did happen I think they were metaphorical as well and provided a unique aspect to pull you away from some of the bad things in the world.

The main characters are quite interesting and have a story to tell. The sad part is that a lot of it centers around abuse and forces them into the roles they play. The plight of Anna and Hannah pulls at your heart strings as does the slow unraveling of Debbie with her maternal protection from them turning on.

The plot is perfect for a made for TV movie. A girl found behind a dumpster who fades in and out of reality when a social worker takes up her case. That part of the plot was a bit predictable but then all of a sudden we are introduced to Hannahwhere. This is where the magic of the story lies and what makes it stand out from other books with similar plots. The writing keeps you wanting to know what is around the corner and ties you to the lives of both Debbie and Hannah.

Mary Ann Jacobs did a great job with the narration. She really added to the overall emotion that you feel with the story and brought all the characters to life with her great voices.

I was voluntarily provided this free review copy audiobook by the author, narrator, or publisher.

Exceptionally well written

John did a fantastic job with this book. The writing is exceptional. The story is great with a few cute surprises written in. The narrator is perfect. Had a hard time putting it down. The ending is great, weaves in so many stories we all heard as kids, with a great twist. I hope to see more books from John soon!!

Heartbreaking yet beautiful

I will not lie some parts were very hard to hear.
the Narrator was very easy to listen to and did a fine job separating the characters. Their unique voices giving each a distict personality

Hannahwhere

This was an excellent book!Though terrifying and sad in parts,it was magical in others.I enjoyed it.

Okay

just okay for me. I was left with too many questions. Some of the story just did not mesh and was not consistent.