Grief

Whenever a loved one is missing for any reason, runaways, kidnapping, death, etc., the family grieves that person’s loss. In this story, the family grieves over the disappearance and four-year absence of their oldest son, Justin. Grief is shown in many ways throughout this novel. Even when Justin returns, his family grieves for what he has had to endure while he was a captive. They grieve over time lost with him during his growing, formative years. They grieve over mistakes they have made in their lives that could have led to his abduction. Almost every character in the story feels grief at one time or another. The main characters, the Campbell family, are drowning in grief.

Laura, Justin’s mom, is a perfect example of a grief-ridden person. She feels that Justin must have been taken from them because she is a bad mother. She...