She wakes in the hospital with no memory of anything before now- a woman is sitting on the end of her bed, saying she's Mom, but Dez cant remember her, a few days in the hospital, and she is released. She is sent home with mom, but when she gets there nothing feels right, like a stranger in her own home.
Her mother is extremely over protective, she's homeschooled, and not allowed to leave the house or speak to any of the neighbors.
Dez wants her memories back, so while her mother is at work she breaks the rules and goes out. While walking down the road she comes across an alligator (they live extremely close to the everglades in Florida.) Scared frozen, she has to think quickly and makes a run for home, even though her body is still recovering from the car accident. A young man pulls up and says hi, but Dez is too scared and keeps running home.
A few days later she is determined not to stay locked away forever, and decides to go out again, except this time she's more careful, and once again the young man she saw the other day pulls over and says hi to her, since its late at night she cant really see him, and he offers her a ride home since she is now far away.
Over the next few weeks, Dez keeps breaking the rules and sneaking out late at night to meet up with Gabriel, the next door neighbor, she is determined to get her memories back, Gabriel had taken her picture and posted it online, people begin to comment, saying she looks familiar and horrible things such as good riddance.
Her mother is not only over protective but very abusive, Dez was having trouble doing the math homework, and when her mother screamed at her that she knows this and why is she not doing it correctly, dez fought back and her mother smacked her across her face, and ear which had damage from the accident.
Now fearful of her mother she is trying everything to keep her happy, until one night she is washing dishes and drops a glass that breaks, she knows her mother is going to hit her again, but this time she is ready and fights back. She manages to get away from her just in time to see her mother grab a meat tenderizer, and come after her. Dez locks her self away in her room, determined to stay away from her. While the mother is on the other side of the door now crying and begging for her forgiveness.
Since it is now a weekend, her mother is home and Dez is stuck inside all weekend doing things with her, like watching VHS, and knitting.
Things continue this way for a little while, until suddenly Dez remembers the passcode to the phone she has been hiding from her mother, she unlocks it and is amazed by the pictures of this girl, straight her, heavy makeup, it cant be her right? But then she thinks back to all the dreams she has been having since she's awoken, and things start to come back to her.
"Dez" has gotten her memories back, and things are way off in this picture, her mother is not who she says she is, Dez is not who she is told she is, and the craziness and heart pounding adventure begins.
I could not put this book down!
