Lying in the dark cabin, I tried not to think about the foul smell of body odor mixed with the stench of urine. I tried not to think about how hungry I was, or when I would eat again. About the plastic zip ties cutting into my wrists, or the spider crawling up my arm. I kept trying and failing. There was nothing to do but think.When a book's first lines are that, you know to expect some emotion. My emotions were elevated through the entirety of The Voice. Often, I found myself holding my breath or on the verge of tears. I thought I was on the verge of a breakdown right along with Audrey.Audrey was abducted during the summer before her senior year, she was held captive, neglected and abused for two months. Her only solace was in the form of a voice in her head that found her, comforted her, stayed with her and eventually helped her escape her brutal surroundings.Upon returning home Audrey finds that the nightmare of the cabin in the woods isn't the only one she'll have to face. Now, she has to learn to live in a world where everyone knows what happened to her. Looking into eyes filled with pity is too much for her to bear and there is no one who understands her. The voice has even left her behind. Deciding the best thing would be for her to get away from the landscape of her horrible memories and try life as the assumption of someone else, she moves in with her aunt across the country.It's there, during a dark moment in her life, that the voice returns. It's also there that she learns there are still people in the world that care and she can trust, regardless of what they know of her past. It's there she learns to heal and find her own voice.I'll admit that I had some trepidation with picking up The Voice. I tend to stay far far away from reads that deal with such a delicate subject matter. I am giving huge accolades to Davis for writing with such care. It never goes too far but goes far enough to pull out all the right emotions. The flashbacks to the abduction scenes were hard but readable, the panic attacks that occur throughout were heartbreaking and real and the emotions and reactions from all the characters are very genuine.Audrey is a great character, the growth and development of her from start to end was captivating. Her aunt Kate was a breath of fresh air as far as YA parental figures are concerned and the twins...what can I say about the twins. I always have a hard time when an author writes young adults as if they have never actually spent time with one. Not the case here. Davis gave me real life teenagers. Caleb is the popular quarterback but not in the stereo-typical asshat sort of way. He has a heart, a big one and uses it. Did you know quarterbacks in YA books could do that? Justin is quite the opposite of his brother but no less caring, more so even. I loved them both.The telepathy plays a big role in The Voice but even without that aspect thrown in this would have been an amazing read. Watching someone and the people who care about that someone go through the grief, the pain, the guilt and the healing process of something so absolutely horrific and come out on the other side okay; not great but okay, is inspiring and makes me want to be a stronger person myself.I could not set this book down, once started, and finished it within hours. It's not a terribly long read and maybe would have been slightly better with some added pages. The last twenty percent didn't have quite the same care and tenderness that the rest of the book did and I think that was the area it really needed it. Which is really the only thing holding me back from giving this a five star rating. Overall, I loved The Voice and will be watching for future works by Jennifer Anne Davis.
