No Mo

"NO MO" is a novel that follows the harrowing, transformative journey of Evie (formerly Victoria "Tori" Valentini), a thirteen-year-old girl who escapes a life of abuse and captivity. Raised by her abductor, BB, alongside Mo (Yana Wiyot), another victim, Evie is forced to survive after Mo's mysterious disappearance and her own flight into the wilderness.
Evie's story unfolds across alternating perspectives: her struggle for survival in an isolated cove, BB's desperate attempts to find her, and the investigation led by her brother Fin, who has never given up hope of finding his missing sister. Through flashbacks and present-day action, we learn about the years of abuse Evie and Mo endured, their secret plans to escape, and the deep bond they formed as surrogate siblings.

Evie demonstrates remarkable resilience and resourcefulness, surviving off the land, finding food and shelter, and protecting herself and her companion, Sneak. Along the way, she is haunted by questions about her identity and her family, and she is sustained by memories of Mo's love and teachings about nature.

Evie's brother, Fin, now a young adult interning with a private investigations firm, picks up BB's trail and, through a combination of forensic work and intuition, locates Evie. Their emotional reunion is complicated by the trauma they've both suffered and the arrest of BB, whose crimes are finally exposed in court. The novel tracks the subsequent legal battle, Fin's trial for BB's assault, and the community's reckoning with years of hidden abuse.

With BB's death and the revelation that Mo was also murdered, Evie and Fin, together with Mo's biological family, begin the slow work of healing. Evie channels her pain into advocacy-creating a memoir, a podcast, and ultimately founding "Mo's Garden," a nature-based trauma recovery center on the very land where she survived. Over the decades, the center grows into a sanctuary for others, and Evie builds a meaningful life in the shadow of tragedy, always guided by Mo's spirit and legacy.

The novel closes with a confession, and with Evie fulfilling Fin's final request.