In October 1990, sixteen year old Sandy Sinclair received a car for his birthday. As he takes his new car out for a spin, something catches his eye on the side of the road. He finds a little girl in shock. Twelve- year old Kelly Hallloway has been missing for eight months and was kidnapped by child molester, Everett Campbell. Kelly was able to escape and Sandy was hailed a hero. Where as Kelly wants to forget her nightmare, Sandy will never forget the girl who has struck a chord in his heart.

Kelly is a survivor and has been for the past fourteen years. At twenty-six, Kelly is very much afraid since they never caught the monster that abused her. She prays that Everett will never be able to find her. One day Kelly goes into a bookstore and is shocked to see a grown up Sandy. Sandy can’t believe his eyes either because he has never forgotten Kelly. He wants to get to know her and possibly have a relationship with her, because he feels he has been in love with her all this time.

As Sandy and Kelly take their time getting to know one another, something sinister is in the air. Kelly keeps having panic attacks and believes she is seeing Everett wherever she goes. Sandy also wants Kelly to become friends with his childhood friend, Lola who doesn’t welcome Kelly with open arms and thinks Kelly needs help. And one night Kelly is attacked, or so she thinks as the police and Sandy find her hidden in a closet but with no bruises. It is now up to Sandy to help Kelly regain her sanity even though she continues to loose herself in her own personal nightmares.

All on a Saturday Night was a hard read to get through. Courtney E. Michel deals with the difficult aftermath of child abuse at the hands of her molester. Even after a decade, Kelly has scars she can not forget and even with the love of Sandy, she continues into a downward spiral of her own making. But even though Kelly may seem to be the only one responsible for what is happening to her, there is actually a suspenseful mystery, because someone is dead set against Kelly and Sandy having a future together. Sandy is very understanding and so caring when it comes to Kelly. It was quite heartbreaking to read as Sandy had his hands tied because Kelly was living in a hell of her own making. Towards the end, the story looses some focus, but you find yourself hoping that Kelly will get past her demons and Sandy will bring her into the light and they will have their happily ever after together.

Reviewed by: Katie