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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
jenny489's review
1.0
I can appreciate the way the author brought the issue of domestic violence and anger management to the forefront in the book. HOWEVER, this book was brutal to read as someone who’s endured an abusive relationship. I wished there had been a warning at the beginning before I decided to read it.
impossiblegirl21's review
4.0
I would have given this 5 stars, except that the ending was a little too neat for my taste, especially given the subject matter. This book is about a teenage boy who abuses his girlfriend (it is actually one of the few YA titles to be told from the abuser's perspective, and in respect to that, I think the story does an amazing job of having Nick slowly understand exactly what he did and what kind of guy he really is). Given the complex and difficult subject matter, I was really bothered by how simply and neatly things wrapped up. I mean, yes there is a place for forgiveness and growth, but this was a little much, a little too quick.
drkottke's review
4.0
Realistic fiction, about intergenerational cycles of violence, as revealed through one young man's harrowing journey to justify and understand his own violent behaviors.
zlicaanica's review
5.0
This is one of my favorites.
I came across it in the library for kids, and I must have been between 10 and 13. The power of this book blew me away, and I knew, when I finished, just how much one novel is capable of saying. I actually think it's one of the reasons I even started reading. Well, one of the reasons I started loving reading, and definitely the reason I'm so throes-of-ecstasy into gritty psychological drama (though I've graduated to adult-oriented novels in the meantime). I came across it at a book fair a year or two ago - this old, great copy - and I haven't stopped handing it to people ever since.
It's written very simply, but something about the simplicity makes it eloquent and direct enough that I still consider it one of the most powerful reads I can remember influencing me.
I still think about that poem with the green-eyed dragon, and how shaken I was by the fact that people saw in him the monster he saw in his father, and how petrifying that must've been. "Breathing underwater", as a state of fear and anxiety, and as a symbol, stays with me to this day.
YA is not my cup of tea, but when I come across a YA novel that boasts "deeply exploring a tough subject", this is the reason I give it a chance. But fact is, I haven't yet come across one that comes even close to it.
I came across it in the library for kids, and I must have been between 10 and 13. The power of this book blew me away, and I knew, when I finished, just how much one novel is capable of saying. I actually think it's one of the reasons I even started reading. Well, one of the reasons I started loving reading, and definitely the reason I'm so throes-of-ecstasy into gritty psychological drama (though I've graduated to adult-oriented novels in the meantime). I came across it at a book fair a year or two ago - this old, great copy - and I haven't stopped handing it to people ever since.
It's written very simply, but something about the simplicity makes it eloquent and direct enough that I still consider it one of the most powerful reads I can remember influencing me.
I still think about that poem with the green-eyed dragon, and how shaken I was by the fact that people saw in him the monster he saw in his father, and how petrifying that must've been. "Breathing underwater", as a state of fear and anxiety, and as a symbol, stays with me to this day.
YA is not my cup of tea, but when I come across a YA novel that boasts "deeply exploring a tough subject", this is the reason I give it a chance. But fact is, I haven't yet come across one that comes even close to it.
3batsinatrenchcoat's review
4.0
I read this for school a long while back, it was one of the better things I've read for school. don't remember too much about it save for that the main character had abusive tendencies. I remember thinking that it was an interesting read and that I actually ended up finishing it within two days.
fritzelfiff's review
2.0
Let me start out by saying whenever I pick up a book I always give myself a chance to read a book before I make an opinion on it.
I do not typically read books with a ton of romance in it, as it is just not something that interests me. I was given this book to read for a high school English class, and we were told that it WASN'T a romance novel, despite how it may appear.
Right.
After reading through the book all I can really say is
Nick was an infuriating character, I understand that was the whole point, but just how he acted and was written it caused me to almost stop reading the book multiple times and just take the hit on my grade for the time being.
I hated how romancy the novel felt in context to the actual contents for the story.
I went into this really wanting to like the book, it just sounded interesting, but I just couldn't do it.
I do not typically read books with a ton of romance in it, as it is just not something that interests me. I was given this book to read for a high school English class, and we were told that it WASN'T a romance novel, despite how it may appear.
Right.
After reading through the book all I can really say is
Nick was an infuriating character, I understand that was the whole point, but just how he acted and was written it caused me to almost stop reading the book multiple times and just take the hit on my grade for the time being.
I hated how romancy the novel felt in context to the actual contents for the story.
I went into this really wanting to like the book, it just sounded interesting, but I just couldn't do it.
donalynbooks's review
3.0
In my quest to add every book I have ever read onto my goodreads shelves, I am constantly remembering books I have forgotten.
After reading Beastly, I recalled reading another book by Alex Flinn-- Breathing Underwater.
I think this is an important book for both teen girls and boys to read because it examines the verbal and physical abuse that many teens accept in their relationships with each other as normal.
After reading Beastly, I recalled reading another book by Alex Flinn-- Breathing Underwater.
I think this is an important book for both teen girls and boys to read because it examines the verbal and physical abuse that many teens accept in their relationships with each other as normal.
ivylwxreads's review
3.0
Had to read this for college. Not that bad but not that good either. The ending was very predictable, pretty cliche.