Reviews with content warning for Violence - The Boy Who Steals Houses

Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Boy Who Steals Houses by C.G. Drews

18 reviews

wjb11's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

While I did enjoy this book, it gives (especially the beginning) a very much big vibe of I hate my autistic sibling they are the cause of all my problems, and as an autistic person that made me angry and anxious that my siblings hated me for that

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anikaslibrary's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book had me sobbing buckets, depressed and yet I still couldn't put it down. I was excited to keep reading every time. It's such a heartfelt story, you really grow attached to the characters. It is truly a beautiful story and made me feel everything. I felt like I was highlighting every 2 seconds because there are so many lines in this book that are pure art and many times where I couldn't help but praise the author for her incredible imagery and humor amidst the dark themes. I have never read books with an autistic character but I have met many people in my life that are autistic and to see the inner-workings of their brains and the issues they go through were incredibly heartbreaking to hear. And Sammy's love for his brother makes me want to bundle him up and haul him away so he can be safe and protected.
The De Laineys are wonderful people and

the fact that the social worker was trying to keep Sammy away from Avery just goes to show that the system doesn’t care about kids, just about trying to set them right.

I love that the story ended beautifully with not a resolution to everything but everything that Sammy cares about. It's an ending that promotes the fact that cycles can be broken, and it starts with listening and caring about people. It’s a real ending, albeit a sad one.
This just makes me so excited to read more of CG Lewis’ books!

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bookcheshirecat's review

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dark emotional sad medium-paced

4.0

“He's officially taken house burglary to the next level. Forget stealing a bed, a key, a home for the night. He's stealing families and their Sunday lunches.”

➽ I finally read The Boy Who Steals Houses and really enjoyed it! I loved the author's blog and still remember when she talked about writing this project, so I was excited that it ended up getting published! It still took me a while to get around to reading it, as I knew this would be super sad and heartbreaking 😢 The premise is so intriguing, as it follows 15-year-old Sam who 'steals' houses as he dreams of having a real home one day. Abandoned by his abusive father and hated by his aunt, Sam doesn't have anywhere to stay. He breaks into empty houses when people are away on vacation or have moved out. Sam doesn't have anyone left except for his older brother Avery, who is autistic and struggling to hold onto his mechanic job. Both of them are underage, but had to leave their aunt's home, as she didn't want them and was horribly ableist to Avery.

➽ I really felt for Sam. He's always had to take care of his brother, as most adults just tried to 'fix' Avery instead of helping him. Sam's always worried someone will take advantage of his brother because he often misses social cues and can be too kind-hearted. There was a lot of love between the brothers, but also so much pain. It is a complicated relationship, as Sam feels responsible for fixing Avery's messes and often acts like the older brother. Meanwhile, Avery struggles with Sam starting fights for him, as it triggers bad memories. Throughout the book, Sam and Avery have very different ideas of what their future might look like, especially once Sam grows closer to the De Lainey family. I have to admit that I struggled with Avery sometimes as I felt like he took his brother's support for granted.

➽ I also loved the De Lainey family! Sam messes up and ends up sleeping in a house that's very much inhabiated, though very chaotic. Through sheer luck, he ends up growing closer to the other kids, as it's a big family and everyone assumes someone else invited him. Sam feels guilty, but it's so nice to enjoy a normal day and be part of a family. Without them, he's practically homeless and no one knows his past, so it feels like he has friends for the first time. The De Lainey family is messy and not perfect, but there is so much love there that draws in Sam like a beacon. I didn't really feel the romance between him and Moxie, but I liked their friendship! I was afraid Moxie would be too 'quirky' for me, but I liked that the story focused on her struggles with her family and grief for her mother. I felt for her conflicting emotions and frustration with always being delegated as the babysitter, just because she's the oldest girl.

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sameeha_r05's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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elenabluenette's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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emeryyy's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

ahhh i don't know what to say. it took me forever to start this, and then it took me way too long to finish this because of uni and finals (and an unfortunate incident where someone put the library book on hold before i was done with it lmao) but this was so good!! you know when you're not that far into a book but you can just *tell* you're going to love it? that's what happened

i think the best way to describe this book is "full of emotions." Sam and Avery deserved so much better 😭 i absolutely loved the relationships between the De Laineys - there was so much chaos and warmth, messiness and brightness. i haven't read very many books with autism rep (something i'm trying to fix), but i thought this was really well written

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theblondebird's review against another edition

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emotional sad tense medium-paced

Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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eule_und_buch's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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durrareadsstuff's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Those last few chapters were PURE PAIN I COULDN'T SEE THROUGH MY TEARS WOW. Once I get over how sad it was I'll write a more detailed review.

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artemishi's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Breaking down by the CAWPILE system*, for clarity and organization.

Characters: 9, every character had a distinct voice and served a purpose in the overall story while feeling very real. Bonus points for not infantilizing Avery and for avoiding the trope of 'romantic love fixes everything'.
Atmosphere: 9, the setting is contemporary (British? Canadian? Australian?) beach town and it felt familiar enough to be immersive.
Writing Style: 8, will definitely be picking up C.G. Drews' other writing. Some of the stylistic choices lacked punch with redundancy, but that's a very minor complaint.
Plot: 9, a great blend of vulnerable characters and unflinching scars of trauma (including violence), with good pacing and twists that ensured I never quite knew how it would end.
Intrigue: 9, I read it in two days and had a hard time putting it down.
Logic: 8, a few instances of superhuman feats that I wasn't entirely convinced could happen, but was too invested in the story to let that pull me out of it.
Enjoyment: 9, it made me cry (which I usually love) and was consistently enjoyable.

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