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3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
Super crazy rollercoaster ride which makes it a page turner but its too fucked up and plays a lot on tropes without being realistic or well done. Also, male author writing in the perspective of a 14 year old girl in an abusive (sexually/emotionally/physically) situation is gross.
dark
emotional
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence
I was unable to put this down but the story is full of triggers. If you are sensitive to child abuse, sa, kidnapping, this may be a book to stead clear of. This story goes inside the dark nature of the characters and gets uncomfortable at times. The four star rating is because of the crass language the protagonist uses in her self talk. Fourteen-year-olds aren’t typically calling themselves a c*nt, sl*t, or slit when they are being hard on themselves or using derogatory words for their body parts. That seemed unrealistic. Otherwise, it is a good thriller read and appropriate if you don’t want something light and easy.
This is one of the hardest books to review. Is it a good book because the prose is amazing, the characters felt completely real and the writing is so enjoyable that I could sit with the words all day and be happy? But is it a bad book because the subject made me squirm. The constant offensive language that the daughter uses to create distance for herself (and made me, a reader with a potty mouth myself, feel disgusted by her words.) The daughter's adoration of her father despite what society would think of of him. The unflinching depiction of physical incest, which never felt glorified, only grotesque.
This is one of the hardest things I have ever read. Usually I rate based only on how enjoyable the experience of reading is, but in this case I'm conflicted. Ultimately, I'm glad I read it, even though I thought frequently of dropping it. Gabriel Tallent has a gift. I hope his next book covers easier material.
This is one of the hardest things I have ever read. Usually I rate based only on how enjoyable the experience of reading is, but in this case I'm conflicted. Ultimately, I'm glad I read it, even though I thought frequently of dropping it. Gabriel Tallent has a gift. I hope his next book covers easier material.
Hated it. I read over half of the book, hoping the story would improve at some point but it just kept getting worse. The storyline wasn’t the only problem. The writing was one dimensional, sophomoric, and annoyingly repetitive. I finally just threw it in the trash. I couldn’t even bring myself to donate it.
It takes a lot for me to not like a book this much. And it was a hard decision to make - I did have to finish it to be sure how I felt. It’s not that the topics were disturbing and made the reader very uncomfortable. It was the way the plot developed, the missing pieces in the story and the characters that made it too disconnected for me.
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book is horrifying and beautiful. At first I worried that all the description would bog-down the story, but as I kept reading something clicked and I became so immersed I couldn't stop, even though at times I wanted to. Usually, I only give a book five stars if I plan to re-read it one day, but I don't think I can with this one. It changed me forever though.