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twistykris's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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? N/A
4.25
I truly struggle to review this book. There are a lot of mixed feelings. It feels wrong to rate a book with such disturbing content in it highly.
Some might call the writing "flowery," but I found it to be beautiful and engrossing. The descriptions of the children running freely during the summers left me feeling nostalgic and entranced. The descriptions of the horrors made me sick to my stomach.
I appreciate that all of the perspectives are told from 4 girls, ranging from 13-17. This is their story, their journey, their sorrows and trauma, their love and triumphs.
There are very disturbing references to normalized, societal incest in this book. I struggled reading certain sections depicting overt abuse (physical, emotional, and sexual) of girls, young teens, and women. When reading disturbing content like this, I often wonder how the author could possibly get such imagery, and I wonder if it's for "shock value" more than anything. But after reading about Jennie's experience working with traumatized and sexually abused children, it made me understand that this was not "shock value" content, but a deep understanding. Jennie is knowledgeable of what she is portraying and does it well.
An uncomfortable read that will stick with me for a long time. Rating may be updated in the future.
Some might call the writing "flowery," but I found it to be beautiful and engrossing. The descriptions of the children running freely during the summers left me feeling nostalgic and entranced. The descriptions of the horrors made me sick to my stomach.
I appreciate that all of the perspectives are told from 4 girls, ranging from 13-17. This is their story, their journey, their sorrows and trauma, their love and triumphs.
There are very disturbing references to normalized, societal incest in this book. I struggled reading certain sections depicting overt abuse (physical, emotional, and sexual) of girls, young teens, and women. When reading disturbing content like this, I often wonder how the author could possibly get such imagery, and I wonder if it's for "shock value" more than anything. But after reading about Jennie's experience working with traumatized and sexually abused children, it made me understand that this was not "shock value" content, but a deep understanding. Jennie is knowledgeable of what she is portraying and does it well.
An uncomfortable read that will stick with me for a long time. Rating may be updated in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Murder, Sexual assault, Suicide, Ableism, Alcoholism, Death, Blood, Child abuse, Rape, Sexism, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Incest, Miscarriage, and Misogyny
Moderate: Infertility, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Grief, and Excrement
Minor: Body shaming and Bullying
This book has references to child abuse and incest between fathers and daughters. While it isn't overly graphic and a lot of the abuse is implied, it is an integral part of the story and can be very difficult to read. The author, Jennie Melamed, "is a psychiatric nurse practitioner who specializes in working with traumatized children. During her doctoral work at the University of Washington, she investigated anthropological, biological, and cultural aspects of child sexual abuse."
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