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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I had to power through and read this one quickly. It was very heavy. I think I am in the minority on this one I would say 2.5 -3 stars. It was well written.
A lot of the horse and riding was a bit much for me only because I don’t know much about it and had to look things up to know what the author was referring to when describing the competitions.
I was rooting for Roan. I can even respect her choice of not telling anyone other than Will and her unsupportive mother but I can’t for the life of me reconcile the ending. How she chooses to let him stay even in his state. I also can’t understand that she isn’t seeing a therapist and getting the mental health help she so badly needs. She was a victim and in so much of this book she’s scolding herself for choosing it. She didn’t choose it. It was all she knew.
This was a very hard book for me.
A lot of the horse and riding was a bit much for me only because I don’t know much about it and had to look things up to know what the author was referring to when describing the competitions.
I was rooting for Roan. I can even respect her choice of not telling anyone other than Will and her unsupportive mother but I can’t for the life of me reconcile the ending. How she chooses to let him stay even in his state. I also can’t understand that she isn’t seeing a therapist and getting the mental health help she so badly needs. She was a victim and in so much of this book she’s scolding herself for choosing it. She didn’t choose it. It was all she knew.
This was a very hard book for me.
major content warnings - Child sexual & emotional abuse. Incest between father and child.
This one is hard to review. It features such a toxic unhealthy relationship between a father and a child. Roan is an equestrian whose father controls her training and life. As she develops a relationship between a boy from school, she realizes how much she wants a different life. Little by little she pushes back.
This book was a hard listen. I struggled with relationship between Roan and her father. It was heartbreaking and hopeful as Roan learns to be free.
This one is hard to review. It features such a toxic unhealthy relationship between a father and a child. Roan is an equestrian whose father controls her training and life. As she develops a relationship between a boy from school, she realizes how much she wants a different life. Little by little she pushes back.
This book was a hard listen. I struggled with relationship between Roan and her father. It was heartbreaking and hopeful as Roan learns to be free.
I feel very conflicted about this book.
The novel follows Ruan, an elite horserider, as she copes with her family trauma in the light of a budding romance. As a content warning, there are graphic and upsetting depictions of sexual violence. The kind that I felt very weird about reading. I just don't know, necessarily, who it was serving? The main character, the survivor of immense trauma, through her own internal monologue accumulates a large amount of guilt for her abusive father's actions.
Would love to hear what someone else has to say about this? But for me, I just don't know.
The novel follows Ruan, an elite horserider, as she copes with her family trauma in the light of a budding romance. As a content warning, there are graphic and upsetting depictions of sexual violence. The kind that I felt very weird about reading. I just don't know, necessarily, who it was serving? The main character, the survivor of immense trauma, through her own internal monologue accumulates a large amount of guilt for her abusive father's actions.
Would love to hear what someone else has to say about this? But for me, I just don't know.
This was a good read, I couldn't put the book down and finished it in two days, but it was too graphic and disturbing for me.
DARK HORSES is tragic and compulsively readable. Set in the competitive world of equestrian sports, this breathtaking debut by Susan Mihalic tackles subjects of abuse, privilege, and legacy. I'll be thinking of this one for a while.
Such a fast read. But holy moly was it intense.
Spoiler
I just wanted more justice at the end. She takes care of him? Really?? Ahdjsjdjskfjsh.
This was a heavy, difficult read that was uncomfortable a lot of times. But it was also written beautifully about resilience, healing and becoming a survivor.