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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
I wanted to like this story. The story of a teenager coming into her own and getting out from under her overbearing and controlling father. However, the incest and rape made it a horrible read. The abuse was describe more in a pornographic way than in a manner that depicts just how dispicable this act is. I can't imagine recommending this to anyone.
My heart hurt for our equestrian prodigy Roan throughout this entire book. Her mother is a narcissistic alcoholic, and her father has sexually assaulted and controlled her since she was six. I got spikes of anxiety throughout the whole thing, and while she got a sort of vengeance in the end, the way it wrapped up made angry.
dark
slow-paced
DNF at 40%. I feel like this book is a good example of trauma porn where bad things happen to a lot of characters and its graphic and explicit. The writing lacks a good exploration of the concepts and the book reads more voyeuristic than thoughtful.
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
15 year old Roan Montgomery is an equestrian prodigy and Olympic hopeful being trained by her decorated Olympian father. Her father demands obedience both in and out of the riding arena. She is able to compartmentalize her love for the sport from the darker and more inappropriate side of her and her father's relationship. She is ruthlessly focused on her ambitions until she starts falling in love with Will Howard, a boy from her school, when she realizes there is more to life.
Wow, this book broke my heart and inspired me all at once. Roan is a survivor in the greatest sense of the word. She is so strong and so mature beyond her years, due to unfortunate circumstances, but I can't imagine being as dedicated to anything as she is, despite all of the darkness in her life.
This is a stunning debut, and although it's dark, heavy and hard to read, you must read it, because Roan's courage and resilience is awe-inspiring. This book had me captivated from the foreword by Alison Callahan (VP & Executive Editor of Scout Press) where she shares that she read this submission out of loyalty to an agent who is a dear friend but was so moved and had to make little effort to convince the editorial board that this book must be published.
4.5/5 stars, rounded up to 5
Thank you to Gallery/Scout Press for this eGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.
Wow, this book broke my heart and inspired me all at once. Roan is a survivor in the greatest sense of the word. She is so strong and so mature beyond her years, due to unfortunate circumstances, but I can't imagine being as dedicated to anything as she is, despite all of the darkness in her life.
This is a stunning debut, and although it's dark, heavy and hard to read, you must read it, because Roan's courage and resilience is awe-inspiring. This book had me captivated from the foreword by Alison Callahan (VP & Executive Editor of Scout Press) where she shares that she read this submission out of loyalty to an agent who is a dear friend but was so moved and had to make little effort to convince the editorial board that this book must be published.
4.5/5 stars, rounded up to 5
Thank you to Gallery/Scout Press for this eGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.
I don’t even know how to rate this...It was a good book, but I almost DNFd (multiple times) because I was so uncomfortable.
Powerful coming of age story that will keep you turning the pages! I’m not going to sugar coat it ... this was a tough and twisted read in parts but I loved LOVED LOVED Susan’s writing style and I was totally engrossed in this book (and characters - so well crafted with so much depth
Major, major trigger warning. You will know from the description whether this will be a book you can read and push through your disgust to enjoy it so to speak. I'm not going to guide you either way, you can read some of the mixed reviews.
Off the bat I will say some of the writing was juvenile. I wasn't sure if it was supposed to be YA (it's not). The dialogue isn't great. Every time she said "Daddy" and "Mama" I cringed down to my bones.
I am not someone that feels that books need to fit a perfect mold. Trauma isn't linear. Some reviewers can throw around their clinical terms as reasoning for why they felt this was inaccurate suffering or "melodramatic" (which it was a bit; it's a fiction novel about abuse), but just because YOU have not seen a patient present in the way the author portrayed, does not mean it's not a real trauma response. The author is not responsible for wrapping this story up in to a bow that makes sense for you because you are uncomfortable with the conclusion or Roan's emotions.
Also, Dark Vanessa is on my list and I read My Absolute Darling (4 stars) and CAN WE PLEASE STOP COMPARING BOOKS THAT ARE DIFFERENT JUST BECAUSE THEY'RE ABOUT CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ABUSE.
Off the bat I will say some of the writing was juvenile. I wasn't sure if it was supposed to be YA (it's not). The dialogue isn't great. Every time she said "Daddy" and "Mama" I cringed down to my bones.
I am not someone that feels that books need to fit a perfect mold. Trauma isn't linear. Some reviewers can throw around their clinical terms as reasoning for why they felt this was inaccurate suffering or "melodramatic" (which it was a bit; it's a fiction novel about abuse), but just because YOU have not seen a patient present in the way the author portrayed, does not mean it's not a real trauma response. The author is not responsible for wrapping this story up in to a bow that makes sense for you because you are uncomfortable with the conclusion or Roan's emotions.
Also, Dark Vanessa is on my list and I read My Absolute Darling (4 stars) and CAN WE PLEASE STOP COMPARING BOOKS THAT ARE DIFFERENT JUST BECAUSE THEY'RE ABOUT CHILDHOOD SEXUAL ABUSE.