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kattej's review against another edition
4.0
Interesting book with some confronting issues. Storyline keeps you hooked.
busyreading's review against another edition
4.0
Skye has been going out with Hamish for a few years now and the pair are in a loving relationship, but that's until, Ben Cunningham walks into, Skye's classroom where she is teaching. When Skye and Ben first met it seemed there was an instant connection between them. Skye tries to avoid her feelings, but the more she sees, Ben the stronger her feelings become.
Breaking up with, Hamish may have been hard for Skye, but she knows she wants to be with, Ben. Their feelings for each other grow stronger by the day. Then suddenly their world's are turned upside down when they receive some very unexpected information. Ben leaves immediately after receiving the information and without saying goodbye to, Skye. Skye is left heartbroken, devastated and feels torn apart as she wonders if she'll ever see or hear from, Ben again. She also knows in her heart that this is probably the best thing for both of them.
This was a difficult story to write a review on without giving away too much of the actual story line. What I can tell you is that it's a beautiful and very moving love story and so much more. For me personally I must say the subject matter in this novel was a bit hard going at times, but in saying that it was still a fabulous read. I have no hesitation in HIGHLY recommending this book.
Breaking up with, Hamish may have been hard for Skye, but she knows she wants to be with, Ben. Their feelings for each other grow stronger by the day. Then suddenly their world's are turned upside down when they receive some very unexpected information. Ben leaves immediately after receiving the information and without saying goodbye to, Skye. Skye is left heartbroken, devastated and feels torn apart as she wonders if she'll ever see or hear from, Ben again. She also knows in her heart that this is probably the best thing for both of them.
This was a difficult story to write a review on without giving away too much of the actual story line. What I can tell you is that it's a beautiful and very moving love story and so much more. For me personally I must say the subject matter in this novel was a bit hard going at times, but in saying that it was still a fabulous read. I have no hesitation in HIGHLY recommending this book.
shelleyrae's review against another edition
4.0
In her previous novels, Kylie Ladd has written with compelling insight into uncomfortable issues including adultery in [b:After the Fall|7710152|After the Fall|Kylie Ladd|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320454913s/7710152.jpg|10428190] and death and grief in [b:Last Summer|11584203|Last Summer|Kylie Ladd|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1307513385s/11584203.jpg|16525613]. Into My Arms, her third novel, is similarly confronting while examining the complexities of family, love and desire.
It's incredibly difficult to articulate my thoughts about Into My Arms while avoiding spoilers. The back cover hints at love at first sight followed by a passionate relationship which is then shattered by a shocking revelation but it is much more than that. Skye and Ben are nearly destroyed by a phenomena that challenges moral and societal conventions and Into My Arms explores it's devastating effects on both the couple and their families.
What could have been a tawdry, sensationalistic subject, is dealt with carefully, shedding a compassionate light on a little known issue that is particularly relevant in modern society. There is no getting away from the fact that most readers will find it confronting but I think Ladd does a terrific job in humanising the issue by placing ordinary people at the center of the maelstrom.
While the controversial main plot will garner the most attention, there is a prominent subplot in the book not alluded to in the blurb. Zia is a pupil of Ben and Skye, a young boy from an immigrant Iranian family who is struggling to adjust to his new life. While Zia's story is linked by the themes of family and estrangement, and he develops connections with the main characters, I thought it out of place somehow. Don't get me wrong, it is interesting in and of itself, but I didn't find it necessary and I wondered if it's purpose was to blunt the confronting nature of Ben and Skye's circumstance.
Regardless, I found Into My Arms to be a fascinating and thought provoking novel. I devoured it in hours and I suspect it will stimulate discussion amongst all who read it.
bookeboy's review against another edition
5.0
Just finished Into My Arms and highly recommend it. Anyone who has read and enjoyed Caroline Overington's novels or Jodi Picoult's will love it. Kylie Ladd engages the reader from the first page to the very last. Interesting and moving.
annemcintyre's review against another edition
2.0
Ok in parts, but to me it was a bit disappointing, I was expecting more from all the rave reviews here to be honest. Quite unbelievable plot with twists & final outcome you could see a mile off. Possibly a good plane read.
belinda's review
2.0
There has been a bit of buzz around Kylie Ladd's new book Into My Arms, so I was excited to pick it up from the library yesterday. I love a book where you can really sink your teeth into the ideas and characters featured and I thought this book club darling was going to be the next dinner-party must-read. Into My Arms opens strongly, when the impetuous headstrong Skye, who is dating Hamish, meets teacher Ben Cunningham at a school. Skye falls in love with Ben and leaves Hamish. However, problems arise when Skye introduces Ben to her mother Nora and her gay brother Arran, who has just broken up with Mark, who cheated on him, and Nora realises that Ben and Skye are actually brother and sister - Ben was conceived using fertilised eggs left over after Nora and her husband Charlie, who just died of dementia, used IVF to have Arran and Skye. Ben didn't know he wasn't his parents' genetic child and becomes estranged from his mother Mary, although he stays in touch with his sister Kirra.
Sound complicated? That summary sums up just about every single problem with this very average book. After its strong beginning, the story just goes nowhere. The characters lack any depth at all, do not develop over the course of the novel and there are so many different characters with a stake in this story it's overwhelming, especially since their narrative voices are exactly the same.
On top of the laundry list of characters, this book is not afraid to acknowledge multiple ideas. As well as the incest storyline, there is a dementia storyline, a gay storyline, a cheating storyline, a squatting/freegan storyline, an asylum seeker storyline, a widow storyline and, just so nothing gets left out, a religious storyline as well. On top of that there are the broader overarching themes of family, motherhood, home and belonging. Simply put, that's too many storylines! Ladd would have been much better served to strip back the unnecessary stuff and focus on the important characters and stories so we care about the people she is writing about. Instead, she makes something a big deal - like Charlie having dementia - that has absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the story. This is Basic Writing 101 - if it doesn't add to the story, take it out. What's even worse is that Ladd's metaphors are so laboured it's almost painful to read - for example, after finding out that Skye is his sister, Ben has explosive diarrhoea and the only thing he had to wipe his arse on is the letter from the genetics company telling him the results of the sibling test. You have seriously got to be kidding.
There are interesting ideas in this book. The consequences of IVF and sperm/egg donation are real - there are concerns about genetic siblings hooking up because they don't realise they are related. The integration of asylum seekers into Australian society and the processing of refugee visas is a big problem. It is horrible to lose a family member to dementia and it must be awful to discover that your partner is cheating on you. However, you get absolutely nothing from reading this book that you wouldn't get from reading a really detailed plot summary, so read a couple of reviews of Into My Arms that contain spoilers so you know enough about it to get by at dinner parties and spend your time reading another better book instead.
Sound complicated? That summary sums up just about every single problem with this very average book. After its strong beginning, the story just goes nowhere. The characters lack any depth at all, do not develop over the course of the novel and there are so many different characters with a stake in this story it's overwhelming, especially since their narrative voices are exactly the same.
On top of the laundry list of characters, this book is not afraid to acknowledge multiple ideas. As well as the incest storyline, there is a dementia storyline, a gay storyline, a cheating storyline, a squatting/freegan storyline, an asylum seeker storyline, a widow storyline and, just so nothing gets left out, a religious storyline as well. On top of that there are the broader overarching themes of family, motherhood, home and belonging. Simply put, that's too many storylines! Ladd would have been much better served to strip back the unnecessary stuff and focus on the important characters and stories so we care about the people she is writing about. Instead, she makes something a big deal - like Charlie having dementia - that has absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the story. This is Basic Writing 101 - if it doesn't add to the story, take it out. What's even worse is that Ladd's metaphors are so laboured it's almost painful to read - for example, after finding out that Skye is his sister, Ben has explosive diarrhoea and the only thing he had to wipe his arse on is the letter from the genetics company telling him the results of the sibling test. You have seriously got to be kidding.
There are interesting ideas in this book. The consequences of IVF and sperm/egg donation are real - there are concerns about genetic siblings hooking up because they don't realise they are related. The integration of asylum seekers into Australian society and the processing of refugee visas is a big problem. It is horrible to lose a family member to dementia and it must be awful to discover that your partner is cheating on you. However, you get absolutely nothing from reading this book that you wouldn't get from reading a really detailed plot summary, so read a couple of reviews of Into My Arms that contain spoilers so you know enough about it to get by at dinner parties and spend your time reading another better book instead.
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