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3.43 AVERAGE
3.43 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
So beautiful, dark, and real, "Nothing Can Hurt You" takes place around the edges of a crime. Each section is from a different character's perspective. It's a book which is short on plot but does not suffer from that; each character drew me in.
What is it about?: A schizophrenic boyfriend, killed his girlfriend, Sara but aren't being punished for the murder because "temporary insanity" and they are both was on acid. The story follows the aftermath of the incident; the deceased family, the people who knew the boyfriend, and there's a few other murderers with their own stories too.
What I like about it : The first few chapters, the idea of the whole story of people who knew the main character and her murderer. The author's writing skills got me hooked and so curious to be able to finished it within a few hours. I haven't done that in a while.
What I don't like about it : The multiple characters perspective confuses me so much. There's so many characters and the book is told through them respectively in each chapters.
Overall, it doesn't went well for me, but I've read some reviews of the people who really fancied this book. So why not give it a try?
What I like about it : The first few chapters, the idea of the whole story of people who knew the main character and her murderer. The author's writing skills got me hooked and so curious to be able to finished it within a few hours. I haven't done that in a while.
What I don't like about it : The multiple characters perspective confuses me so much. There's so many characters and the book is told through them respectively in each chapters.
Overall, it doesn't went well for me, but I've read some reviews of the people who really fancied this book. So why not give it a try?
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
sad
medium-paced
I listened to this book. I usually love books with multiple readers. I was disappointed as I really just heard people talk about what happened with no real point to why. Maybe I wanted closure and answers, but I don't think that was the point to this book.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
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
I really liked the idea of this book but the execution just felt short. There were certain sub-plots that were the start of really great stand alone novels but did not meld with the overall plot. The last “chapter” from Sara’s perspective made me the most angry and truly ruined the end of the book.
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I went into this book blind and it wasn’t what I expected at all. The tone felt mundane but was interesting to read everyone’s different perspectives and how the death of Sara affect everyone one way or another. Reading this book allowed me to to just reflect and think. It reminded me of how connected everything can be.
This was a different reading experience considering all the different povs, looking back this was something I enjoyed.
The book was book. Nothing more and nothing less.
This was a different reading experience considering all the different povs, looking back this was something I enjoyed.
The book was book. Nothing more and nothing less.
"I hate Blake much more than I loved Sara. I have no actual memories of Sara because she died when I was two years old. I know her only as a bottomless hole of sadness she left in my father's life. My third-grade circle of friends included a girl who had been adopted from Estonia. Once, at a sleepover, someone asked her how she found out she was adopted, probably expecting some kind of dramatic scene. But the girl just shrugged and said "I didn't find out. I never didn't know." It was like that with Sara. I just knew that I had a half-sister and that she was killed by her boyfriend, the same way I knew my own name,"
Nothing Can Hurt you is a fictionalized story based on an actual true crime case. Sara was murdered at the hands of her boyfriend Blake who gets off by pleading not guilty by reason of insanity. This story is kind of about that, but it is more about the ripple effect the murder created by people that were connected to Sara and some who were just fascinated by her story.
Nothing Can Hurt You is told from a new perspective every chapter and you do not hear from one character more than once which I found to be so frustrating. There is such a dissatisfaction when you have followed a character's story build only to have no resolution, or to think the resolution will come in a later chapter but it never does. Structuring Nothing Can Hurt You in such a disjointed way made me confused about what specifically I was supposed to connect with. Was it the victim? Was it some girl her boyfriend interacted with in drug rehab that had never met the victim only the murderer? Was it her step sister? And if connecting to a character wasn't the point, then was I supposed to connect to a plot that had already run its course after the first chapter? The point of this book is completely lost on me. I don't get it and honestly there isn't enough of anything compelling here that makes me want to try and piece it together.
Nothing Can Hurt You spends a lot of time talking mental illness -which is fine, I wish more books would cover this topic accurately- however, I found Goldberg's perspective on mental illness to be very problematic. Yes, some people with mental illnesses have committed reprehensible crimes, but all people with mental illnesses are not reprehensible people. Every person that seemed to be mentally ill or in deep grief/depression were represented in a very negative light. This problematic pattern starts with the very first character we are introduced to and it holds fast through most of the chapters. This aspect did not enrich the book in anyway and did not paint a clearer picture of what this story was trying to convey so in my mind, it was completely unnecessary.
I am not much of a true crime buff. I used get sucked into the occasional Dateline episode but since having children I have lost the ability to be engrossed or entertained by a story that involves something awful happening to anyone's baby. Maybe motherhood is not allowing me to understand what this book is trying to say... or maybe this book really is confusing and that is the only point? Murder is confusing? Sure, we'll go with that! The theme of this book is "murder is confusing". I think I might be on to something here! All jokes aside, I do think part of what the author was trying to convey is the actions of one person -whether conscious or not- effect everyone in some way. The actions of one person have more power than we can ever fully glimpse. In this case, we found that the murder of one girl can launch a passion for justice, create a drug problem, break a family a part, or they can cause a lifetime of pain and sorrow by those that witnessed raw, senseless violence so up close they cannot help but see only shadows everywhere they look. There are a lot of books I would recommend if you enjoy true crime or even suspenseful reads before I would ever think of recommending Nothing Can Hurt You.
⭐️⭐️/5 stars
you can find Nothing Can Hurt You out on bookshelves near you NOW!
Reviewer's note: Bloomsbury Publishing provided a copy of Nothing Can Hurt You in exchange for an honest review.
Check out my book blog!https://bookstackreviews.wixsite.com/mysite
Nothing Can Hurt you is a fictionalized story based on an actual true crime case. Sara was murdered at the hands of her boyfriend Blake who gets off by pleading not guilty by reason of insanity. This story is kind of about that, but it is more about the ripple effect the murder created by people that were connected to Sara and some who were just fascinated by her story.
Nothing Can Hurt You is told from a new perspective every chapter and you do not hear from one character more than once which I found to be so frustrating. There is such a dissatisfaction when you have followed a character's story build only to have no resolution, or to think the resolution will come in a later chapter but it never does. Structuring Nothing Can Hurt You in such a disjointed way made me confused about what specifically I was supposed to connect with. Was it the victim? Was it some girl her boyfriend interacted with in drug rehab that had never met the victim only the murderer? Was it her step sister? And if connecting to a character wasn't the point, then was I supposed to connect to a plot that had already run its course after the first chapter? The point of this book is completely lost on me. I don't get it and honestly there isn't enough of anything compelling here that makes me want to try and piece it together.
Nothing Can Hurt You spends a lot of time talking mental illness -which is fine, I wish more books would cover this topic accurately- however, I found Goldberg's perspective on mental illness to be very problematic. Yes, some people with mental illnesses have committed reprehensible crimes, but all people with mental illnesses are not reprehensible people. Every person that seemed to be mentally ill or in deep grief/depression were represented in a very negative light. This problematic pattern starts with the very first character we are introduced to and it holds fast through most of the chapters. This aspect did not enrich the book in anyway and did not paint a clearer picture of what this story was trying to convey so in my mind, it was completely unnecessary.
I am not much of a true crime buff. I used get sucked into the occasional Dateline episode but since having children I have lost the ability to be engrossed or entertained by a story that involves something awful happening to anyone's baby. Maybe motherhood is not allowing me to understand what this book is trying to say... or maybe this book really is confusing and that is the only point? Murder is confusing? Sure, we'll go with that! The theme of this book is "murder is confusing". I think I might be on to something here! All jokes aside, I do think part of what the author was trying to convey is the actions of one person -whether conscious or not- effect everyone in some way. The actions of one person have more power than we can ever fully glimpse. In this case, we found that the murder of one girl can launch a passion for justice, create a drug problem, break a family a part, or they can cause a lifetime of pain and sorrow by those that witnessed raw, senseless violence so up close they cannot help but see only shadows everywhere they look. There are a lot of books I would recommend if you enjoy true crime or even suspenseful reads before I would ever think of recommending Nothing Can Hurt You.
⭐️⭐️/5 stars
you can find Nothing Can Hurt You out on bookshelves near you NOW!
Reviewer's note: Bloomsbury Publishing provided a copy of Nothing Can Hurt You in exchange for an honest review.
Check out my book blog!https://bookstackreviews.wixsite.com/mysite