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onceuponasarah's review against another edition
2.0
Well written, but very, very depressing and even horrific. Not for the faint of heart.
bookgoonie's review against another edition
4.0
Original review posted @ www.bookgoonie.com October 2011
http://wp.me/p1h3Ps-BD
Willa starts telling us about how lucky she is and how happy her family is. Willa recounts how it is her family is so happy. Everything is in terms of everyone else. She is invisible. The good child. The child that doesn’t make a fuss or ask for anything. She is so happy she sneaks down into the basement to cut. Gasp.
Then a horrific event brutally tears people’s lives apart, but it tears Willa’s wide open. Budge, her father, killed his wife and her step-sisters she never knew she had. Once the fear of Budge coming for them is over, Willa decides that she needs to know…to discover who she is ugly scares and all. Willa heads to Pryor, Texas to the funeral of her step-sisters. They are family. Her blood family. Here she starts to understand the world that her mother escaped from…abuse,
drunkenness and dead ends. Here she starts to understand who her mother was, how brave she was, and how her mother lost her fight and settle for safety. Here she remembers a daddy she loved and that loved her despite his demons.
Once Willa returns home to her happy family, she is faced with a barrage of things that will change her life. But again, everything is considered in terms of others and not her. She heads to the basement. Can she deal with the pain, the pressure, and the expectations to be invisible? Oh, but they love her. But can they love someone with no voice? Will Willa find her voice?
There was something about this cover that made me request to be part of its book tour. It is haunting. Those eyes have so much to say, but it isn’t said. I had to know her story. You discover that Willa is a cutter. As she describes the sensation, it gave me chills throughout. I didn’t know if I could handle reading a whole novel about it. It is my first. It is something I couldn’t imagine ever doing, but I know many students that have. I pressed on. The cutting stays just under the surface until the end. She has too many open wounds to create new ones through most of the book. It was a quick read and I was thankful. I couldn’t rest till I knew what would happen to her. It was well written…not too much…not too little…just enough to let us follow Willa’s story. The story had a similar flashback (remembering) style and pace to Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott. Both haunting tales. I hope that this book finds its audience. It is better to shout and shout loud then to fall into silent despair.
http://wp.me/p1h3Ps-BD
Willa starts telling us about how lucky she is and how happy her family is. Willa recounts how it is her family is so happy. Everything is in terms of everyone else. She is invisible. The good child. The child that doesn’t make a fuss or ask for anything. She is so happy she sneaks down into the basement to cut. Gasp.
Then a horrific event brutally tears people’s lives apart, but it tears Willa’s wide open. Budge, her father, killed his wife and her step-sisters she never knew she had. Once the fear of Budge coming for them is over, Willa decides that she needs to know…to discover who she is ugly scares and all. Willa heads to Pryor, Texas to the funeral of her step-sisters. They are family. Her blood family. Here she starts to understand the world that her mother escaped from…abuse,
drunkenness and dead ends. Here she starts to understand who her mother was, how brave she was, and how her mother lost her fight and settle for safety. Here she remembers a daddy she loved and that loved her despite his demons.
Once Willa returns home to her happy family, she is faced with a barrage of things that will change her life. But again, everything is considered in terms of others and not her. She heads to the basement. Can she deal with the pain, the pressure, and the expectations to be invisible? Oh, but they love her. But can they love someone with no voice? Will Willa find her voice?
There was something about this cover that made me request to be part of its book tour. It is haunting. Those eyes have so much to say, but it isn’t said. I had to know her story. You discover that Willa is a cutter. As she describes the sensation, it gave me chills throughout. I didn’t know if I could handle reading a whole novel about it. It is my first. It is something I couldn’t imagine ever doing, but I know many students that have. I pressed on. The cutting stays just under the surface until the end. She has too many open wounds to create new ones through most of the book. It was a quick read and I was thankful. I couldn’t rest till I knew what would happen to her. It was well written…not too much…not too little…just enough to let us follow Willa’s story. The story had a similar flashback (remembering) style and pace to Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott. Both haunting tales. I hope that this book finds its audience. It is better to shout and shout loud then to fall into silent despair.
court4short's review against another edition
2.0
With short chapters and a nice flow, I managed to read this book cover to cover in about 2 hours. Despite that, I'm left a little confused. Is this going to be part of a series? Or is it supposed to stand alone? What happens with Terri and Jack? Or Brooke ad Alyssa? Do things go back to normal? There are a lot of questions left unanswered by the end of the book.
historybooksandtea's review against another edition
3.0
Well-written, intriguing YA novel. Review coming soon on my blog!
serenabales's review against another edition
4.0
I would give this book an A- in letter grades. Not quite four stars but not five either. I was disappointed at first that there wasn't more suspense, but that wasn't the point of this story. The point was Willa's journey to find herself and her place in the world on her own, and not just a member of the perfect "happy family." I liked reading Willa's journey, and thought for the most part she was a believeable, likable character. Extra points for her being in choir, since I was a choir girl myself for years. =) The book left me with the feeling I think it intended, and all in all I really enjoyed reading it.
l1brarygirl's review against another edition
3.0
Not what I was expecting at all. For some reason, maybe the word "blood" threw me off, but I thought this would be a vampire book - NOT AT ALL! This was a disturbing book, one that let us into the lives of a not so typical "happy" family and what happens when one member of the family decides it isn't good enough anymore.
cleogray's review against another edition
3.0
This book has an element that I've never seen before: the plot was so utterly simple. Yet the author managed to continue the book until the end without it falling completely flat. It was like a car running on fumes, and I have to give Pfeffer credit for that. Really there was just one main story line with some [very] small strands branching off it, and every time you thought something else might get added to it... nope. Just the same story line. And while I think it could have been a bit more interesting if different things were added to the story, this was definitely a first for me and I have to say made it sort of unique.
As for Willa's home life... On the outside, everything is just this perfect facade of happy family life. They are the model blended family. But then, throughout the book, little things start to appear, signs that maybe this is all an act - maybe their family is actually broken, tearing apart, and they are all just trying to pretend like nothing is wrong. This is wear Jack, Willa's stepdad, comes in. He his nice and funny and kind but also, he is the reason they are all pretending - because he needs them to be a happy family. And Willa's mom is just as bad, and there is a flashback in the book that I think was one of the stronger scenes, really emphasizing how this family is built.
But, there were also some drawbacks. Because some parts, especially Willa going into her real father's house, were a bit underwhelming. I found myself wishing at times for more descriptive writing, more detail. And a lot of the time I was expecting more to happen, but I found that the book was just sort of... going. With no point.
Overall the mystery part of this novel was not quite what I was expecting, and not focused on as much as I thought it would be. But, the contemporary part is done very well, and all in all this book was a fast paced and okay read.
As for Willa's home life... On the outside, everything is just this perfect facade of happy family life. They are the model blended family. But then, throughout the book, little things start to appear, signs that maybe this is all an act - maybe their family is actually broken, tearing apart, and they are all just trying to pretend like nothing is wrong. This is wear Jack, Willa's stepdad, comes in. He his nice and funny and kind but also, he is the reason they are all pretending - because he needs them to be a happy family. And Willa's mom is just as bad, and there is a flashback in the book that I think was one of the stronger scenes, really emphasizing how this family is built.
But, there were also some drawbacks. Because some parts, especially Willa going into her real father's house, were a bit underwhelming. I found myself wishing at times for more descriptive writing, more detail. And a lot of the time I was expecting more to happen, but I found that the book was just sort of... going. With no point.
Overall the mystery part of this novel was not quite what I was expecting, and not focused on as much as I thought it would be. But, the contemporary part is done very well, and all in all this book was a fast paced and okay read.
jshettel's review against another edition
1.0
I'm a fan of Pfeffer's "The World as We Know It" trilogy, but this book was terrible. The suspenseful part was not suspenseful. The girls were whiny - all of them. Which character was I supposed to like? Don't waste your time on this one.
operasara's review against another edition
4.0
Blood Wounds by Susan Beth Pfeffer tells the story of Willa whose world is torn apart when she finds out that the father she barely remembers kills his entire family and is thought to be headed towards her home. Willa is forced to confront the demons in her past and figure out how everything relates to her present.
This is an interesting book that follows a girl coming to terms with the demons of her past. It is very heavy and also deals with her addiction to cutting and the unfairness that can exist in step families. I found the book fascinating and finished it quickly and readers who are looking for a tough emotional read will enjoy it. It is not however a book filled with mystery or action and the initial trauma happens in the first section of the book.
Appropriateness: The main character is a cutter and the subject is dealt with tactfully and has a positive resolution. There are also several scenes of abuse that are difficult to read. I would recommend this book to readers 14+ however it is not inappropriate for younger readers who can handle the emotional content.
Review copy provided by Amazon Vine
This is an interesting book that follows a girl coming to terms with the demons of her past. It is very heavy and also deals with her addiction to cutting and the unfairness that can exist in step families. I found the book fascinating and finished it quickly and readers who are looking for a tough emotional read will enjoy it. It is not however a book filled with mystery or action and the initial trauma happens in the first section of the book.
Appropriateness: The main character is a cutter and the subject is dealt with tactfully and has a positive resolution. There are also several scenes of abuse that are difficult to read. I would recommend this book to readers 14+ however it is not inappropriate for younger readers who can handle the emotional content.
Review copy provided by Amazon Vine
heykellyjensen's review against another edition
2.0
2.5.
Well written, good pacing, interesting and evocative storyline that has great appeal...but the subplots, including the issues of class and cutting were not well done and made the stronger storyline weaker.
Well written, good pacing, interesting and evocative storyline that has great appeal...but the subplots, including the issues of class and cutting were not well done and made the stronger storyline weaker.