Reviews

Saving Max by Antoinette van Heugten

blondebookstagrammer's review

5.0

The beginning of the book was hard to get into, but holy sh*t, the book had me turning every page as fast as I could to see what would happen next. It was an incredible book and I’m extremely pleased with how well written it was!!

juneofthemoon's review

2.0

This was our November book club pick and I have to admit that the short synopsis piqued my interest. I am a huge fan of psychology, so I was excited to see where the story ended up. At the beginning I was distracted by some of the flowery language van Heugten used to describe scenes and her characters, but that ebbed as the book went on. While I did enjoy the plot line, the writing did not drive me to the edge of my seat as a good thriller would.

aamcint's review

1.0

Ridiculous. And holy inconsistent verb tenses. Who edited this thing? There's a misplaced modifier within the first few pages. Obviously these are the things I focus on, but come on.

catrev's review

4.0

Saving Max by Antoinette van Heugten is a frightening and suspenseful look at what a mother will do for love. Danielle Parkman has reached the end of her endurance with sixteen-year-old son Max. He's long suffered from Asperger's, an illness that is an autism spectrum disorder, but he's recently become violent toward her. When she discovered his journal with a detailed plan for his planned suicide, she feels like she has no choice but to bring him to Maitland, a well-known psychiatric facility for diagnosing mental illness. Once there, she bonds with Mariane Morrison whose son, Jonas, suffers from severe self-abuse and autism issues, but Max seems to take an immediate dislike toward Jonas and begins acting out aggressively to him. Danielle's worries escalate when Maitland diagnoses Max as being schizophrenic and refuses Danielle access to him. Then she discovers Jonas dead in his room, covered in blood, with Max lying unconscious next to him and holding the murder weapon. She snaps and her attempts to save him from being tried with the murder cause her to be charged along with him. How far will Danielle be forced to go to prove that her son is innocent of murder and what will she find in her investigation? van Heugten has tapped into a mother's worst fears and creates a terrifying and haunting suspense story. I wanted to shake Danielle for her stubborn and often illegal actions, but couldn't help admiring her unstoppable love and devotion to Max. What she discovers is beyond terrifying and evil. The writing is fast-paced and compelling is occasionally a bit graphic for my taste (I could have gone without the scene on the videotape). van Heugten's portrayal of a mother dealing with the challenges of an autistic child is inspiring and will make all readers who are moms grateful for the child they have.

mcallima's review

2.0

I was expecting much more from this book. Perhaps because it was hailed as such a best seller, I was expecting it to read like one. I felt the writing was amateurish and thin. I felt like the characters lacked depth. The plot had potential but it left me dissatisfied. I felt like there were pieces missing. Was very disappointed.

cjaneski723's review

4.0

Great read! The first 1/2 of the book was a little too slow for my taste, but the speed definitely picked up in the second half, with twists and turns that kept my heart racing and desiring to know what was on the next page! Phenomenal ending! What a great debut novel by Antoinette van Heugten!

yanina_daniele's review

5.0

Esta novela me atrapo de principio a fin, me la devoré en 2 días, no podía dejarla, y a la vez en más de una ocasión que veía las cosas que hacía la madre de Max no quería seguir leyendo por miedo a que saliera todo mal. No esperaba ese desenlace, tenía otras teorías planteadas sobre lo que había sucedido y me sorprendió como fueron las cosas en realidad. Tengo la costumbre de cuando entro a Goodreads leer las reseñas de la gente que ya leyó el libro para orientarme más o menos de como viene la cosa, y la verdad me sorprende ver tantas críticas tan crudas sobre los libros, sobre la forma de escribir del autor, tirando por el suelo por completo como escriben, el desarrollo de la trama, de los personajes, etc. A veces pienso que están más preocupados por destruir los libros que disfrutar de los mismos. Entendería críticas que dijeran la historia no me gusto por tal o cual cosa, referida a que la trama no los atrapó o no era lo que esperaban, o que era muy lento el desarrollo de las cosas pero de ahí a decir que el libro no sirve porque esta mal escrito, porque el autor no sabe escribir.. me hace pensar que muchos son autores frustrados y solo buscan lo peor en cada libro que leen. Volviendo a la novela, no me imagino estar en los zapatos de la madre de Max, la angustia, la impotencia de estar en esa situación y tratar de mantener la mente en frío para ayudar a su propio hijo. Si gustan de los misterios y dramas, esta novela es muy recomendada.

yogabug264's review

4.0

This was a great book, at first I thought it was a bit far fetched, but by the end it was hard to put down!

fleurette's review

4.0

I have very mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand, I read it very quickly and easily. I really couldn't pull myself away from it once I started it. On the other hand, there are many things that usually annoy me in my books and this one was no exception.

It's always easier for me to say what I don't like than what I like. Therefore, let's start with good things. Although the beginning is rather slow and not much happens, you read this story really fast. The chapters are short, there are no long descriptions, and even the first ten chapters, though introductory, are not very boring.

The plot is also remarkably interesting. It is a combination of a legal and psychological thriller. Of course, many things can be predicted from the very beginning but still some elements surprised me. All the time I wanted to know what would happen next.

Now let's get to what I had a problem with. Danielle very often behaves really stupidly. First of all, she lies to her lawyer. At some point, she justifies it by not wanting to go to jail for these acts. But who would report her to the police? Her own lawyer and the detective they hired?! There is such a thing as a legal professional privilege! Danielle as an excellent lawyer herself should know this and be honest with her own lawyer. Hiding things from him, hoping he won't find out, doesn't help her case.

Danielle also does a lot of other annoying things. Breaking parole rules comes a little too easily to her. She runs away from her lawyer and detective who are there to help her. Without a second thought, she goes headfirst into dangerous situations. For such an intelligent woman, she does really stupid things. And you can't justify all that with the fact that she is desperate.

There are also at least two moments when her personality is inconsistent. That is, when she finds out about her son's diagnosis and during a meeting with doctors to discuss it. I was convinced that it would turn out that she was given some medicine without her knowing about it. But it turns out that it was her own reaction. Her behaviour at these moments does not match her character.

And finally, we have this bizarre romance. This is completely unreliable. I mean, I don't mind Danielle and Tony meet in such circumstances and are interested in each other. But love?! They know each other for a few days, during which they mainly work to get her and her son out of prison. And then she disappears for a few days. When was this feeling supposed to develop between them?! This is really one of the weak points of this book, straight from the category romance.

Despite some issues I mentioned above, I really like this book. I would definitely recommend it.

kasssidyy's review

4.0

Really enjoyed this book. A genuinely thrilling read - the middle was a bit difficult to get through.

There’s a bit of a lull and the doctor/legal jargon can be tough to understand or keep up with but overall it was great