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A review by a_ab
Stay with My Heart by Tashie Bhuiyan
slow-paced
2.0
This book didn't have to be anywhere near this long.
There's barely enough story for a novella a third of its size, but the storytelling is also an issue: everything gets telegraphed from the first few chapters and then takes ages to get to where it set out to go without wavering from the course in any way.
It was so predictable that the only reason I finished the book was the futile hope that surely there must be some twist to this painfully slowly unfolding plot. But no such luck, so the book ended with me regretting finishing it.
The drama is very young and teenage, which is age appropriate for the characters and the first person POV through which we see this story. But it also made everything flat and lacking any nuance.
I did appreciate the message that leaving abusive parents behind is a positive thing. It can be seen as controversial and many authors shy away from expressing it fully. But it is very often a healthier option and something that is helpful to hear and affirm, especially for the younger audiences.
I also appreciated that this book called out neglect and emotional abuse as abuse and illustrated the damaging rippling effects it can have on the child's behavior and other relationships, even (and sometimes especially) when the abuse doesn't start in early stages of childhood.
But the slog to get to these more meaningful parts was not pleasant. Hence I can't in all honesty give this book more than 2*s.
There's barely enough story for a novella a third of its size, but the storytelling is also an issue: everything gets telegraphed from the first few chapters and then takes ages to get to where it set out to go without wavering from the course in any way.
It was so predictable that the only reason I finished the book was the futile hope that surely there must be some twist to this painfully slowly unfolding plot. But no such luck, so the book ended with me regretting finishing it.
The drama is very young and teenage, which is age appropriate for the characters and the first person POV through which we see this story. But it also made everything flat and lacking any nuance.
I did appreciate the message that leaving abusive parents behind is a positive thing. It can be seen as controversial and many authors shy away from expressing it fully. But it is very often a healthier option and something that is helpful to hear and affirm, especially for the younger audiences.
I also appreciated that this book called out neglect and emotional abuse as abuse and illustrated the damaging rippling effects it can have on the child's behavior and other relationships, even (and sometimes especially) when the abuse doesn't start in early stages of childhood.
But the slog to get to these more meaningful parts was not pleasant. Hence I can't in all honesty give this book more than 2*s.