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A review by sierra13
Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Pérez
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
When I started reading this book, my attention was captured right away. I enjoyed the writing and I even thought it was written well. Until about 100 pages in. I was still invested but it just started feeling odd. Then the random masturbation scenes started happening. They felt out of place and tossed in there just because. Now don't get me wrong, I do not care that there's sexual content. I read and enjoy open door romance. But in the context these scenes happened they felt random and out of place. Now the point of them is not lost on me. I know it's meant to be a show of them being unable to stop thinking of one another (which had already been mentioned) I did notice the author was doing a lot of telling and not showing.
As for the actual romance itself, it felt rushed. There was no real build up to it aside from Naomi and Wash talking and studying. And of course the random masturbation scenes. It came on with Naomi getting jealous because she saw him with other girls but there was really nothing to imply a romantic relationship before this. I also don't mind instalove, in the right context but this didn't feel like the right context. They just jumped right into the romance. And I get that they're teenagers and they're probably going to move a little fast but this just felt so sudden. And to top it off the saying of "i love you" happened very quickly in my opinion. There was just not enough chemistry between the two. I feel this book would have been better as a regular ol' Historical Fiction. The romance just feels like an afterthought. I was more invested in every other part of the story.
Henry. Henry, Henry, Henry. I disliked him from the get-go. Then, the sexual abuse came up. And the way he treated his wife. And the constant threats to murder Edgar, the twins cat. He's just an all over terrible character. Now, there's nothing wrong with that. I understand he's supposed to be and I love my fair share of terrible characters. But I feel like there's a good way to do bad characters and this did not feel it. On top of all of that, he insisted on erasing his (Mexican) wife and children's culture. I understand it was a different time but he chose to marry a Mexican woman and have children with her. Again, I understand he's supposed to be horrible but I just don't feel like it was done well. Naomi made him promise to stop touching her. Twice. And we were supposed to just believe he would hold himself to that? Lastly, before I move on, why is everyone not only okay with, but encouraging Naomi to marry Henry? Once again I know it was a different time and I but I still think it would have been odd even then.
The twins were my favorite characters. I feel like they were the most fleshed out aside from Estella. They had the most personality in my opinion. It seemed Henry was much worse to Beto than Cari. I can't really say why that is though. I guess he wanted him to "man up" or something. Although it feels like Naomi is slightly more...I wouldn't say mean but she seems to like Cari less. Just the way she's described with Naomi feels bad. In one part Naomi called her a brat because she had the audacity to ask about their mother. She's so mean to them when they ask about her. I understand she was your mother too but they lost her as well. They have every right to know about her. It did break my heart when Cari died. Like quite a bit. But the fact that it happened after Naomi was mean to her just doesn't feel good. I'm sure that's the point but it just felt...wrong.
The scene with Henry assaulting Naomi at the end in front of Wash and Beto felt like another randomly added scene and extra gross. The last sentence about Beto needing help and asking the reader to carry the story for him just felt very disingenuous.
I read this book for the Julie Hates This Book Club from Reads With Rachel. People want this book banned for it's contents. And while I myself didn't enjoy it I still don't think it deserves to be banned. Other people may like it and that's great for them. And it could also encourage people to look into the actual event it was based on. Which is something I want to do. So I still got something out of it. End book banning.
As for the actual romance itself, it felt rushed. There was no real build up to it aside from Naomi and Wash talking and studying. And of course the random masturbation scenes. It came on with Naomi getting jealous because she saw him with other girls but there was really nothing to imply a romantic relationship before this. I also don't mind instalove, in the right context but this didn't feel like the right context. They just jumped right into the romance. And I get that they're teenagers and they're probably going to move a little fast but this just felt so sudden. And to top it off the saying of "i love you" happened very quickly in my opinion. There was just not enough chemistry between the two. I feel this book would have been better as a regular ol' Historical Fiction. The romance just feels like an afterthought. I was more invested in every other part of the story.
Henry. Henry, Henry, Henry. I disliked him from the get-go. Then, the sexual abuse came up. And the way he treated his wife. And the constant threats to murder Edgar, the twins cat. He's just an all over terrible character. Now, there's nothing wrong with that. I understand he's supposed to be and I love my fair share of terrible characters. But I feel like there's a good way to do bad characters and this did not feel it. On top of all of that, he insisted on erasing his (Mexican) wife and children's culture. I understand it was a different time but he chose to marry a Mexican woman and have children with her. Again, I understand he's supposed to be horrible but I just don't feel like it was done well. Naomi made him promise to stop touching her. Twice. And we were supposed to just believe he would hold himself to that? Lastly, before I move on, why is everyone not only okay with, but encouraging Naomi to marry Henry? Once again I know it was a different time and I but I still think it would have been odd even then.
The twins were my favorite characters. I feel like they were the most fleshed out aside from Estella. They had the most personality in my opinion. It seemed Henry was much worse to Beto than Cari. I can't really say why that is though. I guess he wanted him to "man up" or something. Although it feels like Naomi is slightly more...I wouldn't say mean but she seems to like Cari less. Just the way she's described with Naomi feels bad. In one part Naomi called her a brat because she had the audacity to ask about their mother. She's so mean to them when they ask about her. I understand she was your mother too but they lost her as well. They have every right to know about her. It did break my heart when Cari died. Like quite a bit. But the fact that it happened after Naomi was mean to her just doesn't feel good. I'm sure that's the point but it just felt...wrong.
The scene with Henry assaulting Naomi at the end in front of Wash and Beto felt like another randomly added scene and extra gross. The last sentence about Beto needing help and asking the reader to carry the story for him just felt very disingenuous.
I read this book for the Julie Hates This Book Club from Reads With Rachel. People want this book banned for it's contents. And while I myself didn't enjoy it I still don't think it deserves to be banned. Other people may like it and that's great for them. And it could also encourage people to look into the actual event it was based on. Which is something I want to do. So I still got something out of it. End book banning.