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A review by boekenbabbel
Ever Since by Alena Bruzas
dark
emotional
medium-paced
3.0
It has taken me a while to write this review ... I have changed my rating multiple times, but in the end I had to settle on three stars. Don't get me wrong, I loved this story. I loved the story, but I didn't necessarily love the book, if that makes sense.
The story that is told in 'Ever Since' is a very important one. I believe that this book could really help people. Help them understand what other people might go through, help them find the courage to get up and do something when this story happens to someone they know, and maybe even help them when they are going through something like this. This story is about abuse. Sexual abuse, mental abuse, abuse of substances ... And it is a hard one to read. But stories like this are necessary to be told. Based on the story alone, this book would have definitely received 4 stars.
But the problem for me was the writing. The first chapters were the worst and it did get better near the end of the book, but it was still difficult to get through. The sentences are extremely long, consisting of multiple clauses starting with 'and'. ... and ... and ... and ... and ... and ... . At one point, a sentence ran for 9(!) lines on my e-reader. This made me lose track of the sentence and made it harder to really get sucked into the story. I really had to drag myself through the first few chapters, up until the point that the story got so interesting that the writing stopped bothering me as much. And as I said, it did get better near the end. I've read a few reviews saying that this depicts the mind of a 17-year old. That may be true, but this obviously does not appeal to everybody. If I had to score the writing, I would give this a 2,5/5. There is so much room for improvement, and I do believe that the author can get better (the last chapters were evidence of that).
To conclude my review: I liked the story, but didn't like the writing.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers Group for this ARC of this book!
The story that is told in 'Ever Since' is a very important one. I believe that this book could really help people. Help them understand what other people might go through, help them find the courage to get up and do something when this story happens to someone they know, and maybe even help them when they are going through something like this. This story is about abuse. Sexual abuse, mental abuse, abuse of substances ... And it is a hard one to read. But stories like this are necessary to be told. Based on the story alone, this book would have definitely received 4 stars.
But the problem for me was the writing. The first chapters were the worst and it did get better near the end of the book, but it was still difficult to get through. The sentences are extremely long, consisting of multiple clauses starting with 'and'. ... and ... and ... and ... and ... and ... . At one point, a sentence ran for 9(!) lines on my e-reader. This made me lose track of the sentence and made it harder to really get sucked into the story. I really had to drag myself through the first few chapters, up until the point that the story got so interesting that the writing stopped bothering me as much. And as I said, it did get better near the end. I've read a few reviews saying that this depicts the mind of a 17-year old. That may be true, but this obviously does not appeal to everybody. If I had to score the writing, I would give this a 2,5/5. There is so much room for improvement, and I do believe that the author can get better (the last chapters were evidence of that).
To conclude my review: I liked the story, but didn't like the writing.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Young Readers Group for this ARC of this book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse and Alcohol
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Physical abuse