now_booking 's review for:

Scrap by Cate C. Wells

2.75

dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I have mixed feelings about this one. I liked it on the balance, but I think it battled with unnecessary fatphobia that became a part of the plot in a way that could have been more positive than it was . For me, the plot of Crista suffering from severe mental health issues ten years after a brutal attack as a teenager and meeting newly out of jail, Scrap, who murdered her attacker, was captivating. I liked the way the author dealt with the theme of gratefulness and the expectation that Crista would automatically be all over Scrap out of attitude. This book subverted that expectation and indeed became a story about healing, even if a disjointed one. I didn’t really buy Scrap and Crista’s connection or why he liked her. I suppose Instalove can explain it but it really wasn’t supported by anything else. This was okay and I liked the characters even the secondary ones. But I don’t think it was necessarily as sensitive as it could have been.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cancer, Drug abuse, Infertility, Grief, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Dysphoria

Minor: Addiction, Child abuse, Eating disorder