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A review by dobbsthedog
In Repair by A.L. Graziadei
4.0
Received from NetGalley, thanks!
CW: sexual assault (historical, not on page), suicidal ideation, dissociation, more
This was a really tough book to read. It deals with a lot of really heavy topics and I think it does a really good job discussing those topics, but I certainly wouldn’t say that I enjoyed this book. If you decide to read this book, please do take a look at the content warnings, because this book is A LOT.
This book is about Nathaniel and how his past trauma and guilt have completely shaped the person he is now. As I said, it’s really tough to read, because, as Nathaniel is the POV narrator, we are seeing how very not okay he is, but how desperately he’s trying to be. Or at least trying to appear okay.
I really liked this little friend group, who were able to at least partially see past the mask he was constantly wearing. I liked how he was able to reconnect with a friend he’d thought he’d lost.
I likely would have given this five stars, except that I just couldn’t buy anything positive to do with his family.The way they initially reacted when they found out that his cousin had been sexually assaulted by their uncle (they didn’t believe her at all and defended the uncle), how they constantly blamed Nathaniel for acting out without ever asking why he was acting out. Throughout the book Nathaniel is saying that his family never asked the right questions, and they didn’t. So, to see their reaction when he disclosed that he was also sexually assaulted by the uncle, their outrage didn’t seem believable to me. The way they couldn’t accept Nathaniel in any way except for the way that they wanted him to be (forcing him to dye his hair to it’s natural colour, removing his nail polish and jewelry) and forcing him into situations that he said he didn’t want to go to. As a parent of an older teen, I can’t imagine doing any of those things. His parents just seemed really terrible, so to have them just accept everything and be super supportive when he disclosed; I just didn’t buy it.
This is a very different book to Graziadei’s first book, which isn’t a bad thing, just something to be aware of.
CW: sexual assault (historical, not on page), suicidal ideation, dissociation, more
This was a really tough book to read. It deals with a lot of really heavy topics and I think it does a really good job discussing those topics, but I certainly wouldn’t say that I enjoyed this book. If you decide to read this book, please do take a look at the content warnings, because this book is A LOT.
This book is about Nathaniel and how his past trauma and guilt have completely shaped the person he is now. As I said, it’s really tough to read, because, as Nathaniel is the POV narrator, we are seeing how very not okay he is, but how desperately he’s trying to be. Or at least trying to appear okay.
I really liked this little friend group, who were able to at least partially see past the mask he was constantly wearing. I liked how he was able to reconnect with a friend he’d thought he’d lost.
I likely would have given this five stars, except that I just couldn’t buy anything positive to do with his family.
This is a very different book to Graziadei’s first book, which isn’t a bad thing, just something to be aware of.