A review by thebalancedbookshelf
My Throat an Open Grave by Tori Bovalino

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced

5.0

This book is everything. Like her past books Tori Bovalino does such an amazing job mixing fantasy and reality. She writes a beautiful story that deals with hard issues while still crafting an immersive fantasy world. I enjoyed how the town was a safe haven and how the magical aspects that were added in to enhance and balance the traumatic events of Leah’s hometown.

It is so upsetting to me that we live in a world where this book is a reality. That women are told they are not enough and purity is forced down their throats. That women do not have a choice in their lives and are constantly punished for it. This book does an amazing job showing the struggle between Leah’s internal feelings and what’s she’s been told her whole life. She is the product of the towns overly zealous views and is drowning under the weight of their expectations. The author did such a great job of portraying her depression and opening herself up to heal from it. 

I loved that Jess came to help her even if it went against the towns view. She didn’t judge her as everyone else would have and while she did need a little push she was there when it mattered. I loved the relationships between Ruth and Fletcher as well. I think it really emphasizes the importance of having supportive people around you. The romance between Tristan and Leah was a little rushed but I didn’t mind it. I don’t think the romance is supposed to be the focus of this book but a nice supplement. I also really appreciated what a supportive and accepting person Tristan was. This clearly goes in contrast to the ideals the town enforced just to control the narrative and enforce their views. 

This book does an amazing job of showing the point of view of someone who is struggling with the religious ideals her society has. There are complex emotions such as shame,  unworthiness, and suicidal thoughts that come from being raised in that environment. Unfortunately, this is still an issue we face in today’s culture, but I think the author did such a good job of portraying this while also giving Leah back her life and her choices.

There are a few trigger warnings listed but one that wasn’t and I think should be is religious guilt/trauma.