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aw21594377 's review for:
Jar of Hearts
by Jennifer Hillier
CW: 3 pretty graphic r-pe scenes. Plot events heavily revolve around one of the r-pe incidents and various murders.
Honestly, I wasn't expecting the first r-pe scene. We were given some hints, especially when Bernadette makes the comment about not "needing men", and Ella Frank's cryptic comment about letting her know how Geo's being bunk mates with Bernadette goes. But I guess I wasn't expecting such a graphic description of what Bernadette does to Geo. That tension is resolved very easily, I guess maybe a little more tension would've been preferred, and frankly, I was a little disappointed that the author makes Bernadette fat; I feel like that does not help fat-phobia at all. However, I don't think ff r-pe is represented or talked about enough. Women are presented in media as meek and harmless. R-pe is common in prison, but I don't feel like I've heard nearly as much about ff; mostly mf and mm. While I would've found it interesting to hear about life in prison, I'm emotionally relieved that we didn't read a ton about it. It was intense and violent. Geo's transformation from her first day/weeks in prison to when she's released is pretty palpable. However, I'm glad she doesn't completely lose herself to who she had to become in prison to survive. The politics that go on are complex and dangerous.
When it's revealed that Geo was r-ped by Calvin, I guess I wasn't surprised but I felt awful for her. He r-pes Angela right before, so clearly has no conscience (as well as a twisted justification, like most serial r-pists have). When Geo becomes pregnant from the r-pe I respected her father's response of it's your choice and we'll figure it out. That's exactly the kind of compassion survivors need. When she meets Dominic, it really did feel like it could go either way: he becomes exactly like his father, or he turns out completely different, so I really wasn't surprised that he turns out to be exactly like Calvin -- though it sounds like it's borne out of resentment more than entitlement. I really did not see Geo killing Calvin and Dominic coming, though. I'm actually not entirely sure why Calvin saves her.. I guess the fact that he has a tattoo on his wrist of a heart and her initials implies he loves her? But is what he feels towards Geo love? I guess in a very bastardized way. I do get the sense of what Geo feels of I love these people, but we can't exist together; of course, killing them is extreme, but Dominic would've killed her and Calvin abused her. So...yeah I guess it makes sense. I don't think she could've ended up with Kai without endangering him. Idk, it was a compelling ending, but also doesn't seem to serve much of a purpose other than drama. Usually that would bother me, but it didn't here for some reason ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I enjoyed Kai more as a teen/friend to Angela and Geo than as an adult. His role as the bridge between Angela and Geo is comforting and I guess I'm also drawn to awkward guys lol But then as an adult he has an affair with a coworker...and just doesn't seem to be doing much? One could argue that Angela's murder and Geo's cutting him out of her life messes him up, but idk. He just seemed kind of stalled. And I guess I was less satisfied with the fact that the only way he got back on track was solving Angela's murder, obsessively trying to find Calvin, and ending up with Geo, whom he had a die-hard crush on since hs.
I really couldn't tell if Angela was a good person or not, not that that really matters. What happens to her is awful. She's obviously extremely lucky/privileged and used to getting a lot of praise and attention. At the same time, she's shallow and can be mean and petty. I didn't exactly understand the friendship between Kai, Geo, and Angela, especially how Geo and Angela are best friends. However, sometimes connections and friendships just work, even if no one gets why or how.
The fact that Calvin, Dominic, and Angela are all buried together was interesting; I guess they are all linked in a twisted way. I actually understand why Geo still visits Calvin and Dominic's graves -- she did love Calvin and Dominic was her son. They might've been terrible people, but that will always be true. They are linked forever. Anyways, idk this book wasn't perfect, but I still really enjoyed it and would read more by this author.
Spoiler
Ok, I actually feel the opposite about this book than I have about recent reads -- the premise is actually not as interesting as the actual story was for me. Of course, the premise grabbed my attention on some level, but I found the way the author actually explored the story/plot was fascinating and she took a relatively "ordinary" story and made it interesting because of her specific take/choices. I enjoyed Hillier's writing style and characters. Geo and Kai as leads were decent choices; the fact that they ended up together was typical, but definitely not the most interesting. At its heart, this book was not a romance/love story, really, I think this fits better into crime fiction. Geo's time in prison was fascinating to me; while I haven't watched much of Orange is the New Black, that's immediately what I thought of.Honestly, I wasn't expecting the first r-pe scene. We were given some hints, especially when Bernadette makes the comment about not "needing men", and Ella Frank's cryptic comment about letting her know how Geo's being bunk mates with Bernadette goes. But I guess I wasn't expecting such a graphic description of what Bernadette does to Geo. That tension is resolved very easily, I guess maybe a little more tension would've been preferred, and frankly, I was a little disappointed that the author makes Bernadette fat; I feel like that does not help fat-phobia at all. However, I don't think ff r-pe is represented or talked about enough. Women are presented in media as meek and harmless. R-pe is common in prison, but I don't feel like I've heard nearly as much about ff; mostly mf and mm. While I would've found it interesting to hear about life in prison, I'm emotionally relieved that we didn't read a ton about it. It was intense and violent. Geo's transformation from her first day/weeks in prison to when she's released is pretty palpable. However, I'm glad she doesn't completely lose herself to who she had to become in prison to survive. The politics that go on are complex and dangerous.
When it's revealed that Geo was r-ped by Calvin, I guess I wasn't surprised but I felt awful for her. He r-pes Angela right before, so clearly has no conscience (as well as a twisted justification, like most serial r-pists have). When Geo becomes pregnant from the r-pe I respected her father's response of it's your choice and we'll figure it out. That's exactly the kind of compassion survivors need. When she meets Dominic, it really did feel like it could go either way: he becomes exactly like his father, or he turns out completely different, so I really wasn't surprised that he turns out to be exactly like Calvin -- though it sounds like it's borne out of resentment more than entitlement. I really did not see Geo killing Calvin and Dominic coming, though. I'm actually not entirely sure why Calvin saves her.. I guess the fact that he has a tattoo on his wrist of a heart and her initials implies he loves her? But is what he feels towards Geo love? I guess in a very bastardized way. I do get the sense of what Geo feels of I love these people, but we can't exist together; of course, killing them is extreme, but Dominic would've killed her and Calvin abused her. So...yeah I guess it makes sense. I don't think she could've ended up with Kai without endangering him. Idk, it was a compelling ending, but also doesn't seem to serve much of a purpose other than drama. Usually that would bother me, but it didn't here for some reason ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I enjoyed Kai more as a teen/friend to Angela and Geo than as an adult. His role as the bridge between Angela and Geo is comforting and I guess I'm also drawn to awkward guys lol But then as an adult he has an affair with a coworker...and just doesn't seem to be doing much? One could argue that Angela's murder and Geo's cutting him out of her life messes him up, but idk. He just seemed kind of stalled. And I guess I was less satisfied with the fact that the only way he got back on track was solving Angela's murder, obsessively trying to find Calvin, and ending up with Geo, whom he had a die-hard crush on since hs.
I really couldn't tell if Angela was a good person or not, not that that really matters. What happens to her is awful. She's obviously extremely lucky/privileged and used to getting a lot of praise and attention. At the same time, she's shallow and can be mean and petty. I didn't exactly understand the friendship between Kai, Geo, and Angela, especially how Geo and Angela are best friends. However, sometimes connections and friendships just work, even if no one gets why or how.
The fact that Calvin, Dominic, and Angela are all buried together was interesting; I guess they are all linked in a twisted way. I actually understand why Geo still visits Calvin and Dominic's graves -- she did love Calvin and Dominic was her son. They might've been terrible people, but that will always be true. They are linked forever. Anyways, idk this book wasn't perfect, but I still really enjoyed it and would read more by this author.