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A review by tirragen
Charm & Strange by Stephanie Kuehn
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this novel. I think it does a good job communicating an essential truth about childhood trauma—its inexpressibility, the way children create mythologies in order to contain the pain to a coherent narrative—and it felt electrifyingly close to my own experiences as an incest survivor. That said, it’s a predictable story, and ending with Win comfortably settled in a psych ward was trite and offered a resolution unearned by the story.
Graphic: Incest, Pedophilia, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Child abuse, and Sexual violence