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A review by salimah
The Monsters We Make by Kali White
4.0
I was certain that I'd land at the three-star mark with this one through most of the front half and a bit of the back half, when the novel suddenly gained momentum, strength, and became a more efficient, more tautly constructed vehicle for the story.
The Monsters We Make was always at its most effective and excruciating when the writing was with Sammy's POV--how I felt for that tender boy who was so unseen by everyone in his life. There were moments when I considered not finishing, not because the book wasn't compelling enough, but because I could not bear the toll the abuse took on him.
Ultimately, I'm glad I finished, but there are definite trigger warnings to heed here. Though the author is never gratuitous re: descriptions of acts, the allusions to the torment (physical, emotional, psychological) are severe enough.
The ending was, as others have observed, not a categorically happy one though many of our characters are given appropriate relief and closure. The book is all the more effective for it.
The Monsters We Make was always at its most effective and excruciating when the writing was with Sammy's POV--how I felt for that tender boy who was so unseen by everyone in his life. There were moments when I considered not finishing, not because the book wasn't compelling enough, but because I could not bear the toll the abuse took on him.
Ultimately, I'm glad I finished, but there are definite trigger warnings to heed here. Though the author is never gratuitous re: descriptions of acts, the allusions to the torment (physical, emotional, psychological) are severe enough.
The ending was, as others have observed, not a categorically happy one though many of our characters are given appropriate relief and closure. The book is all the more effective for it.