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A review by kimmypete1
Ballads of Suburbia by Stephanie Kuehnert
5.0
This book was utterly amazing. It’s not a happy ending story, not a love story and not a good-guy-gets-the-bad-guy story. It’s heartbreaking. It’s tragic. But it’s so good. It amazes me that only 353 have rated it on goodreads. More people should read this story.
The main issue in Ballads of Suburbia is addiction and what it does to people, and how these people ended up there. Besides Kara’s story there are six other ballads (each one chapter, mixed throughout the book. All the ballads were sad in their own way but I thought Adrian’s was the saddest.
It’s hard to really like any of the characters. They are all addicted to various drugs and have some serious issues. I couldn’t relate to any of the characters (as I have never shared their problems), but I did feel for some of them. Kara, Liam and Cass were the three I felt most sorry for. Until I read their ballad it was hard to feel any sympathy for Adrian or Christian. Even after knowing their ballads I still found Christian and Adrian unlikeable.
Kara and Liam’s relationship was hard on me. I have a younger brother and it wasn’t until a few years ago that I discovered how much he really looked up to me and tried to be like me. It still amazes me because we didn’t get along when we were younger. Liam’s need and reliance on his sister led to his own path of destruction. Even though they took different paths to self destruction they still mirrored each other.
The one thing that did bother me about the book was the parents. The parents were so oblivious (or just didn’t care) what their children were doing, until it was too late of course. A little parental interest of any kind to these kids would have gone a long way.
I don't feel like I'm doing the book justice. It's very hard to describe exactly how I feel about Ballads of Suburbia, but I recommend it to anyone who wants to read a good book and doesn't mind a little (or a lot) heartbreak.
The main issue in Ballads of Suburbia is addiction and what it does to people, and how these people ended up there. Besides Kara’s story there are six other ballads (each one chapter, mixed throughout the book. All the ballads were sad in their own way but I thought Adrian’s was the saddest.
It’s hard to really like any of the characters. They are all addicted to various drugs and have some serious issues. I couldn’t relate to any of the characters (as I have never shared their problems), but I did feel for some of them. Kara, Liam and Cass were the three I felt most sorry for. Until I read their ballad it was hard to feel any sympathy for Adrian or Christian. Even after knowing their ballads I still found Christian and Adrian unlikeable.
Kara and Liam’s relationship was hard on me. I have a younger brother and it wasn’t until a few years ago that I discovered how much he really looked up to me and tried to be like me. It still amazes me because we didn’t get along when we were younger. Liam’s need and reliance on his sister led to his own path of destruction. Even though they took different paths to self destruction they still mirrored each other.
The one thing that did bother me about the book was the parents. The parents were so oblivious (or just didn’t care) what their children were doing, until it was too late of course. A little parental interest of any kind to these kids would have gone a long way.
I don't feel like I'm doing the book justice. It's very hard to describe exactly how I feel about Ballads of Suburbia, but I recommend it to anyone who wants to read a good book and doesn't mind a little (or a lot) heartbreak.