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A review by elliethewitch
Deceptive Calm by Patricia Skipper
1.0
The only word that comes to mind is... awful.
I wanted to like this book, I am a history major with a preference for fiction, so this should have been right up my alley, but oh wow was this bad!
Set in the 60's and 70's southern America, we are thrust into the racism and action within the first few pages. An attack from the KKK almost kills one of our main characters. She is rushed to a colored only hospital, she is seen despite the fact she is white. So we immediately see the racist nature of America on full display. The overt racism lessens as the book goes on, but in a way that is realistic to the changing ideals of the time. This is about all that I will give the book, praise wise.
Our leading lady is Vanessa. She is a light skinned African American, that everyone mistakes for being white, which is a pivotal plot point. Vanessa is also drop dead gorgeous, the prettiest girl in the whole wide world. What does she look like? I know her hair is dark and straight, and that is literally all the descriptors we get! I understand wanting to leave things up to the imagination, but give me literally anything to work off of, especially when everyone and their mother can't stop saying how stunning she is. Her being attractive and light skinned is like most of the plot points too by the way. She doesn't really have a character other than hot orphan, who is incredibly naïve, and so pale she is considered white.
Her initial love interest is a guy named Barry, and oh boy does he suck! He is in love with Vanessa because she is hot, and he is a horn dog. He then moves away to college, and has a whole a** girlfriend but still is all on Vanessa. He sucks!
Then you have the nun, sister Rosalie. Not a bad character, she has some funny moments, but she is insufferable, and makes the characters around her insufferable as well. She is a history whiz, with a seemingly photographic memory. She will randomly go on historical lectures that no one wants to hear, and at times that are wholly inappropriate. This then rubs off on the main characters. She is actively teaching them history lessons which is fantastic! But this manifests into the characters remembering the lessons, and being able to quote the facts word for word, for the rest of their lives! I am a history major with a deep love of history and can give you fact after fact, but even I can't give you 40 dates in a row off the top of my head about a specific topic, including numerous direct quotes from historical figures. I am sure there are people out there that can, but it just reads as incredibly fake when 2 main characters remember the exact date, time, location, and people of interest on the drop of a dime. One of them even does this while drunk!
Then you have the assault scenes, and that is the only way I can describe it. Barry coerces Vanessa into giving him a hand job. Okay they are young, and neither really knows how to ask for what they want, it is the 60's/70's after all, they don't have sex ed. However, Vanesa is SOBBING during this, and Barry is just making her continue. It was vile, but this was not an isolated incident in Vanessa's life. Later on Barry fingers her TO ORGASM on his first ever try (he learned it from play boy supposedly), but he is stripping this poor girl in the back garden while his parents are mere feet away. Then there is the post funeral scene. Barry's mom dies, and Vanessa goes to the funeral to be there for Barry. Afterwards they are at his parents house and he starts having sex with her, which she is not really on board for because they don't have a condom. It also just straight up does not fit the mood. Who can have sex while actively crying about their dead mom?? She obviously get's pregnant after this, and has an abortion, which is also not handled with the most decorum, and honestly is not an important part of the story so personally I see no point to it being added in. After Barry, she doesn't date until Ted won't leave her the hell alone. He eventually gets her to date him and later marry him. He is very rough in bed- at one point punishing her using sex- and in public (yes they have sex in public, and no she does not want it.) These scenes are also blatant assault, and I don't understand why she can't just have normal sex once in her life!
She says that both times she has had unprotected sex, she gets pregnant, which is a thing that happens. However, my issues is with the part where she says BOTH times. She has had unprotected sex at least 3 times, yes mildly nitpicky, but if I noticed it, why couldn't the author or an editor. Anyways she has the baby, who also ends up very pale, pretty much white. The baby gets sick, and it is determined that he has sickle cell anemia. Now this illness is most prevalent in the black community, however there are white people with the illness as well. This plot point is AWFUL in its execution. Vanessa's FIL is told about the child's illness first, not her, already bothersome. Anyways, the doctor tells the FIL that Vanessa and the baby are black, there is no question about it. Yet, the conversation that follows made me want to tear my hair out! This is a tldr replica of the conversation that was had.
FIL: "how do you know that they aren't white??"
Doctor: "well the baby has sickle cell, and to have the illness, both parents have to be carriers of the gene."
FIL: "so she is black!"
Doctor: "yes, that is correct. there is no other explanation, I would bet my medical license on it." Like ???? If BOTH parents have to be carriers, and both the doc and FIL are certain that Ted is 100% white, then how is it a slam dunk that Vanessa isn't white????? It made literally no sense, and still doesn't.
After this revelation, Ted and his dad plot to kill Vanessa. They cut the breaks in the car that Vanessa, the baby, and Trish (girl who almost died in the beginning) are in. They fly off a cliff and land in the ocean. They all survive, but Trish has to go get help. She scales up a cliff, and tries to go to a nearby house. When she gets there she overhears Ted and his dad talking about how their evil plan worked, and in detail how they paid someone to cut the breaks, and now they don't have to worry about her. I HATE this trope! Have them startled when they end up alive, or have Trish put the pieces together, but to stumble upon them during their evil monologue, detailing a plan that they would have already gone over, is just mind numbingly bad story telling.
In the end, Vanessa ends up with Barry, the worst ending in my opinion. Ted and his dad go to jail for attempted murder. The end.
This book is one of the worst books I have ever read. I am usually in the minority when it comes to my opinions on books (my go to rating is 3 stars, as so many books these days are just unremarkable), but I am glad to be in the majority this go around. If you are thinking about reading this book, DON'T. It is not worth your time, go pick literally any other book. You're welcome.
I wanted to like this book, I am a history major with a preference for fiction, so this should have been right up my alley, but oh wow was this bad!
Set in the 60's and 70's southern America, we are thrust into the racism and action within the first few pages. An attack from the KKK almost kills one of our main characters. She is rushed to a colored only hospital, she is seen despite the fact she is white. So we immediately see the racist nature of America on full display. The overt racism lessens as the book goes on, but in a way that is realistic to the changing ideals of the time. This is about all that I will give the book, praise wise.
Our leading lady is Vanessa. She is a light skinned African American, that everyone mistakes for being white, which is a pivotal plot point. Vanessa is also drop dead gorgeous, the prettiest girl in the whole wide world. What does she look like? I know her hair is dark and straight, and that is literally all the descriptors we get! I understand wanting to leave things up to the imagination, but give me literally anything to work off of, especially when everyone and their mother can't stop saying how stunning she is. Her being attractive and light skinned is like most of the plot points too by the way. She doesn't really have a character other than hot orphan, who is incredibly naïve, and so pale she is considered white.
Her initial love interest is a guy named Barry, and oh boy does he suck! He is in love with Vanessa because she is hot, and he is a horn dog. He then moves away to college, and has a whole a** girlfriend but still is all on Vanessa. He sucks!
Then you have the nun, sister Rosalie. Not a bad character, she has some funny moments, but she is insufferable, and makes the characters around her insufferable as well. She is a history whiz, with a seemingly photographic memory. She will randomly go on historical lectures that no one wants to hear, and at times that are wholly inappropriate. This then rubs off on the main characters. She is actively teaching them history lessons which is fantastic! But this manifests into the characters remembering the lessons, and being able to quote the facts word for word, for the rest of their lives! I am a history major with a deep love of history and can give you fact after fact, but even I can't give you 40 dates in a row off the top of my head about a specific topic, including numerous direct quotes from historical figures. I am sure there are people out there that can, but it just reads as incredibly fake when 2 main characters remember the exact date, time, location, and people of interest on the drop of a dime. One of them even does this while drunk!
Then you have the assault scenes, and that is the only way I can describe it. Barry coerces Vanessa into giving him a hand job. Okay they are young, and neither really knows how to ask for what they want, it is the 60's/70's after all, they don't have sex ed. However, Vanesa is SOBBING during this, and Barry is just making her continue. It was vile, but this was not an isolated incident in Vanessa's life. Later on Barry fingers her TO ORGASM on his first ever try (he learned it from play boy supposedly), but he is stripping this poor girl in the back garden while his parents are mere feet away. Then there is the post funeral scene. Barry's mom dies, and Vanessa goes to the funeral to be there for Barry. Afterwards they are at his parents house and he starts having sex with her, which she is not really on board for because they don't have a condom. It also just straight up does not fit the mood. Who can have sex while actively crying about their dead mom?? She obviously get's pregnant after this, and has an abortion, which is also not handled with the most decorum, and honestly is not an important part of the story so personally I see no point to it being added in. After Barry, she doesn't date until Ted won't leave her the hell alone. He eventually gets her to date him and later marry him. He is very rough in bed- at one point punishing her using sex- and in public (yes they have sex in public, and no she does not want it.) These scenes are also blatant assault, and I don't understand why she can't just have normal sex once in her life!
She says that both times she has had unprotected sex, she gets pregnant, which is a thing that happens. However, my issues is with the part where she says BOTH times. She has had unprotected sex at least 3 times, yes mildly nitpicky, but if I noticed it, why couldn't the author or an editor. Anyways she has the baby, who also ends up very pale, pretty much white. The baby gets sick, and it is determined that he has sickle cell anemia. Now this illness is most prevalent in the black community, however there are white people with the illness as well. This plot point is AWFUL in its execution. Vanessa's FIL is told about the child's illness first, not her, already bothersome. Anyways, the doctor tells the FIL that Vanessa and the baby are black, there is no question about it. Yet, the conversation that follows made me want to tear my hair out! This is a tldr replica of the conversation that was had.
FIL: "how do you know that they aren't white??"
Doctor: "well the baby has sickle cell, and to have the illness, both parents have to be carriers of the gene."
FIL: "so she is black!"
Doctor: "yes, that is correct. there is no other explanation, I would bet my medical license on it." Like ???? If BOTH parents have to be carriers, and both the doc and FIL are certain that Ted is 100% white, then how is it a slam dunk that Vanessa isn't white????? It made literally no sense, and still doesn't.
After this revelation, Ted and his dad plot to kill Vanessa. They cut the breaks in the car that Vanessa, the baby, and Trish (girl who almost died in the beginning) are in. They fly off a cliff and land in the ocean. They all survive, but Trish has to go get help. She scales up a cliff, and tries to go to a nearby house. When she gets there she overhears Ted and his dad talking about how their evil plan worked, and in detail how they paid someone to cut the breaks, and now they don't have to worry about her. I HATE this trope! Have them startled when they end up alive, or have Trish put the pieces together, but to stumble upon them during their evil monologue, detailing a plan that they would have already gone over, is just mind numbingly bad story telling.
In the end, Vanessa ends up with Barry, the worst ending in my opinion. Ted and his dad go to jail for attempted murder. The end.
This book is one of the worst books I have ever read. I am usually in the minority when it comes to my opinions on books (my go to rating is 3 stars, as so many books these days are just unremarkable), but I am glad to be in the majority this go around. If you are thinking about reading this book, DON'T. It is not worth your time, go pick literally any other book. You're welcome.