Ratings22
Average rating4.4
I'm kind of wavering between a 3.5 and a 4, because the ending was really good. Prose is amazing, raw, and powerful. Main reason I'm not rating higher is because I found the pacing slower than I would have liked, but overall the story is important and the echoes will stick with me. I won this book in a giveaway and I'm glad I read it–it's an important read, especially in this social climate.
FYI, there is a huge trigger warning for this book, abuse, bullying, and rape.
I don't even know what to say about this book. It was beyond infuriating and so real. The writing was beautiful and at the same time hauntingly disturbing. The fact that what Romy went through in this book is something so many people go through everyday is disgusting. This book is accurately named and while I made me so angry and upset to read, at the same time I loved it. This book is important. It showcases something our society typically shies away from. It is important that people see what victims of abuse and bullying, and everything else Romy went through.
This book is told post-trauma in Romy's point of view. We see her hate herself more and more as a result of something that was never her fault. I hated how everyone in the town treated her. It was horrible to read.
One thing that I found interesting about this book is that we never actually meet Kellan. I really liked this choice, because it focused the book solely on Romy's story. It kept the book about her and how she was dealing with it.
This book is adequately named due to the feelings it evoked in me. There were so many times where I was so aggravated at what Romy's was going through and how she did not think she could tell anyone what was going on with her. That upset me so much that she felt that alone that she could not share her life with someone.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher through a giveaway
Gritty and beautifully written. The subject matter is depressing though; I would love if Courtney wrote a fluffy romance one of these days...
nemcsak a nemi erőszak, hanem a förtelmes kisvárosi suskus miatt is nyomasztó történet.
kiválóan ábrázolja a kilátástalanságot, mégis az tett a legszomorúbbá, hogy vártam az öngyilkossággal és mentális problémákkal foglalkozó könyvekhez hasonló szöveget a végén, hogy nem vagy egyedül, hívd ezt a számot, nézd meg ezt a weboldalt, van segítség. de nem volt.
valamint ellenállhatatlan késztetést éreztem, hogy kilakkozzam a körmöm.
Caro's right. She should be scared. Everything's out of her hands now. All the things coming Ava's way they won't be able to control, things she won't always ask for because she's a girl. She doesn't even know how hard it's going to be yet, but she will, because all girls find out. And I know it's going to be hard for Ava in ways I've never had or will ever have to experience and I want to apologize to her now, before she finds out, like I wish someone had to me. Because maybe it would be better if we all got apologized to first. Maybe it would hurt less, expecting to be hurt.
there's always something so raw to the way courtney summers writes and it's no different here. i read some negative reviews and most criticize romy for being unlikeable but that's the thing with almost all of summers protagonists... they're traumatized and hurt and real.. and i think it's important to see what that kind of hurt does to young girls and how hard and distrustful and mean like a bad dog it can make you
Oof. This book kept me turning pages and feeling vaguely nauseous as I did so. Not that Courtney Summers ever pulls punches, but... she's definitely not, here. Romy Grey is a character with a lot of well-earned rage, and the way it plays out here is so believable and compelling.
This is a really smart, important, scary, great book.
WOW. What a powerful narrative. This isnt pretty. It isn't easy to read. There were times where I had to put this book down, and take a moment. Wow. I am relieved that I didnt worry about a lot of these things when I was a kid, but at the same time I am terrified for our youth. Rape culture IS a thing. It is present in our lives. Do I even need to mention the Turner case? This should be required reading for some kind of high school class. Or at least on a teachers you should read list.