Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Take Me with You When You Go by David Levithan, Jennifer Niven

23 reviews

james1star's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This was quite a difficult book to review in that whilst I didn’t particularly enjoy the reading experience, it was still decent on the whole and had good enough messages and things the authors where trying to say to warrant a higher rating.

It’s follow email correspondences between mostly two characters: older sister Bea and brother Ezra starting on the day Bea disappears leaving only an email address. Ezra is left behind with his emotionally (and sometimes physically) abusive step dad and neglectful mum and we learn the reasons why they’re in this situation as things are unveiled during the novel. Bea is searching for someone who might not want to be found in a strange city alone whilst her brother tries to navigate life at home, his relationship with his boyfriend and Bea’s ex as they’re trying to find out where she’s gone.

It was hard at times to read the things the siblings had gone through and whilst it’s not really anything graphic or that drastic, the repetitive and building up of the abuse really makes you feel for them. Despite this, their bond prevails, proving to be a beautiful thing making me recollect on my own love for my sister and how this familial bond is such a strong one when reciprocated but can be devastating when not (the parents in question). Another strong motif is the theme of being and feeling like you’re alone which is apparent in both their cases but with some side characters the power of someone being their shines through and this is another strong message to put forward.

A few issues I had was that it did feel quite drab and boring at times where I just wanted the story to move forward a bit quicker. The email correspondence were alright but again became quite monotonous as it’s relaying things whereas you didn’t really get any real action - a ‘normal’ plot with the emails I personally would’ve preferred to break it up a bit. Some plot points too were a little annoying as well. But overall I did enjoy and would recommend this book.

Content Warnings

mysticdreamer's review

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dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Content Warnings

hpachay's review

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hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Content Warnings

pau_line's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Es geht in der Geschichte um Ezra, dessen Schwester von einem Tag auf den anderen verschwindet, ihrem Bruder aber eine Email-Adresse hinterlässt, über die sie kommunizieren können.
Das Buch ist auch im Format von vielen einzelnen Emails verfasst.
Die Geschwister stammen aus einem abusive Elternhaus mit einem gewalttätigen und gemeinen Stiefvater und einer sehe passiven und kaltherzigen Mutter, was ein wichtiges Thema des Buches darstellt.

Insgesamt hat mir das Buch wirklich gut gefallen, was ich nicht erwartet hätte. Es gibt tatsächlich eher wenig Handlung, sondern behandelt eher die Geschwisterdynamik, das Aufwachsen in einem solchen Elternhaus und die Befreiung daraus.

Das Format der Emails war wirklich sehr spannend und hat mich sehr gecatched. Man hat dadurch zwar nur Nacherzählungen der Handlung, aber die Dynamik ist irgendwie sehr besonders.

Die Charaktere waren auch sehr interessant, ich hab die Geschichte der beiden sehr gerne verfolgt und die Dynamik, obwohl die beiden nie persönlich interagiert haben, sehr gespürt.
Lediglich würde ich sagen, dass ich zu den beiden als Personen eher distant war und dadurch die Gecshichte nicht so ganz emotional involvierend war.

Trotzdem ein richtig gutes Buch mit einem wichtigen Thema, das für meine Verständnisse, sehr gut auch eingebunden wurde.

Content Warnings

etherealisnt's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Once again I'm reminded that every child deserves parents, but not all parents deserve children.

This book was really interesting. I enjoyed it A TON!
What I've realized while reading is that I usually read about love between romantic partners, but this book has made me realize, that I enjoy reading about love between siblings/parents/guardians etc. And that is quite exciting!! Makes me confident to discover other books with such themes :)
It was also incredibly easy to read because of the format, the book only uses this e-mail type of formatting. It was very different and new, but also easy to get used to!

I wondered: Did Mom and Darren hurt us more by what they did or by what they didn't do? Which wounds us more - the hostile presence or the absent kindness?

I REALLY liked Ezra and Bea. They're both amusing and they feel very realistic, like someone I could actually meet in my life. But that also means that their story is a reality for many. The whole time I was hoping that at some point their life turns around or they're magically saved by this other parental figure. But reality is often disappointing.. the turn this book took was shocking (to say the least). Everything I thought would happen didn't and instead they basically got a new problem thrown in their face. Even through all of that happened and their emotions were played like a fiddle, the Ahren siblings were still close to each other.

I appreciate that the authors gave the characters an ending where they had each other, no matter what happens in the future. Regarding the future, the book stayed pretty open ended, but to me that felt satisfying. A sort of "hope nugget" to latch on to.
Thank you to both of these amazing authors for shedding light on people's lives who suffer from abuse or know someone who does.