Reviews with content warning for Medical trauma - Saving Noah

I finished reading this book about a month ago. I wanted to really take time to think about it and let it sink in before writing a review. If I’m being honest it left me feeling numb, in a reading slump, and mad. None in a positive way toward the book or author. This is my third Lucinda Berry book, it was final decider if I would continue reading books by this author or not. Needless to say this author is just not for me.
To give my most honest review there will be spoilers throughout this. I will try to make it known but here’s your warning.
I will start with I have no problem with the authors writing style, if anything it’s what kept me wanting to try again. Something about it is effortless for the reader and while I don’t love the plot twists they do get you. Unfortunately, those are about the only positives I have.
Every book that I have read by this author is coming from the prospective of a mom who is just a bit too obsessed with their son. That’s it that’s the basis of every story. I am not a mom nor to I want to be so I can’t really speak on that aspect of things. Sometimes I can’t even imagine what these fictional women must be going through. But their thoughts and their actions are so unlikeable and bizarre when it comes to their sons. It’s honestly gross. They’ll go as far as breaking up their marriages, betraying friends, breaking laws, neglecting their other children just for their son. I don’t know it’s just very unnerving to me.
With this book specifically you go into it knowing the main part of the story. The main characters son admits to SA little girls and basically alluding to a story of a mother and son bond and I would say that’s very accurate. It’s very mixed feelings toward Noah because it’s disgusting what he did point blank period, but you start thinking like there are people like him in the world. And when it’s a child having these feelings it makes you look at it in a different tone. And while I do think that’s a good thing there were parts in this book that were just plain disgusting and honestly did not need to be in there at all.
• A very minor one that probably just affects me would be people throwing up. There is way too much throw up in this book.
• There are very random religious undertones in this book and I don’t know. It just rubbed me personally the wrong way.
Now the parts that I had major problems with.

• The random rape in this book is honestly disgusting and unnecessary. Nothing ever comes from these things happening and there’s a literal rape scene to start out the book. Like there is no point and no message to receive from it besides that Noah is going through things too which in my opinion could of just been conveyed in a different way.

• There is a specific scene in the book where the little sister is talking to the mom. They are trying to keep what happened from her in a way to protect her. I won’t give my opinion on that, what really bothered me is the statement she made. Something along the lines of “I know what Noah did to those girls but I’m not afraid of him. He touched them down there. He can touch me down there because I know he won’t hurt me and I love him” when Noah hears this he says how sweet she is….. am I the only one that found this disgusting, inappropriate, and unnecessary? It literally did nothing. It’s never talked about again, they didn’t tell her other wise like that was just it.

•The whole plot twist with the dad I don’t know. It made me angry but I’m sure that’s what it was meant to do but also at the end of the day it did nothing. Besides to show he’s not only a terrible dad he’s just a terrible person. It doesn’t explain anything or add anything to the story or give any closure. If anything it leaves you with a thousand more questions.

• and finally the ending was just weird to me very weird religious undertones. Just such an unsatisfying ending. I personally teared up when

Noah took his life. I feel like ending it there would of honestly been better.

Overall just thinking about this book makes me mad again and disgusted all over again. Do not recommend.

Content Warnings

turntsnacko27's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.75

I started reading this book knowing it would be sad. Although the ending is fairly predictable, reading it was extremely emotional. There are still a few good big plot twists that completely changed my outlook on parts throughout the whole book by the time they were revealed.
The last few paragraphs of the final chapter had me needing to take breaks to take a breath and get a hold of myself to continue, they were so deeply emotional and a major conflict of feelings.
Overall, incredible book. Only reason I give it slightly less than 5 stars is because I felt the first 1/3 ish to be a tad slower with lots of flashbacks and family history during a time I wanted to know more about the current timeline story.

Content Warnings

zarakoconnor's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

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

1.0

I tried so hard to read this book without DNFing. The way she has written an unlikeable narrator was very successful, I absolutely hated this woman and what she thought and continuously believed. She makes her son the victim in this situation and this was disgusting to read. HOWEVER!!! The purpose of this book felt like it was intending to address stigma of pedophilia and the way sexual predators are treated by the community, and I absolutely agree that we as a society need to shift our thinking about this toward a harm reduction and mental health model, rather than carceral, as people deserve treatment. But this is not what she did!!!!

The ending implies that after all of the commentary about how he isn’t a monster, and all the excuses made for him by his mother and the caring professionals, he actually IS a monster and is irredeemable and will never get better so he should die

which absolutely adds to the stigma this author intended to challenge!! The notion that pedophiles are irredeemable is both dehumanising and makes this behaviour seem inevitable, with people being victimised because “that’s just what pedophiles do” rather than attempting to treat them and work on prevention. Also, the chapters from his perspective lend me to believe that we are MEANT to sympathise with him and how poorly he was treated, which is not handled gracefully when the underaged victims in this book are downplayed and treated as dramatic for their trauma, but I’m supposed to be sympathetic of his trauma? This makes me so angry, and I do not understand the positive reviews. This book failed. Lucinda Berry, do more research on pedophilic disorder and treatments because it is clear you skimmed it.

Content Warnings

hauntedantiqueshop's review against another edition

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challenging dark fast-paced

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

0.5

Hey, quick question. What the fuck was this??

The mom was so fucking insufferable, oh my god. It’s “yes my son did something terrible but can you PLEASE get over it?” every other sentence. I feel like this book tried very hard to garner support and sympathy for pedophiles, even making light of the molestation and that does not sit right with me. Perhaps I’m a bit of an extremist but I do think they should all d*e 🤭 btw, I didn’t appreciate the twist. The dad being a secret pedophile when he could have just been normal and against pedophilia and utterly disgusted with his child? Lame and he should have k*lled himself too.

Content Warnings

incandescent_ink's review against another edition

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dark sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Content Warnings

corywbowers's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad medium-paced

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

4.25

Content Warnings

kiddocut's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

3.25

This book is not for everyone. Don’t go into it thinking there is a big twist once you read what the subject matter is-there is no twist. That’s the point.

It’s one of the most challenging and upsetting things I’ve ever listened to and if you skip bits I don’t blame you-I had to skip some final chapters to “finish” this book. <specifically those associated with assisted suicide>

I think it takes great skill to write about this subject matter in a humanizing light without excusing the actions of the MC’s son.

The point of the book is seeing her do everything she thinks she can to save her son from his own urges-even denying the truth or hoping it’s a mistake…and how that rips her family apart. And yeah the MC does stupid and dangerously risky things to do that-but I can’t help but understand how hard it must be with the association of someone like her son.

I think this book does a good job with the ripples of victimhood that the actions of the MC’s son actually does. That it affects every family member and how it affects them. And I think we forget that aspect of these kinds of crimes.

If you can stomach it, (again, it’s not for the faint of heart) the change of perspective is interesting in and of itself.

And as much as I like that, I do wish there was like a blurb or something about the research in this book-especially when it comes to the profiling efforts. It’s well researched but i still felt left hanging.

Content Warnings

fkshg8465's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

I’ve never read anything like this before. It is the most loving and most self-hating book I’ve ever read. It was full of compassion and contempt. It was a point of view I’ve never considered. I’m grateful to have read it, and I think it’ll make me more mindful before I judge anyone again.

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