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mecmccann's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I’m so torn about how I feel about this book. I’m going to write out all my rambling thoughts, please forgive the messiness that will be this review.
Saving Noah is about a young boy who molested two five year old girls at swim practice which he coached. He was arrested and sent to a juvenile correction facility where he would receive treatment to lower the chances that he would reoffend. We follow his relationship with his mother who loves him endlessly.
The mom comes across as if she thinks he’s a victim. He is indeed a perpetrator, but he is a victim of the justice system and social scrutiny, which I won’t comment on the morality of. I didn’t necessarily appreciate this aspect of the mom’s response to the situation. About 40% into the book, it does become more self aware, the dad calls her out on this and she addresses it. So I guess I can forgive that.
After it became aware of what it was doing, it was just so sad. The portrayal of depression and the horrifying suicide attempts were a lot. It was haunting being in the head of someone witnessing such darkness in their child. I did cry in the last chapter from the mom’s perspective.
I called the twist right at the beginning. I knew the dad was a pedophile the whole time. I thought maybe he was the other POV when they talked about shock therapy, just because that’s supper outdated, but I wasn’t certain. And I’m willing to bet that, even though he didn’t admit it, he was molesting his daughter too, she showed signs of sexual abuse like wetting the bed.
Overall this book did elicit an emotional response, so I think it did its job.
Saving Noah is about a young boy who molested two five year old girls at swim practice which he coached. He was arrested and sent to a juvenile correction facility where he would receive treatment to lower the chances that he would reoffend. We follow his relationship with his mother who loves him endlessly.
The mom comes across as if she thinks he’s a victim. He is indeed a perpetrator, but he is a victim of the justice system and social scrutiny, which I won’t comment on the morality of. I didn’t necessarily appreciate this aspect of the mom’s response to the situation. About 40% into the book, it does become more self aware, the dad calls her out on this and she addresses it. So I guess I can forgive that.
After it became aware of what it was doing, it was just so sad.
Overall this book did elicit an emotional response, so I think it did its job.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment