chloereadsbooksyoutube's review
3.0
This book was okay. Some of it made me genuinely choke on emotion, and other parts I could not connect with at all. The ending was a little bit flat for me, even though it was supposed to be dramatic. But, I did enjoy my time reading it and I liked the storyline,
thebookishbabbles's review
challenging
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder and Drug abuse
Moderate: Abandonment and Addiction
charcreads's review
4.0
Room Empty is a book about Dani, a girl that has anorexia. In the book, she discovers who she truly is, and how she should tackle this puzzle hse has been facing her whole life. I thought that it was an interesting read, however, the story could've been told in a better way to make the reader hooked.
blackrose980's review
4.0
'We are all addicts of one kind or another.'
Two teens find friendship and love at a rehab center, one of them is diagnosed with an eating disorder and the other one is a homeless drug addict.
Can they help each other with their pain and battle their demons together?
This was a quick paced novel that kept me on the edge of my seat!
Deals with some dark themes
Two teens find friendship and love at a rehab center, one of them is diagnosed with an eating disorder and the other one is a homeless drug addict.
Can they help each other with their pain and battle their demons together?
This was a quick paced novel that kept me on the edge of my seat!
Deals with some dark themes
lucijaselak's review
4.0
This book is great and very important. It was interesting from the beggining and I wanted to keep reading. The characters felt real because they all had problems and flaws, like all of us do. What I really like about this book is how it talks about topics such as addictions and also mental health. I think that maybe it could trigger some people who went through eating disorders, or any type of addiction, so maybe this book is not for everyone, but I learned some things from this book and it also made me understand a little bit more how it is for humans who are dealing with anorexia, bulimia, drug, alchohol addiction... I really liked the writing, and also the end was not predictable. This book deserves 4/5 stars!
eloisedesousa's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Dani is quite an unlikeable character so I was surprised that I stuck with the book. Obviously she was going through a lot so she sort of had good reason not to be. This book didn’t make me cry but it did make my heart ache for the people in it. It was a different feeling that I don’t really know how to explain. Made me quite reflective too.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction and Eating disorder
Minor: Abandonment and Child abuse
mollydolan's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder
Moderate: Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
Minor: Addiction
bookcheshirecat's review
2.0
Thanks to Netgallery for providing me with a digital copy in exchange for an honest Review!
Trigger Warning for Anorexia, Suicide, Drug Abuse & Child Abuse!
Actual Rating: 2.5 Stars
L I K E S
• Dani’s anorexia was portrayed very thoroughly! I do not know if this book is ownvoices, but from what I have gathered the anorexia was portrayed in a thorough, accurate way. We see Dani describe her eating disorder as The Thinness and also involved the Alien, another figure she imagined. It was also interesting to see how she developed these strategies to feel good about herself, which involved not eating to become more lovable. In the end, we also saw where her eating disorder came from as she slowly unraveled a childhood trauma, that she had repressed for years. This was done with the concept of the Empty Room, where her past lay and which she visited again and again to remember what had happened back then. It did help her recover, though, as she finally got to know what she had repressed all these years.
• Flechter was a really likable character. I had to say that I really respected him, because he put up with all of Dani's treatment of everybody, even though he did not have to. He truly was a good recovery buddy for her, but I really think that Dani did not appreciate him enough, because she was so self-obsessed. In general, I felt really sad for Flechter, because he had to go through some horrible child abuse at the hands of his emotionally & physically abusive alcoholic mother. Reading about her made me really angry, because she’s the reason he felt worthless and escaped into drugs in the first place. Later he even ends up at a lower place, while of course Dani loses nothing, which also made me feel affronted in his place,. because it was rarely unfair. He certainly deserved better.
• The pacing and writing style made it very easy to get through the book! I have to say that this is one of the most positive aspects of the novel, because I flew through it. The writing style is very easy to get through and the pacing flows really nicely, so I never had trouble getting through the book. I actually also never got bored, because the suspense was build up very nicely and I really wanted to know how things continued with the characters!
D I S L I K E S
• Dani was one of the most unlikable characters that I’ve encountered. I got that she dealt with an eating disorder but that did not give her a free pass to go around being mean to people. The worst thing about her was how horribly self absorbed and selfish she was, because everything always had to be about her. She did not care about the other kids recovering, because Dani was always thinking how she’s the only one allowed to hurt, because she has it worst of all. Dani also thinks she’s the most important one that needs to be saved. It always has to be all about her, which got on my nerves pretty quickly, because she never thought about others, only about herself. She’s also super unkind and cruel towards the others, always looking down on them, because she is on her high horse. I did not get what her problem with the other kids was. Not to mention how she kept talking about Carmen’s suicide in the beginning - uuugh. She was also so dismissive of Flechters story, not wanting to hear it because she wants to talk only about herself and does not care about what everyone else has been through. One time Dani literally says that she wished thing would be like before, when it was all about her. I did not have even a bit of sympathy for her.
• The portrayal of the rehab center & psychologists was inaccurate & not really realistic. Dani constantly mocked their recovering techniques because according to her everything they ever did was useless, which is funny since she did not study Psychology, but always knows best *sarcasm*. In general psychologists were portrayed as arrogant snobs who did not know what they were doing & never helped anyone. (I do know that not every center/psychologist is competent, there are certainly exceptions) No one actually recovered & many techniques like one to one therapy were not even done. Furthermore, the center did not seem to care that nobody was recovering either. Dani was very weak and could barely walk anymore, but no one did anything to help her. She literally skipped meals and did not eat for days - normally she would have to have bed rest & be monitored & if things got rough force fed. I just hated how the entire rehab system was portrayed as flawed and useless, because while it won’t work for everybody, these people have studied years and gotten their degree, so stop acting like everyone has no idea what they are doing and is just an arrogant snob thinking they’re better than anyone else.
• Dani and Flechter’s relationship was not healthy. There was lots of Co-dependency, between them, which is not really healthy in any case, but especially not with two recovering people. There’s a reason relationships are forbidden in the rehab center, because as much as support helps, romantic relationships can get really messy and can easily make things worse. I disliked how Flechter thought he could just force Dani to eat again, which surely is not how eating disorders work. I also disliked how Dani was always like “I need you to this and that for me - ugh I want to go back to the times when it was all about me” and got so annoyed when Flechter told his story. In general, the entire ‘if you don’t recover I won’t come to circle time’ emotional blackmail bothered me to no ends.
• What the hell was up with this Kerstin? She was the caricature of the dumb neurotypical I got that, but she was getting on my nerves. And where did she even come from? How does she know Dani? No one knows because she just turns up & later disappears again. I really disliked her and had no ides why she even had to be in the book, because she did not bring anything to the story, she was just there to be annoying.
• The ending was kind of very abrupt. It felt like we were in a middle of a scene and then suddenly the book was finished. I would have liked to at least wrap things up a bit more and was startled when I figured out that there was nothing more to read. After all this buildup the ending scene was way too short.
IN CONCLUSION: Room Empty was a very interesting book about eating disorders, addiction and trauma, but sadly had a very unlikable main character as well as a not really realistic portrayal of the health system.
Trigger Warning for Anorexia, Suicide, Drug Abuse & Child Abuse!
Actual Rating: 2.5 Stars
L I K E S
• Dani’s anorexia was portrayed very thoroughly! I do not know if this book is ownvoices, but from what I have gathered the anorexia was portrayed in a thorough, accurate way. We see Dani describe her eating disorder as The Thinness and also involved the Alien, another figure she imagined. It was also interesting to see how she developed these strategies to feel good about herself, which involved not eating to become more lovable. In the end, we also saw where her eating disorder came from as she slowly unraveled a childhood trauma, that she had repressed for years. This was done with the concept of the Empty Room, where her past lay and which she visited again and again to remember what had happened back then. It did help her recover, though, as she finally got to know what she had repressed all these years.
• Flechter was a really likable character. I had to say that I really respected him, because he put up with all of Dani's treatment of everybody, even though he did not have to. He truly was a good recovery buddy for her, but I really think that Dani did not appreciate him enough, because she was so self-obsessed. In general, I felt really sad for Flechter, because he had to go through some horrible child abuse at the hands of his emotionally & physically abusive alcoholic mother. Reading about her made me really angry, because she’s the reason he felt worthless and escaped into drugs in the first place. Later he even ends up at a lower place, while of course Dani loses nothing, which also made me feel affronted in his place,. because it was rarely unfair. He certainly deserved better.
• The pacing and writing style made it very easy to get through the book! I have to say that this is one of the most positive aspects of the novel, because I flew through it. The writing style is very easy to get through and the pacing flows really nicely, so I never had trouble getting through the book. I actually also never got bored, because the suspense was build up very nicely and I really wanted to know how things continued with the characters!
D I S L I K E S
• Dani was one of the most unlikable characters that I’ve encountered. I got that she dealt with an eating disorder but that did not give her a free pass to go around being mean to people. The worst thing about her was how horribly self absorbed and selfish she was, because everything always had to be about her. She did not care about the other kids recovering, because Dani was always thinking how she’s the only one allowed to hurt, because she has it worst of all. Dani also thinks she’s the most important one that needs to be saved. It always has to be all about her, which got on my nerves pretty quickly, because she never thought about others, only about herself. She’s also super unkind and cruel towards the others, always looking down on them, because she is on her high horse. I did not get what her problem with the other kids was. Not to mention how she kept talking about Carmen’s suicide in the beginning - uuugh. She was also so dismissive of Flechters story, not wanting to hear it because she wants to talk only about herself and does not care about what everyone else has been through. One time Dani literally says that she wished thing would be like before, when it was all about her. I did not have even a bit of sympathy for her.
• The portrayal of the rehab center & psychologists was inaccurate & not really realistic. Dani constantly mocked their recovering techniques because according to her everything they ever did was useless, which is funny since she did not study Psychology, but always knows best *sarcasm*. In general psychologists were portrayed as arrogant snobs who did not know what they were doing & never helped anyone. (I do know that not every center/psychologist is competent, there are certainly exceptions) No one actually recovered & many techniques like one to one therapy were not even done. Furthermore, the center did not seem to care that nobody was recovering either. Dani was very weak and could barely walk anymore, but no one did anything to help her. She literally skipped meals and did not eat for days - normally she would have to have bed rest & be monitored & if things got rough force fed. I just hated how the entire rehab system was portrayed as flawed and useless, because while it won’t work for everybody, these people have studied years and gotten their degree, so stop acting like everyone has no idea what they are doing and is just an arrogant snob thinking they’re better than anyone else.
• Dani and Flechter’s relationship was not healthy. There was lots of Co-dependency, between them, which is not really healthy in any case, but especially not with two recovering people. There’s a reason relationships are forbidden in the rehab center, because as much as support helps, romantic relationships can get really messy and can easily make things worse. I disliked how Flechter thought he could just force Dani to eat again, which surely is not how eating disorders work. I also disliked how Dani was always like “I need you to this and that for me - ugh I want to go back to the times when it was all about me” and got so annoyed when Flechter told his story. In general, the entire ‘if you don’t recover I won’t come to circle time’ emotional blackmail bothered me to no ends.
• What the hell was up with this Kerstin? She was the caricature of the dumb neurotypical I got that, but she was getting on my nerves. And where did she even come from? How does she know Dani? No one knows because she just turns up & later disappears again. I really disliked her and had no ides why she even had to be in the book, because she did not bring anything to the story, she was just there to be annoying.
• The ending was kind of very abrupt. It felt like we were in a middle of a scene and then suddenly the book was finished. I would have liked to at least wrap things up a bit more and was startled when I figured out that there was nothing more to read. After all this buildup the ending scene was way too short.
IN CONCLUSION: Room Empty was a very interesting book about eating disorders, addiction and trauma, but sadly had a very unlikable main character as well as a not really realistic portrayal of the health system.
meganlouise815's review
3.0
I recieved a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review
3.5 stars
*trigger warning*
Room Empty was a heartbreaking and raw novel which hit me hard. It is about the journeys of Dani, who is suffering from anorexia, and her support buddy Fletcher, who is battling a drug addiction. Both of their stories are emotional, and important to read about. However, I did have a couple of issues. First, the writing style was difficult to get my head around, and seemed clunky and disjointed, as it was meant to represent Dani's stream of consciousness. Throughout the book, I struggled to gel with it, although I can understand why Mussi decided this would be an effective way to tell Dani's story.
Also, I'm not sure how accurate everything was in terms of the support Dani was getting from the rehab centre she was staying in. I get that it isn't a hospital (although I think she may have needed to be in one) but the people there didn't seem to care if Dani skipped meals, or sat at the table with everyone with an empty plate. She is supposed to battling the anorexia, with the help of the people there, not continuing it. Without more support, it would have been hard for Dani to recover.
Overall, I did really enjoy Room Empty as I thought for the most part it was a fantastic story. Besides a couple of issues, the novel was very good.
3.5 stars
*trigger warning*
Room Empty was a heartbreaking and raw novel which hit me hard. It is about the journeys of Dani, who is suffering from anorexia, and her support buddy Fletcher, who is battling a drug addiction. Both of their stories are emotional, and important to read about. However, I did have a couple of issues. First, the writing style was difficult to get my head around, and seemed clunky and disjointed, as it was meant to represent Dani's stream of consciousness. Throughout the book, I struggled to gel with it, although I can understand why Mussi decided this would be an effective way to tell Dani's story.
Also, I'm not sure how accurate everything was in terms of the support Dani was getting from the rehab centre she was staying in. I get that it isn't a hospital (although I think she may have needed to be in one) but the people there didn't seem to care if Dani skipped meals, or sat at the table with everyone with an empty plate. She is supposed to battling the anorexia, with the help of the people there, not continuing it. Without more support, it would have been hard for Dani to recover.
Overall, I did really enjoy Room Empty as I thought for the most part it was a fantastic story. Besides a couple of issues, the novel was very good.
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