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heidilreads's review against another edition
4.0
I'm not sure I can recommend this one.. it's a hard book. It's a hard story, but I am glad I finished it.
ksay's review against another edition
3.25
This book definitely needs trigger warnings. Very difficult to read at times, but also very powerful.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Incest, and Rape
skynet666's review against another edition
4.0
I am finding it difficult to rate this book. The writing is so wonderful and the characters so vivid that it's been a long time since I've been so impressed. However, the story is difficult to deal with at times. So I guess if the writing it is a 5, and some of the story is a 3, I'll give it a 4.
katali's review against another edition
2.0
This book has "written by a man" all over it. It was actually disturbing how the book kept referring to a 14-year-old in the way that it did. The plot was meh and most of the characters weren't well thought out.
jhulme's review against another edition
5.0
ALL THE TRIGGER WARNINGS. This is a hard book to read. I had to take breaks from it multiple times for multiple days. I ultimately needed it balance it with more lighthearted fare - like murder podcasts. I wish I was joking.
This is NOT a book that everyone should read. It gets deep down dirty into how insidious trauma and abuse gets and how hard it is to break cycles, even when you know you need to. And it beautifully gets into how hard it is to leave an abuser when you also love them/believe they love you. It’s heartbreaking. And it’s so beautifully written, even when the actions are horrific.
The prose of the book is honestly what allowed me to get through the entire thing. There is a lot of “crass” language (especially around degrading women including but not limited to liberal use of “c*nt”), but it’s used well - both to discomfit the reader and get the reader into Turtle’s world.
This book will make you uncomfortable. This book will make you put it down and walk away. This book will make most people cry.
I save 5 star reviews for books that make me feel some strong emotions. For books that grab me by the heart and will stay with me for weeks, months, or years in the future. Generally my 5 star books also fall under “ALL OF MY FRIENDS NEED TO READ THIS.” But this book is not part of that latter clause. This book has SO MUCH abuse. It’s amazing, but use Care and make sure you’re in a headspace to handle it before reading it. ❤️
This is NOT a book that everyone should read. It gets deep down dirty into how insidious trauma and abuse gets and how hard it is to break cycles, even when you know you need to. And it beautifully gets into how hard it is to leave an abuser when you also love them/believe they love you. It’s heartbreaking. And it’s so beautifully written, even when the actions are horrific.
The prose of the book is honestly what allowed me to get through the entire thing. There is a lot of “crass” language (especially around degrading women including but not limited to liberal use of “c*nt”), but it’s used well - both to discomfit the reader and get the reader into Turtle’s world.
This book will make you uncomfortable. This book will make you put it down and walk away. This book will make most people cry.
I save 5 star reviews for books that make me feel some strong emotions. For books that grab me by the heart and will stay with me for weeks, months, or years in the future. Generally my 5 star books also fall under “ALL OF MY FRIENDS NEED TO READ THIS.” But this book is not part of that latter clause. This book has SO MUCH abuse. It’s amazing, but use Care and make sure you’re in a headspace to handle it before reading it. ❤️
laura_cat's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Perhaps the most deeply disturbing book I’ve ever read. This book has extremely graphic descriptions of violence and cruelty and I had to skip ahead at times to avoid some of them. I am relieved to be finished with the book. It’s well-written but I’m not convinced that all of the scenes and disturbing imagery were necessary, and I wonder if this detracted from the impact.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
bellaraynebow's review against another edition
The story was good as far as I got, but unfortunately very quickly there was a SA scene that I did not handle well and I couldn’t continue reading. It went into a lot of detail that I did not expect and was not willing to continue at all. I’m sure it was a great book, but not for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual assault
brandidean's review against another edition
4.0
First of all, I read this on audio book (slowly) just after I’d finished Sweetbitter on audio book. Both are read by Alex McKenna and her voice is so distinctive that it was weirdly THIS was what Tess has run away from before coming to New York. (It took me so long to read that I got over that before too long, though. Although the inner monologues of Tess and Turtle have a similar cadence. Very precise and emphatic. Or maybe Alex McKenna only has one style of reading. Hard to know based only on the audio books. Regardless, I don’t think Turtle will grow up to be as vapid as Tess.)
Second of all, I apparently did a very poor job of skimming the description of this book. For some reason, I was expecting Martin to be some quirky, isolationist prepper sort whose crime was wanting to keep Turtle apart from the world, but a coming-of-age/love story got in the way. That is not the case. This is not that book.
I liked this book, but liked is a weird word to use for it, and it is a “liked” with reservations, anyway. I think it would have made for good book club discussions, but I don’t think I would have won any popularity points for picking it. And I bet it’s one I would like less after the discussion.
But without thinking too hard about it ... I liked Turtle. I liked Jacob and Brett (and thought they added some much needed levity to the book) and Anna and Cayenne. I liked Grandpa.
Obviously you don’t like Martin. But for some of it I thought he was what he should be. And then he would cross the line into unbelievable territory. Particularly at the end. I didn’t have trouble believing that he could be as cruel and possessive and ... whatever you would call what he was on his flip side ... devoted, infatuated? ... on an individual level. But he’s also presented as intelligent. It seemed like he should have a better sense of what lines you could cross and go undetected, the things that he couldn’t do or someone would notice and intervene. There was no sign that he had any limits like that, so that made it seem far fetched that it could have gone on as long as it did. And then the end ... what? He’s just so stupid with rage that he thinks he can come shoot up a house full of people and just be allowed to go back home with Turtle?
(Also, did he kill Turtle’s mother? The circumstances definitely seem shady, but Turtle doesn’t really seem to consider it and Brett’s mom doesn’t seem suspicious, which as Turtle’s mom’s best friend, you would think she ought to be. Grandpa never seems to indicate that he might have. I also think more on Turtle’s mother could have explained where some of Turtle’s good qualities were coming from. Certainly no one was modeling them for her.)
Also unbelievable is Turtle. I do like her, but she is not realistic. Honestly, the ending is ridiculous for lots of reasons. But the biggest was that I was thinking for the entire shootout at the party that she was walking around riddled with bullets like she was Bruce Willis in a Die Hard movie. It was really unforgivably bad and ruined the book a little.
Besides that, Turtle was just way too wise for a 14-year-old and particularly a 14-year-old in her circumstances. There are ways that what she was going through would make her grow up quickly, for sure, but probably not grow up in a mature, thoughtful, careful way. And for a middle schooler who can’t pass her vocabulary test, she sure did have an extensive vocabulary.
That’s the other thing. This was way overwritten. Waaay too much flowery description. Some of it was pretty, but the bulk of it just felt claustrophobic. Choking the story like extensions of the vines that were pulling Turtle’s house down.
But I do think it was good — more 3.5 than 4 stars good. Super hard to read/listen to in many places, but it kept me reading/listening anyway. Even though it stretched out over several weeks, I kept renewing the book and rooting for Turtle.
Second of all, I apparently did a very poor job of skimming the description of this book. For some reason, I was expecting Martin to be some quirky, isolationist prepper sort whose crime was wanting to keep Turtle apart from the world, but a coming-of-age/love story got in the way. That is not the case. This is not that book.
I liked this book, but liked is a weird word to use for it, and it is a “liked” with reservations, anyway. I think it would have made for good book club discussions, but I don’t think I would have won any popularity points for picking it. And I bet it’s one I would like less after the discussion.
But without thinking too hard about it ... I liked Turtle. I liked Jacob and Brett (and thought they added some much needed levity to the book) and Anna and Cayenne. I liked Grandpa.
Obviously you don’t like Martin. But for some of it I thought he was what he should be. And then he would cross the line into unbelievable territory. Particularly at the end. I didn’t have trouble believing that he could be as cruel and possessive and ... whatever you would call what he was on his flip side ... devoted, infatuated? ... on an individual level. But he’s also presented as intelligent. It seemed like he should have a better sense of what lines you could cross and go undetected, the things that he couldn’t do or someone would notice and intervene. There was no sign that he had any limits like that, so that made it seem far fetched that it could have gone on as long as it did. And then the end ... what? He’s just so stupid with rage that he thinks he can come shoot up a house full of people and just be allowed to go back home with Turtle?
(Also, did he kill Turtle’s mother? The circumstances definitely seem shady, but Turtle doesn’t really seem to consider it and Brett’s mom doesn’t seem suspicious, which as Turtle’s mom’s best friend, you would think she ought to be. Grandpa never seems to indicate that he might have. I also think more on Turtle’s mother could have explained where some of Turtle’s good qualities were coming from. Certainly no one was modeling them for her.)
Also unbelievable is Turtle. I do like her, but she is not realistic. Honestly, the ending is ridiculous for lots of reasons. But the biggest was that I was thinking for the entire shootout at the party that she was walking around riddled with bullets like she was Bruce Willis in a Die Hard movie. It was really unforgivably bad and ruined the book a little.
Besides that, Turtle was just way too wise for a 14-year-old and particularly a 14-year-old in her circumstances. There are ways that what she was going through would make her grow up quickly, for sure, but probably not grow up in a mature, thoughtful, careful way. And for a middle schooler who can’t pass her vocabulary test, she sure did have an extensive vocabulary.
That’s the other thing. This was way overwritten. Waaay too much flowery description. Some of it was pretty, but the bulk of it just felt claustrophobic. Choking the story like extensions of the vines that were pulling Turtle’s house down.
But I do think it was good — more 3.5 than 4 stars good. Super hard to read/listen to in many places, but it kept me reading/listening anyway. Even though it stretched out over several weeks, I kept renewing the book and rooting for Turtle.