savreads28's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Addiction, Rape, Incest, Racism, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Suicide, Violence, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts
tnanz's review against another edition
5.0
I LOVED THIS BOOK!
It's got everything I'm looking for really: 1) boarding school 2) well written 3) dramatic 4) well plotted and 5) this is the most difficult to phrase, a professional detachment? poised emotion? something along those lines. It's a really fantastic book that I'll be recommending to everyone around me.
It's got everything I'm looking for really: 1) boarding school 2) well written 3) dramatic 4) well plotted and 5) this is the most difficult to phrase, a professional detachment? poised emotion? something along those lines. It's a really fantastic book that I'll be recommending to everyone around me.
allbookedup_'s review against another edition
5.0
I dont always read the epilogue of books but I was so engrossed with this story that I had to get whatever I could. After finishing the five minutes of “what happened after” I dissolved into tears and spent the next two hours that I should have been sleeping lying in bed thinking about scenes from the book.
The day after my heads still spinning and I’m wondering if places really exist where hardcore religious parents send their kids for “committing sins” or you know being teenagers and kids. I think I liked this book because it had me so freaked out about things that have happened and things people have had to endure. You would think that when David was growing up people would have shaken off some of their views or that parents could love their kids no matter what the outside image looked like.
I can see myself rereading this book five years from now and still getting goosebumps over what happened.
The day after my heads still spinning and I’m wondering if places really exist where hardcore religious parents send their kids for “committing sins” or you know being teenagers and kids. I think I liked this book because it had me so freaked out about things that have happened and things people have had to endure. You would think that when David was growing up people would have shaken off some of their views or that parents could love their kids no matter what the outside image looked like.
I can see myself rereading this book five years from now and still getting goosebumps over what happened.
mrsjmontalvo's review against another edition
5.0
This was an amazing true story that just makes you think about life after you read it. It makes you go to another place, doesn't seem like it is a true story and you just have to remind yourself that it is. Definitely a worth it to read.
jmooremyers's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this -- but a word of caution, be prepared for a very emotional read!
lindseykboyd's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
lynnesane's review against another edition
3.0
A disturbing, haunting story. I read this a couple of years ago and was horrified, but also skeptical about the validity of some of the plot points. I guess I just couldn't wrap my head around Julia's experiences and thought she was exaggerating some of them for effect. Turns out, a good friend of mine is her cousin, and was around during some of the most harrowing experiences. I guess I was wrong--there are some seriously misguided souls out there.
kbrogden's review against another edition
4.0
This was a wonderful book, but not a happy one. The author has a great way of writing about a very sad time in a Christian reform school and about her bond with an adopted brother. Warning: this was maybe the first book ever that I cried at the ending.