A review by zannyw
Scars Run Deep by Mark Mansfield
2.0
First of all, I would like to thank Mark Mansfield very much for sending me a copy of this book. I really appreciate it.
Though this book has an interesting premise, the writing is a bit dull.
The book is about a girl named Emily, who gets accused of a crime she did not commit. Forced into terrifying situations, Emily learns about the cruelties of the world. She also learns about hope.
In my opinion, this book was very rushed at the beginning and very drawn out towards the end, which made it feel unbalanced. The writing was not very descriptive, and the absence of description made it hard to imagine the story in my mind, not letting me feel immersed in Emily’s world. The author tells us about one event, then the next, then the next, etc. We learn that Emily has lived in many places but we never get a sense of what those places are like. As my English teacher would say, the book needs more show and less tell. Also, in this story, Emily’s parents abandon and turn against her; but the author provides no explanation of why this happened, so I was left feeling confused.
I am not of Christian faith and I understand that this book relates heavily to Christianity, so that could have been one reason why I did not connect with it.
The plot of this book is intense and shows how unfair people in authority can be. I greatly respect the work of the author, Mark Mansfield, and am glad he wrote a novel based on his experiences as a foster carer.
Though this book has an interesting premise, the writing is a bit dull.
The book is about a girl named Emily, who gets accused of a crime she did not commit. Forced into terrifying situations, Emily learns about the cruelties of the world. She also learns about hope.
In my opinion, this book was very rushed at the beginning and very drawn out towards the end, which made it feel unbalanced. The writing was not very descriptive, and the absence of description made it hard to imagine the story in my mind, not letting me feel immersed in Emily’s world. The author tells us about one event, then the next, then the next, etc. We learn that Emily has lived in many places but we never get a sense of what those places are like. As my English teacher would say, the book needs more show and less tell. Also, in this story, Emily’s parents abandon and turn against her; but the author provides no explanation of why this happened, so I was left feeling confused.
I am not of Christian faith and I understand that this book relates heavily to Christianity, so that could have been one reason why I did not connect with it.
The plot of this book is intense and shows how unfair people in authority can be. I greatly respect the work of the author, Mark Mansfield, and am glad he wrote a novel based on his experiences as a foster carer.