A review by suze_1624
Aaron by J.P. Barnaby
4.0
Would recommend you set aside an afternoon for this because once you start, you will not want to stop til it's done! It is intensely gripping and excellently written.
I admit that this was one of those books that you want to read, every blog post/review says you must read but I held back til I felt strong enough because I didn't know if I wanted to read about the bad.
Well, whilst the bad is there, in the flash backs and nightmares that Aaron has, when he is remembering or talking to someone, it is at a slight remove and whilst it is horrific, disturbing, makes you cry, it is not lived first person.
As other reviews have said, it is about acceptance and healing for both Aaron and Spencer.
It will make you cry and grin and want to shake some and kill others - literally - for what they did to Aaron and Juliette. And to raise a cheer for Spencer and his dad, Dr Thomas, who get the breakthrough to help Aaron.
But it is a hopeful story too - that Aaron will learn to reconnect with his family and the world. It is a lesson that actually those he connects with first are not his family and I can imagine that that would be hard in reality but understandable. There is obviously a long way to go and the book ends with the promise of progress.
I won this from the author on Elisa Rolle's blog along with the YA version a Broken Kind of Life. I read the two side by side and really there is not a lot of difference - the topic of a key therapy session is different and the epilogue starts slightly differently. I ranked here at 4* but it is probably a good 4.5* at least.
I admit that this was one of those books that you want to read, every blog post/review says you must read but I held back til I felt strong enough because I didn't know if I wanted to read about the bad.
Well, whilst the bad is there, in the flash backs and nightmares that Aaron has, when he is remembering or talking to someone, it is at a slight remove and whilst it is horrific, disturbing, makes you cry, it is not lived first person.
As other reviews have said, it is about acceptance and healing for both Aaron and Spencer.
It will make you cry and grin and want to shake some and kill others - literally - for what they did to Aaron and Juliette. And to raise a cheer for Spencer and his dad, Dr Thomas, who get the breakthrough to help Aaron.
But it is a hopeful story too - that Aaron will learn to reconnect with his family and the world. It is a lesson that actually those he connects with first are not his family and I can imagine that that would be hard in reality but understandable. There is obviously a long way to go and the book ends with the promise of progress.
I won this from the author on Elisa Rolle's blog along with the YA version a Broken Kind of Life. I read the two side by side and really there is not a lot of difference - the topic of a key therapy session is different and the epilogue starts slightly differently. I ranked here at 4* but it is probably a good 4.5* at least.