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allthingseryn's review
2.0
This book dragged on and on and I found it disappointing compared to Beneath the Bruises. Because of the long winded, repetitive nature of the first half of the book, I just couldn't connect with K'wan as much as I wanted to.
This book did, however, seem to cover (in great detail) the thoughts of children of abusive homes. That, I liked. But, as a fictional story, I just didn't care for it. I put it down a little past the halfway mark.
This book did, however, seem to cover (in great detail) the thoughts of children of abusive homes. That, I liked. But, as a fictional story, I just didn't care for it. I put it down a little past the halfway mark.
letarawrites's review
4.0
Kwan Taylor refuses to speak. He can't speak. His parent's demons have become his demons and they torment him daily, even more so now that he is in a youth rehabilitation center for stabbing his father after witnessing him attempting to kill his mother. Since that night, life for Kwan has been a seemingly never-ending tunnel of darkness, fear and depression with no end in sight. We follow Kwan as he finally faces his demons and finally sees the light at the end of the tunnel.
I thought that this book was very insightful. I've never dealt with physical abuse and I pray I never have to. Dywane Birch does a wonderful job illustrating the effects of domestic violence on both adults and children. His background in psychology is evident as he discusses through his characters the how's and why's of why some people are more likely to engage in certain behaviors than others. As with his other books that I have read so far, in certain parts I found myself in deep thought about some of my own experiences and the impact they had on my life as a whole. Though I could not relate specifically to Kwan's experiences with domestic violence, there were some events from my personal life that were nearly as traumatic and I found that we shared a similar thought process. Although the focus was on domestic violence, a lot of the psychology and themes on forgiveness and anger could easily be applied to other areas of life. This is definitely not a casual read, rather it is one that is meant to take you into a "thinking" place and even raise a little self-awareness. I think the book is great overall. My only complaint is that I wish Kwan had found his voice a lot sooner and more focus would have been put on the healing rather than the suffering.
I thought that this book was very insightful. I've never dealt with physical abuse and I pray I never have to. Dywane Birch does a wonderful job illustrating the effects of domestic violence on both adults and children. His background in psychology is evident as he discusses through his characters the how's and why's of why some people are more likely to engage in certain behaviors than others. As with his other books that I have read so far, in certain parts I found myself in deep thought about some of my own experiences and the impact they had on my life as a whole. Though I could not relate specifically to Kwan's experiences with domestic violence, there were some events from my personal life that were nearly as traumatic and I found that we shared a similar thought process. Although the focus was on domestic violence, a lot of the psychology and themes on forgiveness and anger could easily be applied to other areas of life. This is definitely not a casual read, rather it is one that is meant to take you into a "thinking" place and even raise a little self-awareness. I think the book is great overall. My only complaint is that I wish Kwan had found his voice a lot sooner and more focus would have been put on the healing rather than the suffering.
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