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essinink's review
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
NOTE: This book deals heavily with rape, its aftermath, and the long, long road that is trauma recovery.
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I went into this book with my eyes open. This is the book that I heard the author discuss in-person, and I knew when I picked it up that it would be heavy.
I still underestimated just how dark it could get.
Geno (short for Geronimo) is a teenager when he is drugged and sexually assaulted over the course of two days. His physical injuries are extensive. The mental and emotional damage is worse. <i>Finches</i> covers both the assault and how he has to pull himself back together afterwards. This book is not gratuitous. This is not trauma for the sake of trauma. This is a young man and the long, long path to reconstruction. It's not easy. It's not linear. It gets worse before it gets better. There is fear, and anger, and it's Not Easy to read, but it's also a subject that gets very little attention in society. It's an invisible thing, and this book pulls back the curtains to say both "this happens," and also "there's hope."
It's not all grimdark trauma; this book also continues the story of Javier Landes, who was a main character in [book:An Exaltation of Larks|29637128]. Tonally, the contrast between Javier and Geno's stories is stark.
After all the pining and turmoil in the first book, I initially found it a bit jarring for Jav's part of the story to be so calm and straightforward. (It's not 100% smooth sailing, tbh, but it sure feels that way). But as I read more, I realized that the book <i>needed</i> that contrast. Javier and Stef have to be mature, levelheaded, desperately romantic, heck dare I even say "fluffy" at times, because Geno's story is at such a far extreme of darkness. For the sake of both the plot and the reader's emotional balance, the reader needs a refuge, and that's what that the Jav & Stef chapters provide.
This is not easy reading, but of the books I've read that deal with "sensitive topics," it is perhaps one of the best. I'm never sure that <i>recommend</i> is the correct word for a book like this. It's heavy, heavy reading after all. But it's very well done.
---
I went into this book with my eyes open. This is the book that I heard the author discuss in-person, and I knew when I picked it up that it would be heavy.
I still underestimated just how dark it could get.
Geno (short for Geronimo) is a teenager when he is drugged and sexually assaulted over the course of two days. His physical injuries are extensive. The mental and emotional damage is worse. <i>Finches</i> covers both the assault and how he has to pull himself back together afterwards. This book is not gratuitous. This is not trauma for the sake of trauma. This is a young man and the long, long path to reconstruction. It's not easy. It's not linear. It gets worse before it gets better. There is fear, and anger, and it's Not Easy to read, but it's also a subject that gets very little attention in society. It's an invisible thing, and this book pulls back the curtains to say both "this happens," and also "there's hope."
It's not all grimdark trauma; this book also continues the story of Javier Landes, who was a main character in [book:An Exaltation of Larks|29637128]. Tonally, the contrast between Javier and Geno's stories is stark.
After all the pining and turmoil in the first book, I initially found it a bit jarring for Jav's part of the story to be so calm and straightforward. (It's not 100% smooth sailing, tbh, but it sure feels that way). But as I read more, I realized that the book <i>needed</i> that contrast. Javier and Stef have to be mature, levelheaded, desperately romantic, heck dare I even say "fluffy" at times, because Geno's story is at such a far extreme of darkness. For the sake of both the plot and the reader's emotional balance, the reader needs a refuge, and that's what that the Jav & Stef chapters provide.
This is not easy reading, but of the books I've read that deal with "sensitive topics," it is perhaps one of the best. I'm never sure that <i>recommend</i> is the correct word for a book like this. It's heavy, heavy reading after all. But it's very well done.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Rape, and Sexual assault
Minor: Homophobia
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