Reviews with content warning for Child abuse - Keeping 13

Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Keeping 13 by Chloe Walsh

340 reviews

forever_reading1312's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: N/A

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

cara_wilson03's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I cried (I cry at everything else but books).

Content Warnings

nebula86's review against another edition

5.0

emotional hopeful tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Content Warnings

pianoplayer279's review against another edition

4.75

emotional hopeful sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

These are two of the best books I’ve ever read and I’m devastated to be done with Shannon and Johnny’s story! Age 16+

Content Warnings

reish3ll's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful relaxing sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ / 5 – Brutal, beautiful, messy, and maddening

Keeping 13 picks up right where Binding 13 left off, and from page one, it is pure emotional carnage. The brutality of Joey and Shannon’s home lives is front and center — beaten to a pulp, physically and emotionally. And Tadgh, the 11-year-old baby brother, ready to stab his own father? That was rough.

Joey, with a broken nose and bruised soul, is still focused on getting Shannon safe. But the hospital scenes? Super uncomfortable. The depiction of Johnny’s medication was frustrating — stripping him of autonomy in a way that felt inaccurate and unnecessary. (Also… “How’s your penis today?” Who wrote that line!?)

There’s no denying the soulmate energy between Johnny and Shannon. He feels that something’s wrong before she even says it. Their bond is tender and raw — even with all the cracks and traumas. From vomit jokes, plural “penii”, to tender shower scenes (yes, really), this book is packed with emotional whiplash and chaotic banter.

Gibsie remains the unexpected MVP — hilarious, loyal, pierced in unexpected places (ahem), and fiercely loving. His friendship with Johnny? Top tier bromance. His line: “Consider this your own personal, free-range stomach pumping session – Gibsie-style” had me cackling. His dyslexia being acknowledged was a nice touch too.

Darren, on the other hand, can go. From ditching the family for years, to coming back and expecting silence to protect a clearly abusive mother — no thanks. Yes, Marie Lynch is a victim, but she’s also a failed mother. Joey’s been more of a parent to his siblings than she ever was.

Shannon’s trauma and anxiety-attachment tendencies are written so clearly — her red flags are waving high, but it’s not her fault. She desperately needs therapy, safety, and softness. Thankfully, Johnny is patient, respectful (consent is sexy), and willing to be her soft place to land. Their love story is slow-burn perfection — frustratingly so at times, but earned.

Some standout moments:

💗 Tadgh helping cover Shannon’s bald spot

💗 The “for keeps” scene

💗 Johnny teaching her to drive

💗 Claire and Shannon watching Dirty Dancing

💗 Shannon and Johnny’s beach escape

💗 Gibsie and Johnny seeing Love Actually in cinemas — GOLD.

The end absolutely wrecked me. The fire, the grief, the funeral — the sheer pain of those final chapters had me teary-eyed. Despite everything, the Lynch kids finally found safety… in Johnny’s family. Joey spiraling, getting expelled, and dumping Aoife though? That was a heartbreak I wasn’t prepared for.

The book is long, at times repetitive, and doesn’t quite hit the same highs as Binding 13, but it still packs a hell of an emotional punch. If you’re invested in these characters, it’s impossible to walk away from their stories unaffected.

CW: physical abuse, drug use, mentions of rape, grief, and parental neglect.

🔚 Overall: not flawless, but raw and unforgettable. 4/5 stars.

Shannon and Johnny’s love story might’ve taken 500+ pages to blossom, but damn — it was worth it. 💔🌊💕

Content Warnings

brenkeso's review against another edition

3.0

dark emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I’m a little torn on this one. I can see why it’s hyped. The concept of mixing a young adult romance with deep, adult-level trauma is definitely… a different angle. The plot twist halfway through hit hard and genuinely caught me off guard, which the book needed because it was a sluggish start after the first few chapters. But if I’m being honest, a lot of the story felt bogged down by filler and dialogue that leaned a little too cheesy.

There’s value in some of those lighter moments because they do help balance the heavier themes and give the side characters more dimension. But I couldn’t fully connect with Shannon. Her character often lacked the grit I was craving. Sure, her youth makes the immaturity realistic, but it occasionally undercut the emotional weight the story was trying to carry. On the flip side, Johnny felt more grounded and compelling. His emotional maturity made him standout better.

It’s a solid pick if you’re into sports romance with more substance. I could definitely see it working well as a TV show. But in print? It didn’t need to be this long.

Content Warnings

sarahsbooklife's review against another edition

5.0

dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

This book had me in tears. 😭😭😭 I literally sobbed at one point
I loved this book. I loved seeing Shannon and Johnny grow in this book. Honestly it was fantastic. But it made me so sad as well iykyk

Content Warnings

sabrinabird's review against another edition

3.0

emotional slow-paced

As someone who loved Binding 13, I’m pretty disappointed with this one. For such a LONG book, there was very little plot outside of how much Johnny and Shannon wanted to have sex. Dialogue was extremely repetitive (“I want you” “I want you too” “is this okay” “if it’s okay with you”) and there really wasn’t much character development. I wanted to love this book so bad but I had a difficult time getting through it. There was a lot of unnecessary writing, felt like hitting a word count rather than quality content. I love the characters but the plot was tough

Content Warnings