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A review by tinaha083
Born Scared by Kevin Brooks
3.0
3.5 STARS!!!!!
This is a book about fear. Elliot’s fear. And Elliot is afraid of just about everything.
The story is about Elliot being put in a situation where he is nearly out of his medication, and the person he can always count on goes to get a prescription and doesn’t come back. That’s about all I can say without spoiling it.
I found the way this book dealt with mental illness to be very interesting. It gives pretty detailed descriptions and Elliot comes to feel like a real person. It’s handled in a very thoughtful way. As an emotional atmosphere, it’s is claustrophobic and sometimes Elliot’s fear is so real that it jumps off the page at you. I also loved seeing the world through Elliot’s eyes. It gave me a perspective that I don’t think I’ve ever read before. It made me want to go and learn more about this particular type of illness. After all, everyone experiences fear at some point, but raw, visceral fear that is ever present and associated with nearly everything? That’s something else entirely. I felt like a lot of thought and research went into making this character seem so vivid. And it worked. I was invested.
Elliot goes through a number of emotions in this story, apart from fear. There’s a lot of depth to his character, and thusly to the story. His relationship with his mother was the core of it. I can’t imagine what it’s like to have a child with that particular mental illness, but I loved the way it showed how much she cared and looked after him.
My main issue was with the way that it ended. I was along for the wild ride, but I feel like more was needed to close it out. That probably won’t bother a lot of people, but I was left wondering where it went. Also, there wasn’t any development for any of the other characters. There are hints mentioned about several of them that makes you curious, but they’re not taken anywhere. The other issue was that on occasion it veered into what I considered unrealistic behavior for the major characters towards the end.
Overall, it was a suspenseful but enjoyable (and at times downright frightening) read and great for giving a picture of mental illness without sugarcoating or flossing over it. Elliot is a compelling character, and I rooted for him the whole time. I will definitely be checking out anything else written by Kevin Brooks.
***Thanks to Netgalley and Candlewick Press for providing me with a free copy for an honest review***
This is a book about fear. Elliot’s fear. And Elliot is afraid of just about everything.
The story is about Elliot being put in a situation where he is nearly out of his medication, and the person he can always count on goes to get a prescription and doesn’t come back. That’s about all I can say without spoiling it.
I found the way this book dealt with mental illness to be very interesting. It gives pretty detailed descriptions and Elliot comes to feel like a real person. It’s handled in a very thoughtful way. As an emotional atmosphere, it’s is claustrophobic and sometimes Elliot’s fear is so real that it jumps off the page at you. I also loved seeing the world through Elliot’s eyes. It gave me a perspective that I don’t think I’ve ever read before. It made me want to go and learn more about this particular type of illness. After all, everyone experiences fear at some point, but raw, visceral fear that is ever present and associated with nearly everything? That’s something else entirely. I felt like a lot of thought and research went into making this character seem so vivid. And it worked. I was invested.
Elliot goes through a number of emotions in this story, apart from fear. There’s a lot of depth to his character, and thusly to the story. His relationship with his mother was the core of it. I can’t imagine what it’s like to have a child with that particular mental illness, but I loved the way it showed how much she cared and looked after him.
My main issue was with the way that it ended. I was along for the wild ride, but I feel like more was needed to close it out. That probably won’t bother a lot of people, but I was left wondering where it went. Also, there wasn’t any development for any of the other characters. There are hints mentioned about several of them that makes you curious, but they’re not taken anywhere. The other issue was that on occasion it veered into what I considered unrealistic behavior for the major characters towards the end.
Overall, it was a suspenseful but enjoyable (and at times downright frightening) read and great for giving a picture of mental illness without sugarcoating or flossing over it. Elliot is a compelling character, and I rooted for him the whole time. I will definitely be checking out anything else written by Kevin Brooks.
***Thanks to Netgalley and Candlewick Press for providing me with a free copy for an honest review***