Title: ForbiddenAuthor: Tabitha Suzuma
Published: June 2011 -US
Synopsis from Amazon
Seventeen-year-old Lochan and sixteen-year-old Maya have always felt more like friends than siblings. Together they have stepped in for their alcoholic, wayward mother to take care of their three younger siblings. As defacto parents to the little ones, Lochan and Maya have had to grow up fast. And the stress of their lives--and the way they understand each other so completely--has also also brought them closer than two siblings would ordinarily be. So close, in fact, that they have fallen in love. Their clandestine romance quickly blooms into deep, desperate love. They know their relationship is wrong and cannot possibly continue. And yet, they cannot stop what feels so incredibly right. As the novel careens toward an explosive and shocking finale, only one thing is certain: a love this devastating has no happy ending.
~ Greta's thoughts ~
Ever watch that show "TABOO" on NatGeo? Ever wonder "Who the hell lives like that?" This book will make you forget to cheer for the "RIGHT" crowd. Will draw you into a world of FORBIDDEN lust. And will erase every little moral fiber in your body on who should be loved and who should be admired.
I adored it!!
You enter the world of Maya and Lochin thinking that everything is the way it should be. Then you start to notice the subtle observations. The undeniable building of tension. The extreme emotions that are about to erupt like an active volcano on top of a sleepy town.
Kids... this book is great!
It starts out kinda slow. You might yawn a bit. Wonder where the hell the drama is... but half way through it bitch slaps you in the face and pins you down on the ground. Once you get there you can't look away.
The characters:
You're going to fall in love with every little one. Whether they be a key player or just a background filler one. Well, everyone except for the mom... but you have to give the author credit.. You learn to hate her so much that you actually will complain about her to your hubz at night. That's a great character if you ask me. Even hated ones are needed because let's face it... Every story needs a bad guy.
The plot:
I've heard of stories like this before but I've never read one. This is my first time diving into a FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC kind of book. Actually, it's making me want to read FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC just to see what all they hype with that book is about.
The Parents:
In normal YA fashion, Mommy is a scumbag and Daddy is an out of the picture douchebag. Sure, its been done before but its needed in this story. I didn't complain once. Ok ok.. that's a lie. I did complain a tad bit in the beginning but at the end I understood why it was needed.
The Love Affair:
You will fall in love with this book. That much is guaranteed. Its a Romeo and Juliet for the modern day reality tv show generation. Loves it!
Y not on your life Aye:
Parents... I love how kids want to read. How they find books and devour them. But this book is so freaking intense. So, brilliant in the way of detail, that I don't think it would be proper to have a little middle schooler read this book. Seriously! I would have freaking fell off my kitchen table (what the hell was I doing up there) if I caught my son reading it. Perhaps that's a good thing for a book to make a child read but after reading this I don't think I would share it with my son until he got older. 16 might be a good age to start with but the child needs to be mature.
Final Thoughts:
I would have given this book 7 stars if I could. I would have given it 10 if it had kept more of my attention in the beginning but the ending totally gave it more star power. This book has such a raw energy that by the end you don't know which way is up and you are slowly drowning in your own tears (or so I've heard...I didn't cry but everyone else does. I'm cool like dat).
You're going to fall in love with every little one. Whether they be a key player or just a background filler one. Well, everyone except for the mom... but you have to give the author credit.. You learn to hate her so much that you actually will complain about her to your hubz at night. That's a great character if you ask me. Even hated ones are needed because let's face it... Every story needs a bad guy.
The plot:
I've heard of stories like this before but I've never read one. This is my first time diving into a FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC kind of book. Actually, it's making me want to read FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC just to see what all they hype with that book is about.
The Parents:
In normal YA fashion, Mommy is a scumbag and Daddy is an out of the picture douchebag. Sure, its been done before but its needed in this story. I didn't complain once. Ok ok.. that's a lie. I did complain a tad bit in the beginning but at the end I understood why it was needed.
The Love Affair:
You will fall in love with this book. That much is guaranteed. Its a Romeo and Juliet for the modern day reality tv show generation. Loves it!
Y not on your life Aye:
Parents... I love how kids want to read. How they find books and devour them. But this book is so freaking intense. So, brilliant in the way of detail, that I don't think it would be proper to have a little middle schooler read this book. Seriously! I would have freaking fell off my kitchen table (what the hell was I doing up there) if I caught my son reading it. Perhaps that's a good thing for a book to make a child read but after reading this I don't think I would share it with my son until he got older. 16 might be a good age to start with but the child needs to be mature.
Final Thoughts:
I would have given this book 7 stars if I could. I would have given it 10 if it had kept more of my attention in the beginning but the ending totally gave it more star power. This book has such a raw energy that by the end you don't know which way is up and you are slowly drowning in your own tears (or so I've heard...I didn't cry but everyone else does. I'm cool like dat).
***
~ Darkfallen's thoughts ~
This book has had so much buzz...
So much hype...
So many people raving over it...
So I waited patiently to get my hands on my own copy. Finally I did and hand in hand Greta and I began to read...
The first 150 pages or so, while I was completely invested in the story, I still didn't get what the hype was about. Yes the writing is good. Yes the characters are loveable in all thier broken ways. Yes you are pulled into a overwhelming amount of dysfunctional that makes you want to slap the mother and hug the children. But still nothing beyond that.
So I read on. Waiting for the big shoe to fall. Because I know it's coming...it has too!
And then...
This book took my breath away in the most awesome, albiet disturbing ways. The way the build of the relationship between Maya & Lochan take place you get it. You just get it! You also understand why the begining of the book was done the way it was. Ms. Suzuma takes you through the in's and out's of their everyday struggle that is thier lives. Before you know it you find yourself forgetting that Maya & Lochan are anything more than a boy and a girl raising a family. All traces of brother and sister seem to fade. The line starts to blur. And before you realize what your saying you hear yourself say...
"Come on just kiss already!!
quickly followed by you yelling at yourself...
"What are your saying? Listen to yourslef!!!! OMG I'm sick!!!!"
It isn't long before you are left feeling confused, overwhelmed, worn down, exctied, lost, blissful. It's the worst kind of emotional roller coaster I have ever been on....it was also the best. I have never felt so much from reading a book before in all my life. I mean truly, really FELT the pain as though it were my own. This is the sign of an amazing writter. To take a reader, throw them into a completely un-relatable, yet true, situation, and not only make the reader come to terms with the subject matter, but to even begin to find it justifiable. In the last chapter I found myself, head in my hands, shaking with sobs, wailing because the pain I felt from reading this book took me over and ripped my chest apart.
I know I haven't said this in a while, but here it is again...
Buy it, rent it, borrow it, steal it if you have to, but your have got to READ this book!
This is a book that will leave you forever changed and you would be stupid to not pick it up. (Sorry if the 'stupid' comment offends but trust me I wouldn't say it if it wasn't the case)
So much hype...
So many people raving over it...
So I waited patiently to get my hands on my own copy. Finally I did and hand in hand Greta and I began to read...
The first 150 pages or so, while I was completely invested in the story, I still didn't get what the hype was about. Yes the writing is good. Yes the characters are loveable in all thier broken ways. Yes you are pulled into a overwhelming amount of dysfunctional that makes you want to slap the mother and hug the children. But still nothing beyond that.
So I read on. Waiting for the big shoe to fall. Because I know it's coming...it has too!
And then...
This book took my breath away in the most awesome, albiet disturbing ways. The way the build of the relationship between Maya & Lochan take place you get it. You just get it! You also understand why the begining of the book was done the way it was. Ms. Suzuma takes you through the in's and out's of their everyday struggle that is thier lives. Before you know it you find yourself forgetting that Maya & Lochan are anything more than a boy and a girl raising a family. All traces of brother and sister seem to fade. The line starts to blur. And before you realize what your saying you hear yourself say...
"Come on just kiss already!!
quickly followed by you yelling at yourself...
"What are your saying? Listen to yourslef!!!! OMG I'm sick!!!!"
It isn't long before you are left feeling confused, overwhelmed, worn down, exctied, lost, blissful. It's the worst kind of emotional roller coaster I have ever been on....it was also the best. I have never felt so much from reading a book before in all my life. I mean truly, really FELT the pain as though it were my own. This is the sign of an amazing writter. To take a reader, throw them into a completely un-relatable, yet true, situation, and not only make the reader come to terms with the subject matter, but to even begin to find it justifiable. In the last chapter I found myself, head in my hands, shaking with sobs, wailing because the pain I felt from reading this book took me over and ripped my chest apart.
I know I haven't said this in a while, but here it is again...
Buy it, rent it, borrow it, steal it if you have to, but your have got to READ this book!
This is a book that will leave you forever changed and you would be stupid to not pick it up. (Sorry if the 'stupid' comment offends but trust me I wouldn't say it if it wasn't the case)
As you can see I wasn't as cool has Greta...not only did I cry, I bawled with my head in my hands. I coulnd't breath. My chest felt like it was splitting open. And as soon as Greta finished (the same day) I had to call her for support....
Go out and get this book!!!
Thanks for such a wonderful review. You really know how to write one!
ReplyDeleteawww man! You guys are officially responsible for my new I-Have-To-Get-This-Book-ASAP mania :P thanks for the awesome review, you definitely know how to make someone want to read a book! :)
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