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A review by hobbithopeful
Ever Since by Alena Bruzas
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-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? Yes
5.0
This isn't a book that everyone should read, but a book that everyone *needs* to read.
Ever Since is a powerful and moving book dealing with topics of grooming, and CSA.
I honestly would not have picked up this book because the topics hit so close to home for me, but it was the book of the month for the local book club I frequent, and I am glad I read it.
I typically do not enjoy books told in the first person, but Bruzas writes so well I knew I was going to love the book after reading the first page. There are times that Virginia has panic attacks, and the sentence structures reflect that and makes you read faster and faster. It was overwhelming, and the most realistic book about CSA that I have read. It also has the best "teenager" depiction, and the way the friend group speaks and acts is very on par.
Books like this are extremely important, for many reasons. A lot of time we have this idea of what a "perfect" victim looks like in our head. Isolated, innocent, we forget that when people endure trauma and abuse they will all react and respond differently. There is no such thing as a perfect victim, people are incredibly complex and abuse and grooming can happen to anyone. When such behaviors aren't "caught" in childhood, people forget that the trauma and abuse doesn't just magically go away when you grow up. Virgina has been so unbearably hurt and abused that she is just trying to survive and cope.
The romance with Rumi hurt so bad, but was so necessary. I think we all have gone through that phase of hoping that someone will come rescue us, or thinking that once we find a certain person everything is going to be okay and we are going to be safe. At the end of the day it is also important to remember that the bar is so low for men, just because they don't abuse you doesn't make them perfect. (Looking back on the book, he was honestly quite a red flag.) That one scene where he just stood there made me so angry and upset. They are all teenagers in this book, and teenagers are messy.
I liked the ending, it is left a bit ambiguous. Different characters are at different places in healing, some not even have come to terms with what happened. I am so glad they all came back together to support each other.
This book hit very close to home for me, and I had to eat a lot of candy to recover.
Be kind to yourself, there are a lot of heavy topics and triggers in this. It is very graphic and extremely hard to read at times. VERY. GRAPHIC. (No seriously, just about every trigger you could think of is in here!)
I will definitely read anything else that Alena Bruzas writes.
Hands down one of the best debut novels I have ever had the pleasure of reading.
Read this book!
Also l love the cover, there is so much great symbolism there with the overlay showing how she is really feeling. I only wish the font choice for the title is different, it looks like every wedding invitation I've ever seen.
Ever Since is a powerful and moving book dealing with topics of grooming, and CSA.
I honestly would not have picked up this book because the topics hit so close to home for me, but it was the book of the month for the local book club I frequent, and I am glad I read it.
I typically do not enjoy books told in the first person, but Bruzas writes so well I knew I was going to love the book after reading the first page. There are times that Virginia has panic attacks, and the sentence structures reflect that and makes you read faster and faster. It was overwhelming, and the most realistic book about CSA that I have read. It also has the best "teenager" depiction, and the way the friend group speaks and acts is very on par.
Books like this are extremely important, for many reasons. A lot of time we have this idea of what a "perfect" victim looks like in our head. Isolated, innocent, we forget that when people endure trauma and abuse they will all react and respond differently. There is no such thing as a perfect victim, people are incredibly complex and abuse and grooming can happen to anyone. When such behaviors aren't "caught" in childhood, people forget that the trauma and abuse doesn't just magically go away when you grow up. Virgina has been so unbearably hurt and abused that she is just trying to survive and cope.
The romance with Rumi hurt so bad, but was so necessary. I think we all have gone through that phase of hoping that someone will come rescue us, or thinking that once we find a certain person everything is going to be okay and we are going to be safe. At the end of the day it is also important to remember that the bar is so low for men, just because they don't abuse you doesn't make them perfect. (Looking back on the book, he was honestly quite a red flag.) That one scene where he just stood there made me so angry and upset. They are all teenagers in this book, and teenagers are messy.
I liked the ending, it is left a bit ambiguous. Different characters are at different places in healing, some not even have come to terms with what happened. I am so glad they all came back together to support each other.
This book hit very close to home for me, and I had to eat a lot of candy to recover.
Be kind to yourself, there are a lot of heavy topics and triggers in this. It is very graphic and extremely hard to read at times. VERY. GRAPHIC. (No seriously, just about every trigger you could think of is in here!)
I will definitely read anything else that Alena Bruzas writes.
Hands down one of the best debut novels I have ever had the pleasure of reading.
Read this book!
Also l love the cover, there is so much great symbolism there with the overlay showing how she is really feeling. I only wish the font choice for the title is different, it looks like every wedding invitation I've ever seen.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Transphobia