Title: Raw Blue
Author: Kirsty Eagar
Classification: YA Fiction, Contemporary
Source: Public Library
Author: Kirsty Eagar
Classification: YA Fiction, Contemporary
Source: Public Library
Overall Grade:
B
Would I recommend it?
Yes, but with disclaimers for content.
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Summary (from Goodreads):
Carly has dropped out
of uni to spend her days surfing and her nights working as a cook in a
Manly café. Surfing is the one thing she loves doing … and the only
thing that helps her stop thinking about what happened two years ago at
schoolies week.
And then Carly meets Ryan, a local at the break, fresh out of jail. When Ryan learns the truth, Carly has to decide. Will she let the past bury her? Or can she let go of her anger and shame, and find the courage to be happy?
And then Carly meets Ryan, a local at the break, fresh out of jail. When Ryan learns the truth, Carly has to decide. Will she let the past bury her? Or can she let go of her anger and shame, and find the courage to be happy?
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My Thoughts:
This book is terribly difficult to review.
While I was instantly drawn in to Carly's world as a part-time chef and surfing-addict, I wish that I would have been warned about how intense this book is. As you can probably infer from the summary, Carly was viciously and brutally raped two years before the events of this book take place.
This is learned pretty early on in the novel, as well as the fact that Carly has not told a single soul that this happened to her. The effect of her rape is obvious in her daily life, with her obsession with surfing, her aversion to men, and her shame of not only her own worth, but of her smoking habit.
This was an incredibly tough book to read. Throughout this experience, I kept wanting to shake Carly awake, tell her to get help, tell her that it wasn't her fault. It seems obvious from the outside looking in, which is why Carly notes early on that rape is the perfect crime. It makes the victims hate themselves and blame themselves, when these emotions should be reserved for the aggressor's only.
Although much of this book was very tough to get through, I was still compelled to read on by Carly's silly Dutch roommate Hannah ("Go vaginas!"), love-interest Ryan, unexpected friend and synesthesia-ridden Danny, and of course, Carly herself. This book is a very well-written account of rape and it's aftermath, but is also a thoughtful contemporary novel about love and friendship.
This book begs to be read by all those who enjoy a non-formulaic YA novel now and then. However, I also wish to place a disclaimer for those like me that hate to be surprised by certain elements in YA lit. For instance, there are multiple sex scenes in Raw Blue that are pretty graphic for YA. There is also a detailed account of Carly's rape.
Disclaimers aside, please read Carly's story.
While I was instantly drawn in to Carly's world as a part-time chef and surfing-addict, I wish that I would have been warned about how intense this book is. As you can probably infer from the summary, Carly was viciously and brutally raped two years before the events of this book take place.
This is learned pretty early on in the novel, as well as the fact that Carly has not told a single soul that this happened to her. The effect of her rape is obvious in her daily life, with her obsession with surfing, her aversion to men, and her shame of not only her own worth, but of her smoking habit.
This was an incredibly tough book to read. Throughout this experience, I kept wanting to shake Carly awake, tell her to get help, tell her that it wasn't her fault. It seems obvious from the outside looking in, which is why Carly notes early on that rape is the perfect crime. It makes the victims hate themselves and blame themselves, when these emotions should be reserved for the aggressor's only.
Although much of this book was very tough to get through, I was still compelled to read on by Carly's silly Dutch roommate Hannah ("Go vaginas!"), love-interest Ryan, unexpected friend and synesthesia-ridden Danny, and of course, Carly herself. This book is a very well-written account of rape and it's aftermath, but is also a thoughtful contemporary novel about love and friendship.
This book begs to be read by all those who enjoy a non-formulaic YA novel now and then. However, I also wish to place a disclaimer for those like me that hate to be surprised by certain elements in YA lit. For instance, there are multiple sex scenes in Raw Blue that are pretty graphic for YA. There is also a detailed account of Carly's rape.
Disclaimers aside, please read Carly's story.
______________________________________________________
Overall Grade:
B
Would I recommend it?
Yes, but disclaimers for content.
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