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popthebutterfly 's review for:
Riven
by Jane Alvey Harris
Rating: 3.5/5
Genre: YA Fantasy/Contemporary
Recommended Age: 18+ (trigger warnings for child molestation, domestic violence, and sexual assault. Language and violence)
Pages: 326
Author Website
Amazon Link
I received a copy of this book courtesy of KidLitExchange. Thanks! All opinions are my own.
Synopsis: Which reality would you choose? Seventeen year-old Emily’s dad is in prison for securities fraud and her mom's strung-out on pain meds, leaving Emily to parent herself and her younger brothers and sister. She’s got things mostly under control until a couple weeks before Dad’s release, when voices start whispering in her head, and Gabe, the hot lifeguard at the pool, notices the strange brands engraved on her arm...the ones she's trying desperately to hide. Emily doesn't know how the symbols got there or what they mean. They appeared overnight and now they're infected and bleeding. She's pretty sure she's losing her mind. Stress, insomnia, and her wounded egos drive Emily to self-medicate, which has to be why the nightmares from her childhood have resurfaced, why they're commandeering her conscious even when she's awake. It has to be why the fairytale creatures she created as a little girl insist they need her help. Triggered by the return of her childhood abuser and unable to cope with reality, Emily slips completely inside her elaborate fantasy world. She's powerful in the First Realm, maybe even more powerful than her attacker. It would be so easy to stay there, to lose herself in enchantment...to lose herself in love. But something sinister lurks in the forest shadows. Emily soon discovers her demons have followed her inside her fairytale. They're hunting her. With the help of the Fae, she frantically searches for the weapons she needs to defeat her greatest fears and escape back to reality before the man who tortured her can prey on her younger brothers and sister, too. Time is running out...
Well I didn’t want to sleep at all this weekend after I finished this book. Deep, personal, and disturbing all in one, this book weaves a beautiful tale about a girl who retreats into a fantasy world as a stress response when her abusive father is being released from prison… or is it? Is she dreaming or is it real? That’s the question you’ll ask yourself throughout the book. The plot of this book is certainly intriguing as it’s a mystery the reader is constantly trying to solve and the pacing is well done.
However, I felt that the world building of the book could have been better, for both the real and the fantasy world. The dissent into the fantasy world comes unexpectedly and the writing doesn’t help the transition. It really takes the reader a few minutes to realize which world I was in. And beyond Emily’s own development (which arguably doesn’t really get resolved in the end) none of the other characters are developed.
Verdict: If you’re really into psychology and/or like reading about mental illness then this book may be for you. However, it’s not for the faint of heart so please take measure to care for yourself if you read this book.
Genre: YA Fantasy/Contemporary
Recommended Age: 18+ (trigger warnings for child molestation, domestic violence, and sexual assault. Language and violence)
Pages: 326
Author Website
Amazon Link
I received a copy of this book courtesy of KidLitExchange. Thanks! All opinions are my own.
Synopsis: Which reality would you choose? Seventeen year-old Emily’s dad is in prison for securities fraud and her mom's strung-out on pain meds, leaving Emily to parent herself and her younger brothers and sister. She’s got things mostly under control until a couple weeks before Dad’s release, when voices start whispering in her head, and Gabe, the hot lifeguard at the pool, notices the strange brands engraved on her arm...the ones she's trying desperately to hide. Emily doesn't know how the symbols got there or what they mean. They appeared overnight and now they're infected and bleeding. She's pretty sure she's losing her mind. Stress, insomnia, and her wounded egos drive Emily to self-medicate, which has to be why the nightmares from her childhood have resurfaced, why they're commandeering her conscious even when she's awake. It has to be why the fairytale creatures she created as a little girl insist they need her help. Triggered by the return of her childhood abuser and unable to cope with reality, Emily slips completely inside her elaborate fantasy world. She's powerful in the First Realm, maybe even more powerful than her attacker. It would be so easy to stay there, to lose herself in enchantment...to lose herself in love. But something sinister lurks in the forest shadows. Emily soon discovers her demons have followed her inside her fairytale. They're hunting her. With the help of the Fae, she frantically searches for the weapons she needs to defeat her greatest fears and escape back to reality before the man who tortured her can prey on her younger brothers and sister, too. Time is running out...
Well I didn’t want to sleep at all this weekend after I finished this book. Deep, personal, and disturbing all in one, this book weaves a beautiful tale about a girl who retreats into a fantasy world as a stress response when her abusive father is being released from prison… or is it? Is she dreaming or is it real? That’s the question you’ll ask yourself throughout the book. The plot of this book is certainly intriguing as it’s a mystery the reader is constantly trying to solve and the pacing is well done.
However, I felt that the world building of the book could have been better, for both the real and the fantasy world. The dissent into the fantasy world comes unexpectedly and the writing doesn’t help the transition. It really takes the reader a few minutes to realize which world I was in. And beyond Emily’s own development (which arguably doesn’t really get resolved in the end) none of the other characters are developed.
Verdict: If you’re really into psychology and/or like reading about mental illness then this book may be for you. However, it’s not for the faint of heart so please take measure to care for yourself if you read this book.