I was given this ARC from Voracious Readers for an honest review. TRIGGER WARNING ** This novel deals with depression, suicide, mental and physical abuse as well as rape. If any of these are a trigger for you, please do not read this book.
I really enjoyed this book. That may be hard to believe based on the theme of what you are reading. So let me explain.
This novel is raw, powerful and shows what it can be like for someone who is depressed and suicidal.
22 Scares has 2 different story lines that finally weave themselves together near the end.
It starts out with Amy, a teenage girl who wears goth clothing and makeup, and is obviously suffering. Her one light in her life is her friend Beth. Beth is a positive influence, who Amy flocks to trying to make herself feel better. Beth is keeping Amy afloat in her life. Then Beth dies, and Amy goes into a greater tailspin of depression and sadness. Her mom tries to get her help, but her dad is a douche and thinks she just wants attention.
Through out the whole Amy part of the story, you can feel how much pain she is in. You want to help her and you want to smack her dad for being a complete useless jackass. When Beth died, I cried because it was so heartbreaking that someone who was such a light in their own lives and the lives of their friends was taken away. Amy felt like she had no one, and all I wanted was for someone to come into her life and save her.
The second story we find out near the end, is the story of Amy's parents. How they met, fell in love, and fell into the resentment ridden relationship they are in now. Amy's dad originally was a great guy, until he physically and mentally abused her mom. For some reason Amy's mom stays with him, they get married, he disappoints her over and over. She no longer trusts him, so he tries to build the trust back... just to get her to have sex with him. He fails at building that amount of trust, but she lets him back into their bed for sleeping. Night one, HE RAPES HER. Yes, this man rapes his wife and doesn't feel any remorse. He is a complete narcissistic asshole.
I have read many books with many deplorable characters, but Amy's dad is right up at the top of my hate list. He is what is wrong with parts of our society today. He thinks he is entitled to what he wants and does not actually care about what it means to take it without permission.
The end of the book is really well written but hard to read. Amy finds out she was a product of rape. Her last chance at finding someone to help her out of her depression does not call or text her. She ends her life just like you expect from the beginning. Its so sad how people can see she needs help, but she never gets what she needs. I was so upset when I was done. The last chapter is diary entries from Amy. Even though I knew that she had taken her own life I was hoping that there would be an entry after she had been saved in the hospital.
This novel was more like real life than most. There was no real sugar coating of how it feels to be Amy, which is pretty powerful. I will be seeing what else this author comes out with, as the writing and story were very well done. I did not want to put it down. I kept reading hoping for the happy ending that I never got, but that would have been to easy. This was hard, and what really happens in normal peoples lives all over the world. This story now has a piece of my soul, and it belongs to Amy.
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