Careless by Kirsty Capes

Rating:

4 Stars

Themes:

Contemporary, Psychological Fiction, Care System, Coming of Age, Thought Provoking, Arranged Marriages, Pregnancy, Racial Issues

Thoughts:

Gritty, heartbreaking and real. My heart broke for Bess who despite all her bravado is still a vulnerable young girl. With a foster mother who threatens with socials services and doesn't try to hide her preferences for the bio child and memorial of her own bio mother trying to drown her as a child, Bess is vulnerability and in desperate need of affection. So naturally she doesn't see the problem with a boy 4 years older than her (at only 15) wanting to hang out and be intimate. However, when she ends up pregnant as a result, she's left with no adults to turn to for support. And when her foster parents finally find out, they attach her with ultimatums that only reaffirm the preference for the biochild and leave Bess feeling isolated again.

Although a side character, Esh is also an important person with a striking story. She deals with racism and prejudice almost daily with such a maturity (despite only being 15 and being more than entitled to react to the comments we're explicitly told about). She also has to contend with a potential arranged marriage that she does not want but feels pressured into due to her culture and everything her parents do for her. Hopefully, with Esh's outcome this book highlights the options out there and gives hope to others in similarly situations.

Overall, this was a well written book with (mostly) loveable characters that tackles some important issues.

Favourite Quote:

"And I think, she tried her best, I really believe that, but there's sometimes wrong with being in care, the care system, and it's to do with making us into a transaction. (...) It's not right, how we're treated like a job. There's too much emotional labour involved."

Comments

Mint and Murder by Carly Winter

Rating: Stars Themes: Short Story, Cosy Mystery Thoughts: Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. I had to read this book, seeing it was available, after reading Pipers Piping and Puppies last year. I did read it as a standalone (it’s not the first time I’ve read a series out of order and likely won’t be the last) I managed to follow along fine although I’m sure I’d have understood the relationship dynamics better had I read it in the correct order. I found the story great and as for the mystery I was guessing myself right the way through until Sam figured it out. Sam is a strong female main character who feels worth investing in so I may have to go search some more of the Heywood Herbalist series out. I enjoyed seeing Sam interact with her friends as they had great chemistry and it felt real, and also really liked Sam’s interactions with Doug as it added another layer of humanity to her and reality to the town. I would love ...

Shame-Sex Attraction by Lucas Wilson

Rating: 4 Stars Themes: Non-Fiction, LGBTQ+ Thoughts: I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. This is definitely a difficult read and it took me quite a while to get through it for that very reason. It is split up into 17 different peoples experiences with a foreword and afterword. It’s definitely an important read for many as these practices are still legal in many countries, including my own, and without knowledge of the damage of the practices many may not join in the protests or sign the petitions to try to get laws in place. As a member of the community myself I found some of these stories such as the ‘Sniffing the Gay Away’ and ‘Convert’ especially difficult to read and reminded me just how lucky I was to have such a supportive and loving community around me. I appreciated that the afterword highlighted the limitations of the collection such as having little to no religious, geographical or racial diversity but that they did try to ga...

The Staycation by Cressida McLaughlin

Rating: DNF Themes: Romance, Contemporary, Fiction Thoughts: Thoughts I tried to like this book I really did. I'd put it down to DNF only to return the next day to give it another go but unfortunately this story really couldn't keep my attention and i found myself scrolling on my phove with the book atill open in my other hand. The story has a sweet premise though it didn't exactly call to me but looking at other less favourable reviews this isn't indicative of Cressida's best work so I may have to have a go at a different book. Favourite Quote: Over the last week or so I've been seeing things a bit differently. I've been reminded that life doesn't have to be small and neat, everything put away in separate boxes. And that, even if you'd like it small and neat, that's not always how it turns out."

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