Review - The Ice Cream Girls by Dorothy Koomson

This book is about two teenage girls, Serena and Poppy, who are interconnected with each other by a person who acts as their lover but is a paedophile. It was a little tricky to read this book at first because of the graphic narrative of things, but I think it is necessary to understand the gravity of the situation. When things are not good, what one believes to be true love might turn into a nightmare. But what do young children understand about how the world functions and the types of people they will encounter as they get older?

The story starts with the current life of both Serena and Poppy. One is living a regular life, and one is in prison. Nobody knows what actually happened, but overnight they became the culprit rather than victims. As the story progresses, they talk about these incidents interchangeably with their present life, which gives you a glimpse of what happened to them. When one is in love while the other person is using that love to feed their carnivorous impulses, it is impossible to hold onto those feelings. They blatantly lie to the point where it becomes so easy to fall for them.

This book illustrates abuse and how, even when victims are saved from it, it can wreak havoc on their lives and those of their families. The trauma they feel years after those past incidents is unimaginable. Additionally, you can spot some symptoms in people who have experienced abuse. One must be more vigilant to determine whether there is a problem with others or those at home. It demonstrates how crucial it is to teach kids the proper values from an early age, such as the fact that no one should ever make them perform any physical act because doing so is wrong. Also, if someone tries to act in a different way, they should immediately confide in their parents or other adults without worrying about being reprimanded. I believe things have changed now as parents have started discussing these issues. Yet there is a long way to go because many people still feel uncomfortable discussing such topics.

Rating – 4/5

Genre – Contemporary Fiction

Comments

Book Review - The Forty Rules of Love by Elif Shafak

T here are certain books where you know you will like them even when you have read just 10 pages. There can be reasons behind it though, perhaps you have read the author before, or have found the narrative interesting, maybe the first para hooked you since the beginning or your instinct made you feel so. All these factors sum up what I feel for this story. It was too much to see Rumi long for the alter ego, meanwhile taking part in the worldly things where he used to judge and help people but from a distance. And as Shams entered his life, things changed drastically overnight. Meanwhile, there is a parallel story going about Ella and Aziz Zahara. These two stories intermingle in such a way where you can’t stop comparing one character to another. This book is all about love in different forms, it doesn’t restrict itself to romance but love between father and children, between two friends, between husband and wife, between a teacher and his disciples and between two strangers. There are ...

Book Review - Poison Dream by Kitty Cook

It is the sequel to Sleeping Together. In the previous book, the story was more focused on Vanessa and Altan. Here you get to see more of Pete. Things take a different turn every now and then, and you always pray for your favourite character to win. The best part I found about this book is how every character is flawed, but there is more to them. You will judge them based on what they do but when you are having your weak moments. One can grant you some exceptions, as not everyone can be graceful. Yes, terrible mistakes can be made, but later how you look at it is most important. You don’t have to hate a person just because they did you wrong, at the same time you can’t like them either. You land somewhere between where you accept the fact and move on without being bitter about it. I liked and disliked many things about these characters, and they represent someone you know in real life. So, it isn’t hard to get to them. It’s a book about love and to what extent you can go for the peop...

Review - A Girl Called Shameless by Laura Steven

It is a sequel to The Exact Opposite of Okay. This book is full of humour, and you will instantly start liking the protagonist. I saw characters growing in their thought process from the previous book to this. Betty, the grandmother, is my favourite character. She is quirky, weird, modern, and classy. The theme revolves around slut-shaming and revenge porn wherein someone uploads your nude on social media to get back at you to take revenge. This book talks about friendships and relations. How sometimes your one step makes everything so twisted and dark that it becomes hard to come out of it? How that makes it difficult for you to get back to your old self because you cannot undo what has been done? You need to assess the person's intent, even if they are the closest once you have been. If you sense malice, you need to stay away from them despite your history because self-respect should come above everything else. There is always a cause behind everything, but sometimes people turn ...

Shadow of Life

Search This Blog