Monday, October 15, 2012

Save One Life, Seed a Generation

Against My Will by Benjamin Berkley
Within the pages of this book we meet Danielle, a woman who naively walks into a marriage that very quickly becomes abusive (although it didn't seem that amazing before marriage either). We're also introduced to Danielle's grandmother Rose, and hear her story of how she survived the Holocaust as a young girl in Austria.

I really enjoyed getting to see Danielle grow as a character. In the first few chapters she comes off as so naive (in some ways unrealistically so), but by the end she isn't just sticking up for herself, but others as well. And I really enjoyed Rose's chapters which were interwoven through the modern story. Although since they were only there for the first third, I wish Rose's story could have been extended.

I've always read reviews saying the author writes well, and not really understand what they meant. I think maybe it means I'm used to reading, and expect good writing. Also that I didn't have a comparison. Well, this provided that reference for me. All of the dialogue, just didn't work for me. It just seems too clinical and unrealistic, for example I've never heard someone casually say, "I am sorry," or "I am fine," but those phrases or ones similar to them were used over and over. And unfortunately the more I got frustrated with it, the more likely I was to notice them.

I do think this book had potential, and while I do like the basic outline, overall I wasn't a fan of this. But even though I wasn't necessarily enjoying myself I didn't have a hard time actually reading it. There is a good message behind this book, so I can still appreciate that message and do think I benefited from reading this.

2/5

Disclosure: I was provided this book through Virtual Author Book Tours. All opinions expressed are my own.

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