Review of This Is Not Forgiveness by Celia Rees
Everyone says that
Caro is bad . . . but Jamie can't help himself. He thinks of her night
and day and can't believe that she wants to be his girlfriend. Gorgeous,
impulsive and unconventional, she is totally different to all the other
girls he knows. His sister, Martha, hates her. Jamie doesn't know why,
but there's no way he's going to take any notice of her warnings to stay
away from Caro.
But as Jamie falls deeper and deeper under her
spell, he realises there is more to Caro - much more. There are the
times when she disappears and doesn't get in touch, the small scars on
her wrists, her talk about revolutions and taking action, not to mention
the rumours he hears about the other men in her life.
And then always in the background there is Rob, Jamie's older brother, back from Afghanistan and traumatised after having his leg smashed to bits there. Jamie wants to help him, but Rob seems to be living in a world of his own and is increasingly difficult to reach.
With Caro, the summer should have been perfect . . . but that isn't how things work out in real life, and Jamie is going to find out the hard way.
And then always in the background there is Rob, Jamie's older brother, back from Afghanistan and traumatised after having his leg smashed to bits there. Jamie wants to help him, but Rob seems to be living in a world of his own and is increasingly difficult to reach.
With Caro, the summer should have been perfect . . . but that isn't how things work out in real life, and Jamie is going to find out the hard way.
As I
heard it, this is not Celia Rees as I have ever seen her before. I've
been reading her books for years and this book could have almost have
been written by a different Author - no Vampires, no Historical, no
Witches? I had to have a copy of this and I admit, I practically
dived on Bloomsbury when I heard there was a limited amount of
copies. The book didn't quite live up to it's hype, but that's
okay, I was expecting that.
The
story follows three characters, all who get a say at some point.
There's Jamie, who seems to be the main character but Caro, an easily
influenced political activist, really steals the show. Rob, Jamie's
brother has recently come home from Afghanistan and his mind is
probably more injured than his body.
This
Is Not Forgiveness is like a grown up Stargirl
(Jerry Spinelli). Caro is obviously Stargirl, only much less likeable
and not to put too fine a point on it, a huge slut. Leo and Jamie
seem alike to me too, in the sense that both characters become
obsessed with Stargirl/Caro. Rob? Nah, no-one in Stargirl I can
compare him to!
There
was another character that caught my attention and that was Jamie and
Rob's sister, Martha. She added a lot to the story and I think she
could have replaced Rob easily. During the aftermath of the big event
that happens at the end of the book, I would have loved to have known
her thoughts and what she was doing.
The
plot didn't really thrill. To be honest I was almost bored, waiting
for something to happen, after reading the beginning I could slowly
piece together what was going to happen. Actually, at the beginning
it took me a few chapters to work out which character was which. The
story just sort of plods along, mostly centered around Jamie's
obsession with Caro. He quite annoyed me with how she would tell him
to drop everything and he would, no question, which seemed quite naive. I never got a feel for Rob's character and I'm not sure what
drew him to Caro. The story picks up a little in places, telling you
of Caro's past or Rob's thoughts in Afghanistan (which were
chillingly brilliant). But when I got to the end, it felt quite
rushed and cheesy, almost. I wanted fireworks, but I got a sparkler
instead.
3/5
Received free from Bloomsbury in exchange for an honest review
3/5
Received free from Bloomsbury in exchange for an honest review
I haven't read any of her other books so I didn't have any expectations and I quite enjoyed it. I do agree that without the need to know what the beginning was about, it wouldn't have been that gripping a plot but that start did it for me. I think it also covered some important topics.
ReplyDeleteI started this, but quickly lost interest. I'll probably finish it at some point, but like you said; it's not as good as I expected it to be.
ReplyDeleteThe Cait Files
@Ellie: It covered some important topics, but I think the ending went a little overboard!
ReplyDelete@Cait: Can't say that I can see myself recommending this book to anyone in the near future.
Oh this sounds interesting. It's my first time seeing this one. Too bad it was a disappointment. Bleh.
ReplyDeleteGiselle
Xpresso Reads
Oooh this indeed sounds interesting!!
ReplyDeleteI'm HERE!! :)
I'm about half way though this and I admit to being a bit confused to start with, though I'm into it now (I think) I'm a big fan of Celia's historicals and can see this isn't going to be a favourite
ReplyDelete