Review : Flawed by Kate Avelynn

Summary (from Goodreads)

Title : Flawed
Author : Kate Avelynn
Publisher : Entangled Teen
Publication Date : December 11th 2012
Goodreads - The Book Depository

Sarah O’Brien is alive because of the pact she and her brother made twelve years ago — James will protect her from their violent father if she promises to never leave him. For years, she’s watched James destroy his life to save hers. If all he asks for in return is her affection, she’ll give it freely.

Until, with a tiny kiss and a broken mind, he asks for more than she can give.

Sam Donavon has been James’ best friend — and the boy Sarah’s had a crush on — for as long as she can remember. As their forbidden relationship deepens, Sarah knows she’s in trouble. Quiet, serious Sam has decided he’s going to save her. Neither of them realizes James is far more unstable than her father ever was, or that he’s not about to let Sarah forget her half of the pact...


Personal Thoughts

I'm sitting here, having read this book that everyone seems to be praising, trying to gather my thoughts. It's been approximately 24 hours since I've read Flawed and I'm still very confused as to what my feelings are regarding the book. To say that this isn't an easy book to review would be an understatement because honestly, I'm a mess right now. So, I apologize beforehand if my review makes no sense at all.

James has always been more than a brother to Sarah. He's her protector and her only friend. He has always been willing to risk his own life to protect hers and so he was her hero. But when James takes his protective nature a little too far by kissing her, Sarah is not sure of what to do anymore. Soon, her crush and her brother's best friend, Sam, starts paying attention to her and they start a relationship. The only problem? They have to keep it a secret because if James comes to find out about their relationship he could turn out to be worse than Sarah's father.

The title of this book is perfect for describing the characters in this book. Flawed. There was not one character who wasn't a damaged good, with the exception of Sam. Sarah, the protagonist, was probably the most fractured heroine I've ever read about. To be honest, I can't say that I connected with her character on any level. No. It's hard for me relate to someone who's going through what was going through because I do not have any experiences whatsoever. However, I did sympathize with her. One thing was clear : Sarah's life was anything but easy. I don't know how she went through her daily life having to tolerate her messed up life. I wouldn't have the courage. I would most probably just give up by running away from that kind of life. In a way, she was brave to face all that wordlessly. The thing with Sarah though was that she was so devoted and loyal to her brother that she refused to see his negative side. To her, he was somewhat of a hero. He was her rock through all the crappy moments in her life, so she had a hard time seeing the truth for what it was. I guess that was understandable, but it still frustrated me to no ends. I wanted her to open up to Sam when they finally got together or to anyone else for that matter, but she never did until it was too late. James started off as a likeable character. On the surface, he was only an overprotective brother, but soon, you start to take notice of the little inappropriate things he did, you realize what a sick disgusting human being he was. Is he totally to blame? Well, that's a question I'm still trying to answer by myself. Sam, on the other hand, was the only good person in this book because everyone else was simply too damaged. He was the sweet, caring and loveable guy who was easy to fall for. He would do anything, and I mean ANYTHING, for Sarah, but he was never given the opportunity because Sarah was blinded by her love for her brother. All in all, I thought the characters were beautifully written. These weren't just names on paper, they were a lot more complex and multi-layered than that. These are characters that will undoubtedly remain etched on my mind for a very long time. Perhaps too long.

Flawed was a hard book to read. During one half of the book I was a sobbing mess and during the other half I was cringing at the cruelty that was Sarah's life. This is a book that will toss you about and leave you emotionally battered. It was also a read that had me dizzy with questions spinning around my head, but most importantly, this is a book that made me think. One of the very first thing I thought about was why James behaved as he did? Was nature or nurture responsible for his attitude? Unfortunately, I'm still trying to figure that out. Flawed was a fairly short read. I myself read it in less than 6 hours, but still, for a short read, it packed a lot of themes, real-life themes that some of us are most probably afraid to think of ; Incest,domestic violence,rape,teenage sex life,drug abuse. Personally, I thought Kate Avelynn handled them flawlessly. Her prose was simple, but extremely profound. She is definitely an author to be on the look-out for and I commend her for approaching such tough subjects in a debut novel, because I'm pretty sure that was not easy for her. Now, I also want to briefly talk about the ending. To say that I was perfectly satisfied with it would be the biggest lie ever. No. I was mad, frustrated, enraged and probably wanted to forget I even read the book. And then I thought about it really hard. I realized how much I actually appreciate the ending. It was realistic and consistent with Sarah's character. That is all I have to say. I'm not going to go further to ruin the reading experience for you, but be prepared to be absolutely angry at the ending.

To conclude, Flawed was a heart-breaking, but incredibly touching book that will drown you in its words. You will cry, you will suffocate and you will cry some more when you read it, but I definitely think it's worth the read, but a fair warning, this is not going to be the book for everyone. The intricate, albeit blemished characters will create an utter chaos in your head and you're not going to be able to go on with your life normally for days. For now, I'm going to go watch The Ellen Show, so that Ellen can make me laugh and make me forget Flawed momentarily.

Rating

Cover : 4/5
Plot : 4/5
Characters : 5/5
Writing : 5/5

**Actual overall rating : 4.5 stars**