Name: Scars
ISBN: 9781934813324

Cheryl Rainfield

Fifteen-year-old Kendra, a budding artist, has not felt safe since she began to recall devastating memories of childhood sexual abuse, especially since she cannot remember her abuser's identity, and she copes with the pressure by cutting herself.

Scars

Georgia Carr

I've read lots of books that feature self-harm heavily, and this one has always been on my TBR. It gets pretty dramatic at times, but overall, it's very well written and very realistic. I liked Kendra as a character, and Carolyn and Meghan and Sandy. I would have liked to read more about them individually, but overall, this is a good novel for anyone who wants to understand self-harm and the effects of sexual abuse.

Lisa ✩ @lifeinlit

Audiobook Review:

Man, this story is harsh. In Scars we get an up-close-and-personal look into the life of a cutter. Consistent with my lack of reading descriptions prior to reading a book, I was completely unaware of what this story would be about. The raw, emotional impact it had on me completely caught me off guard.

Kendra had what can only be classified as a tragic past. She was sexually abused by a man, yet she has no recollection of who it was that abused her. The only way Kendra knows how to cope with these flashbacks and the unending anxiety that consumes her is by cutting. My heart was breaking the entire story for this poor, struggling teenager.

Honestly, the hardest part for me to handle in this story was Kendra’s mother’s lack of interest in her daughter. She completely ignored Kendra’s cries for help. She never supported her and basically made Kendra feel as though she wasn’t good enough for her parents. A non-supporting, basically nonexistent parent is something I will never understand.

The real and almost unfathomable nature of this story was hard to stomach at times. It takes a very sensitive, well-written story to broach these touchy subjects with such sensitivity and ease. This is my first Rainfield book, and I’ve heard this about her before… how she can take such a hard topic to discuss and bring it forth in a way that readers really enjoy and relate to. Now I can see what everyone has been raving about.

My only issue with this book, or really it’s an issue with the audio version, was the narrator. Though she was great during the stressful and anxiety-filled parts of the story, and did a nice job with the male characters throughout the book, the extent of her whiny voice for Kendra throughout the ENTIRE book really started to get on my last nerve. Every word was read with a whiney, gasping, upset, tortured voice. Now, I know Kendra is facing some inner demons in this story, but even when she’s speaking to her friends, Meghan or Sandy, the narrator still portrayed this constant tortured voice. No one speaks like that, no matter how depressed of a person they are. She wasn’t constantly struggling to speak 100% of the time where her voice would sound so whiney. And the use of this voice non-stop took away from the real torture she was facing at certain stages in the story.

Other than that one issue I had, I really enjoyed the story. Maybe “enjoyed” isn’t the best word to use, as this story was harsh, terrifying and raw to the core. But it was a very well-written and powerful story that I won’t be forgetting any time soon.

(Thanks to Audiobook Jukebox and Blackstone Audio for the review copy!)

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