But I Love Him - Amanda GraceSeries : No
Released : 8th May 2010
Publisher: Flux
Overall rating
At the beginning of senior year, Ann was a smiling, straight-A student and track star with friends and a future. Then she met a haunted young man named Connor. Only she can heal his emotional scars; only he could make her feel so loved — and needed. Ann can't recall the pivotal moment it all changed, when she surrendered everything to be with him, but by graduation, her life has become a dangerous high wire act. Just one mistake could trigger Connor's rage, a senseless storm of cruel words and violence damaging everything — and everyone — in its path.
This evocative slideshow of flashbacks reveals a heartbreaking story of love gone terribly wrong.
But I Love Him has been a book l have wanted to read ever since l saw it on a few peoples IMM vlogs so when my copy came through the post l was SO excited!
Amanda starts at the end. By that l mean she starts at the point where Ann has been beaten by her boyfriend Connor rather badly and then it goes back in time while going back to the end every 40ish pages or so. I am still undecided on this and at a few points l felt l would of preferred the book if it wasn’t back to front but then l read the interview with Amanda at the back and she explained why she wrote the book this way round and l totally agree. She basically said people often don’t understand that anyone could get into an abusive relationship and often think that they would have ended the relationship before it got as bad as it did for Ann. This is not the case and But I Love Him just proves that.
Ann is a very loveable person who doesn’t have a lot of confidence but is still a friendly person who likes to have a laugh with her friends. While this book was going back in time throughout the book l still felt l got to know her better and better with each chapter as l could see how she is now and how she used to be.
When l figured the book was written backwards l was a bit worried l would get very confused and not be able to get as connected to the characters and Ann’s story as much as l hoped but l actually felt the opposite. Amanda did a great job of not letting it get confusing but actually show the reader how Connor and his behaviour affected not just Ann but the people around her. It was sad to see the result of all this but even sadder to slowly get it revealed to and to see how ‘smoothly’ this all happened and gradually. There was, for me, a negative to it being written this way round and that was there wasn’t really much ‘plot’ to it. Yes this book is about abuse and that needs to be the main focus but at times l wanted more. Maybe more of Ann’s memories or such.
This book was tricky to rate as there is a few things which made it from a 4/5 to a 4.5/5 and a few reasons which meant it’s a 4.5/5 and not a 5/5 for me.
The reasons which meant l couldn’t give it 4/5 are purely because of Amanda and her writing skills. Amanda really made Ann feel like a real person who was telling Amanda her story for her to write. The empathy, tenderness and compassion she seems to have for Ann really rubbed off on me within the first page meaning l straight away felt like l knew Ann. The ending was also a great one, it still confuses me a little bit but l THINK l understand it! Either way, it’s a genius one.
The reasons which downgraded this book a little bit for me was the very small chapters. I only got a glimpse of some of Ann’s days. By that l mean each chapter is around 3 pages long and each chapter is one day. For example one day may be 5th June and the next may be 1st June. I just felt it made it a bit harder for me to get engrossed into the story. The thing which did keep me gripped was seeing how the things changed between Ann and Connor and coming to understand her and why she stayed with him.
Amanda starts at the end. By that l mean she starts at the point where Ann has been beaten by her boyfriend Connor rather badly and then it goes back in time while going back to the end every 40ish pages or so. I am still undecided on this and at a few points l felt l would of preferred the book if it wasn’t back to front but then l read the interview with Amanda at the back and she explained why she wrote the book this way round and l totally agree. She basically said people often don’t understand that anyone could get into an abusive relationship and often think that they would have ended the relationship before it got as bad as it did for Ann. This is not the case and But I Love Him just proves that.
Ann is a very loveable person who doesn’t have a lot of confidence but is still a friendly person who likes to have a laugh with her friends. While this book was going back in time throughout the book l still felt l got to know her better and better with each chapter as l could see how she is now and how she used to be.
When l figured the book was written backwards l was a bit worried l would get very confused and not be able to get as connected to the characters and Ann’s story as much as l hoped but l actually felt the opposite. Amanda did a great job of not letting it get confusing but actually show the reader how Connor and his behaviour affected not just Ann but the people around her. It was sad to see the result of all this but even sadder to slowly get it revealed to and to see how ‘smoothly’ this all happened and gradually. There was, for me, a negative to it being written this way round and that was there wasn’t really much ‘plot’ to it. Yes this book is about abuse and that needs to be the main focus but at times l wanted more. Maybe more of Ann’s memories or such.
This book was tricky to rate as there is a few things which made it from a 4/5 to a 4.5/5 and a few reasons which meant it’s a 4.5/5 and not a 5/5 for me.
The reasons which meant l couldn’t give it 4/5 are purely because of Amanda and her writing skills. Amanda really made Ann feel like a real person who was telling Amanda her story for her to write. The empathy, tenderness and compassion she seems to have for Ann really rubbed off on me within the first page meaning l straight away felt like l knew Ann. The ending was also a great one, it still confuses me a little bit but l THINK l understand it! Either way, it’s a genius one.
The reasons which downgraded this book a little bit for me was the very small chapters. I only got a glimpse of some of Ann’s days. By that l mean each chapter is around 3 pages long and each chapter is one day. For example one day may be 5th June and the next may be 1st June. I just felt it made it a bit harder for me to get engrossed into the story. The thing which did keep me gripped was seeing how the things changed between Ann and Connor and coming to understand her and why she stayed with him.
Over-all But I Love Him is a heartbreaking book which shows you a true and very real glimpse into what abuse is like while still engaging with the reader.
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Ratings :
Plot : 4/5
Cover : 4/5
Page Turner : 4/5
Characters : 4/5
Ending : 4/5
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Find Amanda/Mandy -
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Buy But I Love Him -
I enjoyed this, too. I liked the way it was written and thought it had a deeper impact seeing the relationship in reverse. Great review!
ReplyDeleteI wonder how the ending of the book is going to be if the book it's told backwards. I want to read this book so bad! Thanks for the review!
ReplyDeleteMary (mfay2) @ Anxirium
I was pondering getting this book at Barnes and Noble the other day and decided not to. Gr now I really want it!!! Thanks for the review!
ReplyDelete-Danna
http://friendlyreaderohyeah.blogspot.com/
This sounds like a real heart felt book! Glad you enjoyed it (:
ReplyDeleteOoh, not sure if I'd heard of/read anything about this book yet. Thanks for sharing! Straight to the wishlist :)
ReplyDeleteI hadn't heard of this one until your IMM! :) It does sound like an interesting read.
ReplyDeleteWritten backwards? Really? Now I have to read it for myself because I'm just so curious as to how well that works.
ReplyDeleteGreat review. Thanks J!
Wow- this sounds good- horrific but engrossing. Great review- this is going on my wishlist!
ReplyDeleteI thank Ms. Hubbard a.k.a Amanda Grace for opening our eyes to the world of domestic violence and make each and every one of us realize that things aren't always what you see on the outside. It's on the inside that hurts the most!
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