Tuesday 31 August 2010

Review for Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma

"He is my soul mate, my fresh air, the reason I look forward to getting up every morning." Maya and Lochan have known each other their entire lives. They’ve been each others rock, soul mate and best friend. Maya’s pretty and kind, sweet sixteen and never been kissed. Lochan is gorgeous, generous and super intelligent and now they’ve fallen in love. This couple should be destined to be together, except they never can be… because they are brother and sister. When I first found out about this book I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to read it or not. I like to think that I’m a pretty open minded person but just the thought of incest turns my stomach and makes me a little queasy but because there’s nothing else quiet like this out there at the moment and because of all the rave reviews I decided to put my personal feelings to the side and read this book. Boy am I glad that I did! Before reading this book I like many people thought of incest as a taboo subject, but after reading this it’s completely changed my opinion on it. Not all incest is as black and white as it may seem, especially that of the consensual type and this book fills in all of those shades of grey in between. It wasn’t until I was half way through reading this that I realised that I didn’t find Maya and Lochan’s relationship sick or repulsive at all - in fact quiet the opposite! I was desperate for them to be together and find a way to figure everything out and ultimately found their situation sad and unfortunate. Like Lochan and Maya I never saw them as brother and sister but as star crossed lovers who had so much against them. They were two normal, wonderful people who I just wanted the best for and if that was with each other then so be it. Their relationship wasn’t all that sexual which just showed that above all they deeply loved each other and just wanted to be able to be a proper couple. All they wanted was to be accepted and to be able to do all the things that a normal boyfriend and girlfriend take for granted. It actually shocked me that Lochan and Maya could go to prison for something they had no control over. You can’t choose who you fall in love with and it made me think that if homosexuals are allowed to love each other and transsexuals are allowed to defy the ‘norm’ because of feelings they cant control then why on earth are not only Lochan and Maya not allowed to be together but face a prison sentence because of it? Why, if under some circumstances and if an incest relationship is consensual and they aren’t hurting each other or other people must they be punished for that? Ultimately it’s not about if their relationship is wrong or right – that could be debated back and forth forever. It’s about why should they be punished so harshly for something they can’t control? Maya and Lochan try numerous times to end their relationship but can you imagine trying to get over someone who’s been a part of you for your entire life? Who you’ve loved for as long as you can remember? Who you never get chance to get away from because you live under the same roof? It would take two very strong people to push that aside so it’s no wonder that they always ended up back together. Tabitha Suzuma’s writing is exquisite and you can definitely feel the love that Lochan and Maya share. I cried so many times whilst reading this book especially towards the end. The ending was perfect- sad – but perfect, I think it ended how it had to end. I’m so glad that I bought another of Tabitha’s books along with this one because Forbidden has definitely become one of my favourite books of all time and I can see Tabitha becoming one of my very favourite authors if the rest of her books are even half as good as Forbidden. This isn’t an easy read. Far from it, but it’s one of those books that demands to be read. It’ll change the way you think. It’ll have you falling in love with the characters. It will have you weeping with the unfairness of it all. There’s not really much more I can say about it other than forget your vampires and humans, jocks and geeks, Forbidden is the ultimate forbidden love story and you’d be crazy to miss out on it. 5 stars. My Rating 5/5 stars *****

13 comments :

  1. I also have a special treat for y'all concerning Tabitha so keep your eyes peeled for that ;)

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  2. Fab review! I've got this on my shelf but haven't gotten around to it yet. I don't know if it's because I've been busy with other books or because I'm still not sure where I stand on the topic of incest!

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  3. Thanks for the review! I'm interested in reading this book because I've heard so many wonderful things about it. You make some really great points.

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  4. You should both read it soon! It's so amazing. Thank you so much for the positive feedback I was a little nervous about writing this one!

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  5. Excellent review! I've never read it because the thought of incest repulses me, but maybe I should try it now :)

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  6. Fabulous review! This is one of my fav reads of the year. The writing is incredible. I am glad you gave it a chance! :)

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  7. I keep hearing about this book but like most, I'm not sure about reading it. I should just get over the weirdness of the incest and just read it! I haven't read a bad review for it yet.

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  8. This one was so emotional and fantastic, I can't believe how much I enjoyed reading it especially with that subject matter! I think Tabitha Suzuma did an incredible thing with this book..

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  9. What a great review! I'm not sure if I can read about incest or not. Will have to put that one on the list and think about it. Though I think the law exists more because children of two closely related individuals can turn out with abnormalities. I may be completely wrong, but it's always what I've been told when I asked the question (not ever in love with a relative, thank god, not even blood related to any of them as I'm adopted!)

    Anyway, I've never even heard of this book. You did a great job reviewing such a tough book.

    Heather
    http://wwwBuriedinBooks.blogspot.com
    New follower and twitterer

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  10. The review of this book makes the book sound great even though it is a depraved subject matter. Reminds me of Lolita...a beautifully written book but a ghastly subject matter.
    -Anne
    http://headfullofbooks.blogspot.com

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  11. Well... Before this one I've had already debated all this arguments in my head and to others because in Portugal we have a book in our school program that we are obligated to read that is about incest. It's The Maias from Eça de Queirós and we consider it a classic.
    So we all talk about this in school. lol It's kinda of strange I know. And I don't really find it repulsive if it's consented or anything like that. I will be bying this one.
    Your review was fantastic. Really. And passionate.
    =)

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  12. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  13. This review was awesome! Incest = disgusting (in my mind), but the book looks fascinating, and who knows? Maybe it'll change my mind on it! The book has stellar reviews anyway...

    princessoflit.blogspot.com

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