Forbidden | Tabitha Suzuma

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Well this is slightly very controversial. 

In a nutshell it's about incest. 

To put it simply, yes, this may disgust everyone as it does me but you're not supposed to sit there and accept the incest, this book does not romanticise it, rather this is a tragic story.  

I'm all for unconditional love, I feel as though everyone should be treated equally and that's why I'm a feminist but there is a line and incest and pedophilia cross that line, that's just too much. Even though this book doesn't deal with pedophilia and more on the focus of incest.

This may make people very, very uncomfortable, so simply, don't read the book. This review may make people slightly uncomfortable, so simple, don't read the review.

I'm not going to explain this book so here is the synopsis on goodreads.  and I will paste some of it here:

Seventeen-year-old Lochan and sixteen-year-old Maya have always felt more like friends than siblings. Together they have stepped in for their alcoholic, wayward mother to take care of their three younger siblings. As defacto parents to the little ones, Lochan and Maya have had to grow up fast. And the stress of their lives—and the way they understand each other so completely—has also also brought them closer than two siblings would ordinarily be. So close, in fact, that they have fallen in love. Their clandestine romance quickly blooms into deep, desperate love. They know their relationship is wrong and cannot possibly continue. And yet, they cannot stop what feels so incredibly right. As the novel careens toward an explosive and shocking finale, only one thing is certain: a love this devastating has no happy ending.

I have no idea how to approach this. I am aware that you guys are probably 100% grossed out and yeah, so was I but I gave the book a go after reading a few reviews. 

This is such a sad story, I have no words. I'm pretty sure I'll probably post this review a few days, or weeks after I've read it because I need to sift through my thoughts and pull them together. To give you an indication of how uncomfortable I was reading this is halfway through I almost threw up. 

I did not give this book a one star rating because, It's Not A Bad Book. It is very emotional and it's about a dysfunctional family. I've come to believe the majority of incest stories we hear are when people feel very neglected from people/friends/society/their own family to extreme amounts and they resort to their siblings as comfort. Not that I've read many books on incest (this is my first) but I've watched some Game Of Thrones and need I say more. I know that is not a substantial reason for my opinion but it's definitely a realistic reason to why incest occurs. 

I didn't technically read the whole book (eek) because maybe when there was around 75 pages left I found myself skipping and skimming because it just became too much for me. I was just picturing it all and ohmygod, just too much. If I did read the whole thing I'm 110% sure I would be in tears. Another thing is I wish I read more books that included issues like this so I could compare but I haven't, yet. I do still need to read the Game Of Thrones books, How I Live Now, Lolita and a few others that have these themes/issues. 

I applaud Tabitha Suzuma, she is a very brave author for approaching such a taboo and controversial topic and putting it out there, because things like this do indeed happen in our world and to be honest we can't judge. We may find it disgusting and wrong but were really not ones to judge. 

Tabitha Suzuma throughout this book is trying to question us about what 'love' really is. She wants you think out of the normal. This book really made me think and that's a reason why I've concluded and believe that no matter what the situation I don't think we should judge anyone (even though I KNOW THIS IS FICTIONAL) or people who are doing this....because we don't know what they have gone through. Tabitha Suzuma is not trying to say that 'incest is alright' like NO. I've read some reviews where people are saying that she is some perverted sicko and I want to slap them. 

She is trying to question you about how and why it's wrong. Hypothetically thinking that these two people don't have children and are both consenting, why then legally prevent these two from loving each other just because they were birthed from the same woman. Like I cannot answer that, can you? Please don't go into religion and morals. Because other than that, can you answer why it's wrong? I'll leave that one with you. 

This book feels like a passive roller coaster if that is even possible. I say this because most times you're depressed with these characters and then you're suddenly happy. I was listening to Hozier and bloody hell it made the book so much more emotional. Seriously this is a tragic story. I've come out after reading this book perceiving things slightly differently. 

I would 100% try to compare this to Lolita but I have yet to read that as it also dabbles in this issue maybe even more with the pedophilia. Incest and pedophilia are recognised as two of the most disgusting acts possible however in Lolita I believe Nabakov makes you feel sorry for the man in the book and you find yourself excusing his actions.....yes I will leave that with you as well. Think on that. 

The main characters -Maya and Lochan- to an extent are quite colourful characters but the book is depressing. They both go through ordeals in this book and it becomes very sentimental. They are trying to care for their three younger siblings as they are the two oldest whilst their mother is a-wall. Tabitha Suzuma achieves getting the reader to feel the ache and hard-work these main characters go through and it makes everything 10049359438 worse. 

As well as the issue of incest this book does explore some issues of sexism and it really opens your eyes and once you see the deeper meaning this book is going to haunt and stick with you. Just, wow. 

The characters in this book truly hit rock bottom and honestly I have no idea why the incest didn't happen earlier because they really did have NO ONE but each other. It was really disheartening and painful to read about such terrible parents. I don't know how to properly explain myself. I'm not saying I support incest, I seriously hope that's not what you get out of my review. 

People seize to see the deeper meaning in this book. 

I feel like this is my most 'depressing' review on here so here is a little story about me whilst I was reading this sitting next to one of my friend:

Friend: What's your book about?

*me turn around and looks at her*

Me: Incest.

*turns back to read the book*

Friend: *dies*

she didn't die but that ordeal did happen and I didn't mean to say it so bluntly but at the end of it we were both laughing.