Helpful Score: 1
I was so engrossed by this book that I stayed up until 3am to finish it and had to drag myself to work that morning. It is a well-written, but trying story of a small cul-de-sac of families who are all damaged by a troubled family and its fetid tentacles. No one escapes this book unscathed, and some don't escape at all. "Broken" had an interesting dichotomy for me as I couldn't put it down, but the story weighed heavy on my heart. I stayed up late the last night because I was obsessed with the story, but also wasn't sure I could take another night entrenched in such a sad story. If you can handle it, you'll love it.
The back of this book mentions To Kill a Mockingbird. Ignore that. You can't pick up this book and expect it to read like that book. However, this book is an amazing story. It takes so many wild, yet realistically possible, turns that you can't guess what happens next. I picked up this book because it was a clearance item and it is one of my best finds yet. I am now giving it to others to read and would definitely read it again.
I like how the author weaves the different characters together to show how the actions of one person can affect others in so many ways. I thought it was a great read.
Ugh. Bought this on the premise that it was similar to To Kill A Mockingbird, one of my all time favorites, but aside from plot elements which follow a similar storyline, this book was painful to read, not in a good way. None of the characters are remotely identifiable with; this is a book mainly full of terrible things happening to terrible people
