Official Review: Broken by Samuel Alexander

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L_Therese
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Official Review: Broken by Samuel Alexander

Post by L_Therese »

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Broken" by Samuel Alexander.]
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2 out of 4 stars
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There’s nothing easy about being a teenager, but when you grow up in a home with abuse, struggle with depression, and have body image issues, it takes difficult to a whole new level. In Samuel Alexander’s novel Broken: The Edge of Sanity, main character Bryan is having just this kind of teenage experience. To heap icing on top of that unappetizing cake, Bryan is gay, and he might be crushing on his best friend Sandjai.

Sandjai, newly arrived as an immigrant, is looking for a friend when he runs into Bryan, who is composing a suicide note. Having met at this vulnerable and pivotal juncture, the two quickly become fast friends. As time goes on, new revelations challenge their friendship, and Bryan must learn to enjoy and appreciate his life separate from his relationship with Sandjai. Is their relationship healthy or has Bryan started leaning too much on Sandjai for affirmation and support?

There were a lot of strong points in this book. It really did an excellent job capturing nuances of an evolving relationship. Further, every development made sense within the story, allowing the intimacy between the two young men to feel very real and natural. Readers can also look forward to a surprise at the end that is, in this reviewer’s opinion, the book’s crown jewel. (It’s a surprise, though – no hints!)

For all its strengths, the book also had a number of weaknesses. The most minor was editing mistakes. Throughout the book, there were a number of spelling and punctuation errors, ranging from turning “Sandjai” into “Snadjai” to missing apostrophes and commas. More importantly, most of the dialogue was unattributed to a character. A reader would need to try surmising from context which character said what, and often a different character’s reaction would be included in the next sentence without starting a new paragraph. This made it much more difficult to appreciate the relationship dynamics between characters because it was harder to keep their voices straight. Most devastatingly to this reviewer’s mind, there was a lack of setting for the story. The reader could attempt to make guesses about the time, place, and cultural context in which the characters exist, but nothing is ever explicitly revealed by the author to confirm any guesses. This lack of context makes it more difficult to predict characters’ behavior or get an idea of which behaviors are taboo, abnormal, or expected.

Prospective readers should also be aware that this book contains a graphic sex scene as well as much discussion about minors participating in adult sexual behaviors. Readers should be prepared to encounter teenagers as young as 14 years old discussing past sexual encounters with peers.

Weighing the strengths and the weaknesses together, I rate Broken by Samuel Alexander 2 out of 4 stars. The book is not without strengths, but it could definitely use an editor. As I consider whether the book is recommendable, I am discouraged from widely recommending it by the lack of setting and the highly sexual content in addition to the editing challenges. I hope that another round of editing will help this book gain appeal so it can reach its niche readership.

******
Broken
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Nthabeleng
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Post by Nthabeleng »

The cover of this book is really appealing and the title is awesome but I don't like the fact that it has sexual content, thanks for the review.
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Elle Howard
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Post by Elle Howard »

Thank you for your honest opinion of this book. You gave a very good summary of the book and gave both positive and negative things you liked about the novel. I am not sure I would read the book but I am adding it to my bookshelf.
Any book that helps a child to form a habit of reading, to make reading one of his deep and continuing needs, is good for him.
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MrsCatInTheHat
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Post by MrsCatInTheHat »

It sounds like this book would be an emotional challenge to read. To me, that is a good thing, as when a story challenges me, I grow.
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Zelinda
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Post by Zelinda »

This sounds like a book written for young adults that should not be marketed to young adults. I hope the author reworks the book, because it sound like it has value.
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Post by Ubyamos »

Thanks for the nice review but I don't think I'm interested in this one.
I don't like books that makes me read back and forth just to figure out which character is saying what.
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kandscreeley
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Post by kandscreeley »

I'm sorry about the setting and lack of context for the characters. If it weren't for the issues, it sounds like it could be a good story. Thanks for the review.
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Post by Murmuring Letters »

Thank you for posting such an honest and detailed review. I really liked the outline of the story as you summarized it, I even thought about reading the novel but then got discouraged when you mentioned the many grammatical mistakes and the unusual writing style. I find it really difficult to read a book with so many grammatical errors but I could get through it if the story and the overall feeling was good. Thank you for ending the review on a positive note, I think it will really help the author to improve the novel.
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Gingerbo0ks
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Post by Gingerbo0ks »

L_Therese wrote: importantly, most of the dialogue was unattributed to a character. A reader would need to try surmising from context which character said what, and often a different character’s reaction would be included in the next sentence without starting a new paragraph. This made it much more difficult to appreciate the relationship dynamics between characters because it was harder to keep their voices straight. Most devastatingly to this reviewer’s mind, there was a lack of setting for the story. The reader could attempt to make guesses about the time, place, and cultural context in which the characters exist, but nothing is ever explicitly revealed by the author to confirm any guesses.
I really hope this is addressed, as this author has a habit of writing this way, which really dampens the enjoyment and appreciation of the novel. It's such a shame as there are some good story lines and plot ideas. I hope the author will consider a thorough edit.
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Post by ebethina »

Wow sounds really good, thanks for sharing
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