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Forbidden had been on my TBR shelf for ages – probably from about 2011, if not 2010 – and I finally felt the urge to pick it up when I was looking for fast contemporary books to read. As you’re all probably aware, Forbidden is a story about a brother and a sister who fall in love. It’s a very uncomfortable read, but I enjoyed it anyway.
Not gonna lie, I went into Forbidden wondering if I would ship the incest. I had read and watched a few reviews for this book before reading, and the book has been known to trouble people and to cause conflicting feelings. Thankfully, I didn’t ship anything which meant that I didn’t experience any interal conflict.
Forbidden is such a great book for book clubs and discussions, because everyone has a differing opinion on the story and the characters, particularly the incest aspect which causes controversy and many arguments.
Want my opinion? Well, I think the point of Forbidden was to show that abuse and neglect from a parent can psychologically affect and impair their child or children. I think that the incest in Forbidden between Lochan and Maya came about because the two of them were thrown together to raise their siblings after their father left them and their mother suffered from undiagnosed mental illness(es), resulting in neglect and also abuse. I definitely don’t think that Tabitha Suzuma was trying to say that people should be able to love whoever they like, even their siblings. I think she was pointing out the psychological effects such behaviour can have on children. You can particularly see this with Lochan, who was rather troubled to put it lightly.
Forbidden is a really good book for those reasons, although I didn’t think the writing style was all that great. It was all very average aside from the theme, and I don’t think I will be checking out any of Suzuma’s other works. I would recommend picking up Forbidden if you’re looking for a book that will make you think. If you have already read it then you should leave a comment so we can get a discussion going!
Personally, I really loved this book, and I did feel more for the romance than you did, and it definitely made me conflicted, but I am totally with you on the fact that it was a result of more subtle background features, like the abuse and the drinking mother and the AWOL father, it brought them together, and lines got fuzzy and crossed and it all won me over more than it did you. I agree, it’s a book that makes you think. It’s also a book I’ll be rereading, one day. Maybe this year actually. Great review though Amber, really great! 🙂
Thanks Amanda! I’m glad you enjoyed it so much that you want to reread it. I love it when books make you feel like that.
I definitely agree with the rating you gave Forbidden, even though I gave it a five star rating. In my opinion, my enjoyment for this novel was probably about a 3.5, but the execution and portrayal of this situation is what really made this novel for me. Great review! I love the psychological aspects of Forbidden; it’s what originally had me so interested in picking Forbidden up.