Hate Is A Strong Word

Hate Is A Strong Word by Angela Myers

(Summary taken from amazon.com) "Hate is a Strong Word is a tale of teenage love, lust and loss told from the perspective of two volatile main characters who have separately come to the realization that they have nothing left to lose. The couple meet online under anything but routine circumstances, and their relationship has a life of it's own from the start. Watch them fall in love and run away together as they navigate their own personality flaws, inhibitions and mental instability. Can two damaged young people keep themselves and their relationship alive as they traverse the country from Buffalo New York to Denver Colorado on the run from their families, police and their past?"

Normally I try and start a review with everything positive; in this book there is only one thing, and that is the relationship that Michael had with his Aunt Ang and Uncle Frank. That part of the story was so sweet and tender. I loved his Aunt Ang. She seemed like such a wonderful lady, and Uncle Frank like a great guy. Taking Michael in couldn't have been easy on either of them, but they did it anyway, because it was the right thing to do. I liked that part. Unfortunately, that was the only part I even remotely liked. I didn't like it from page one. In fact, you could say that I hated it. The language was awful. It was so bad that I lost track of how many "f" words there were. And that wasn't the only word used. Oh no, they were all used. A lot. This book is dark. It's ugly. There are suicide attempts, abusive parents and children, and domestic violence scenes. There are people doing drugs, getting drunk, and beating each other up. There's a very detailed and disgusting rape scene. There are very detailed instructions on cutting. There are some very disturbing scenes that happen in the psych ward at the hospital, and there is a teen pregnancy. Nothing except that small scene with Aunt Ang is happy or has any redeeming qualities. The ending isn't even happy. Reading this book made me feel yucky and disgusted. Had I not been reviewing it, I would have stopped reading and deleted it after I read two pages. I do not recommend this book for anyone, especially not YA readers. I'm sorry. I feel bad writing such a poor review, but I have to be honest. 

Rating: R+ (I don't even know what is higher than an R.) Rape, domestic violence, drugs, alcohol abuse, profanity, suicide, cutting, teen pregnancy. It's dark and very disturbing.

Recommendation: None. I do not recommend it for anyone. 

Disclosure: I did receive a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.