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If you loved Netflix’s “YOU” and “Secret Obsession,” you’ll love these 3 novels!
These three books are all in different genres, but they all include examples of abusive relationships. These novels are not intended to glorify abusive relationships, but to increase the awareness of what an abusive relationship looks like. Into the Darkest Corner and IF Untold provide some hope for moving past an abusive relationship, while Crank provides an example of a relationship that sink a person. Anyone can find themselves in a toxic or abusive relationship. Be aware of the signs and know that there is help for you.
This book contains themes such as drug use, sexual assault, and abusive relationships. If you or anyone you know needs help in a domestic violence situation, please visit https://www.thehotline.org/ or call 1-800-799-SAFE.
Into the Darkest Corner
I read this book years ago and it was so chilling. Into the Darkest Corner is a thriller, suspense novel that follows Catherine Bailey as she tries to erase the memories of the man that tried to consume her. She escapes the dangerous relationship, but years later things take a dark and unexpected turn. I finished this book in just two reading sessions. I couldn’t put it down. I found myself rooting for Catherine every inch of the way, with goosebumps on my arms.
IF Untold
When I read the description of this book, I was a little nervous that I’d picked up a book where the main character is just victimized for a few hundred pages. I’ve read a few too many of those books. You know, where the helpless protagonist just makes bad choices in lieu of an actual personality? IF Untold is not that book. Francesca, the main character, does make her own mistakes. She is flawed but still redeemable. She certainly does carry the role of the victim but that is not the extent of her depth.
Francesca is a young girl that falls in love with the troubled boy down the street. As they grow up, their relationship becomes twisted and agonizing. The once innocent love turns into an obsession. In a recent author interview, I asked Norelle Smith about creating a character that felt 3-dimensional and she said, “We attempted to write and build the characters in a way that each reader, themselves, would make their own decision on who the villain was, the hero, and the victim.” You can read the full interview on my blog this Friday!
Crank
The first time I read the novel, Crank, I was a teenager. At that time, I didn’t really see the relationships that the character had. In my young mind, I blamed the drugs for most of the issues that they had. However, looking back at this series as an adult, it’s easy to see that the relationships are obsessive and co-dependent. Similar to the Twilight series (which I read around the same time), the main character feels like she cannot survive without her boyfriend(s). This book is exceptional in that it is told in a series of poems and is semi-biographical about the life of the author’s daughter.
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