Eat, Read, and Be Mommy

I received an ARC of Claire Zorn’s Protected sometime in 2017.

I finished it in the last week or so.

I’m not proud of this.

I’ve been through this before, however–children, power of concentration, an effort to catch up, etc.–and so all I can really do is express appreciation for the ARC and review it honestly. And so…

Protected is, essentially, a story about bullying and a story about grief. Hannah was bullied relentlessly almost upon entering high school, right up until her sister died and it–stopped. Her mother is drowning in grief and depression; her father is drowning in the aftermath as well, except that he is also trying, trying, TRYING to do what he can for what is left of his family. (In case you hadn’t guessed, Hannah’s mother isn’t my favorite character.) They have support–Hannah’s maternal grandparents and an empathetic neighbor–but their family’s journey back towards life really begins when Hannah starts seeing the school counselor. (Other counselors–therapists?–have failed to connect and help in meaningful ways.) Those sessions and an unexpected new friendship finally set Hannah on the path to healing, and that path is really what Zorn’s book is about. I’m generally fascinated by the paths we take to healing and wisdom, and Hannah’s story is a painful but moving one. In fact, I’d probably recommend it to the older teenagers in my life if it weren’t for the language; I’m quite sure that the cultural differences between the US and Australia are partly the problem, but oh, I did not like the number of F-words. I’m not saying teenagers in Australia don’t talk that way; heck, I’m not saying that teenagers here don’t talk that way. (I’m also not saying they do, mind you. A great deal depends on the teenager.) I’m just saying that the F-word seriously impedes my enjoyment of a story, and it was sprinkled throughout the book with enough regularity to be a problem for me. If that’s a deal breaker for you, skip this one; if it’s not, it’s a completely worthwhile read.*

*One more relatively minor complaint–Hannah’s level of naivety is clearly intentional for the sake of the plot but occasionally stretches believability. I found her ignorance of leg shaving, in fact, to be completely unbelievable for a competitive swimmer with an older sister like Katie and a television (are the ads really that different in Australia?) in her home.