Perversion or relationship?

[S1234]

Without Carly around, he already kidnapped and almost raped and facilitated the murder of Terry. I think if the time continued on, he would have sexually assaulted his own mother, and possibly killed his dad. He's a psychopath, and I still don't consider him as having redeemed himself, even after Carly. I hated Adam's character!

I agree. I don't consider him redeemed either. It is difficult to believe that he could change so quickly and easily from a sociopath in training to perfect. I kept wondering when he would turn on Carly in a violent way.

Same. I was waiting for his dark counterpart to go rogue on her. Not predictable at all.

[leareiler]

I agree. There were multiple times I wanted to stop reading because of his character. If you can hold on until Carly arrives then it does improve. I can't help but consider if his feelings for JoAnn was needed.

Does anyone think the story can be written without it?

I definitely think the story could be written without it. His feelings for his mom seemed like a subplot to the subplot, and with a just a few revisions from the author those feelings could be gone. It would have made the book a lot more enjoyable (and a lot less uncomfortable), for me at least.

[Noosh]

That is actually what’s making me not want to continue with the book. It’s just too weird for me... the whole thing with the mum (stepmom)... should I keep on reading then? I thought we were dealing with incest

I'm with you on this. I'm staying far away from this one. I can handle profanity and the occasional erotic scene, but incest? No, thank you. I'm out. But incest aside, can you handle other forms of erotic content?

Not really. Erotic scenes aren’t really for me.

This was more like thoughts/fantasizing though, not actual action, but still it wasn’t acceptable for me.

[Nonso Samuelson]

That is actually what’s making me not want to continue with the book. It’s just too weird for me... the whole thing with the mum (stepmom)... should I keep on reading then? I thought we were dealing with incest

I'm with you on this. I'm staying far away from this one. I can handle profanity and the occasional erotic scene, but incest? No, thank you. I'm out. But incest aside, can you handle other forms of erotic content?

Not really. Erotic scenes aren’t really for me.

This was more like thoughts/fantasizing though, not actual action, but still it wasn’t acceptable for me.

Whether thoughts or actions, I can't deal as long as it's incest.

[Nonso Samuelson]

I agree. There were multiple times I wanted to stop reading because of his character. If you can hold on until Carly arrives then it does improve. I can't help but consider if his feelings for JoAnn was needed.

Does anyone think the story can be written without it?

You have way more mental resilience than me. I would have flung the book after just the first instance of incest. Can the story be written without it? I haven't read the book, but I believe any book can do without incest.

I agree, what's worse is I was looking for something lighthearted,

Haha! You picked the wrong book!!

[BrianCollins]

The opening sequence of the book certainly makes it sound like Adam has a thing for JoAnn, which is not something I would expect to read in a YA novel. Not sure I would call it a bad maneuver, but it did make it harder for me to sympathize with Adam for a good portion of the book.

[AlexisLib]

If Carly hadn't come along, I think Adam would have fully become a sociopath and probably raped his mother and killed his father. Carly's calm influence and acceptance helped him learn about his powers and who he was in a way that brought him to wanting to be a more positive person. And his love for her gave him something to fight for that was positive/healthy. He started thinking differently with her in his life (maybe too suddenly, as some commenters have said, but it did change him to become more positive in the world).

[xuanmaii]

I'm not so sure since it seems Adam and JoAnn are both perfectly aware that that kind of relationship is kinda wrong, plus they can still develop romantic relationships with other people, like JoAnn with Mark, or like Adam who used to have desires for Terry (though not "love" things).

[gilliansisley]

Without Carly around, he already kidnapped and almost raped and facilitated the murder of Terry. I think if the time continued on, he would have sexually assaulted his own mother, and possibly killed his dad. He's a psychopath, and I still don't consider him as having redeemed himself, even after Carly. I hated Adam's character!

I agree. I don't consider him redeemed either. It is difficult to believe that he could change so quickly and easily from a sociopath in training to perfect. I kept wondering when he would turn on Carly in a violent way.

I entirely agree-- and that's why this book is so dangerous when put in the hands of impressionable young people. In the real world, he isn't "fixed" by love. He's still violent and disturbed, and Carly would be in great danger.

The narrative of "true love can fix people" is exactly how individuals end up in abusive relationships.

[gilliansisley]

I want to ask the author why they thought mutual incestuous thoughts would be a good thing to have one of their main characters have! How in the world are we supposed to see them as "good guys".

So damn true-- how were these feelings supposed to help us resonate with Adam, and feel bad for him after all the terrible things he's done? I'm not sure what the goal was with this character, realistically.

The first half of the book just consisted of me thinking "are we supposed to be cool with this or what?"

True!! And I would look back at the glowing reviews, and I'm like, "Am I crazy one? I haven't been out of the dating game THAT long! Pretty sure this is still unhealthy!"

[S1234]

So damn true-- how were these feelings supposed to help us resonate with Adam, and feel bad for him after all the terrible things he's done? I'm not sure what the goal was with this character, realistically.

The first half of the book just consisted of me thinking "are we supposed to be cool with this or what?"

True!! And I would look back at the glowing reviews, and I'm like, "Am I crazy one? I haven't been out of the dating game THAT long! Pretty sure this is still unhealthy!"

I agree. The reason I started reading this book was because of the reviews. No one really hinted it would be so dark.

[Inkroverts]

It's weird to read something like this. I tried to rationalize that the character probably thought it's okay because JoAnn was his STEP-mother. But in the end I failed to sympathize with his sentiments.

[Njkinny]

That is actually what’s making me not want to continue with the book. It’s just too weird for me... the whole thing with the mum (stepmom)... should I keep on reading then? I thought we were dealing with incest

Yeah, there are some really weird and uncomfortable details in this book... most of it is pretty YA but then there are sentences that are just outrageous to have in a YA book.

P.S I love your profile pic!

Yes the weird sexual overtones were really unnessesary.

Totally agree. Instead the author should have worked on adding more layers to the characters. Adam confuses me from the start and then halfway through the book, he was relegated to the sidelines with other characters introduced. Character development is a major weak point of this book.

[amihughson]

I don't agree. It's a fact that a lot of children's first crushes, or first thoughts of marriage, however innocent, usually center on a parent or close family member. Thankfully most of them grow out of it. Considering Adam's thoughts and feelings about his peers and his mom, I just honestly thought he was severely underdeveloped emotionally. And in the context of the story, the eventual explanation of those "creepy" feelings and thoughts was plausible. After all, its the same mechanic that made him and Carly completely inseparable after only a couple months of dating, and what drew them together in the first place even though they didn't remotely like each other to begin with.

[La Loca Designs]

Without Carly around, he already kidnapped and almost raped and facilitated the murder of Terry. I think if the time continued on, he would have sexually assaulted his own mother, and possibly killed his dad. He's a psychopath, and I still don't consider him as having redeemed himself, even after Carly. I hated Adam's character!

I agree. I don't consider him redeemed either. It is difficult to believe that he could change so quickly and easily from a sociopath in training to perfect. I kept wondering when he would turn on Carly in a violent way.

Same. I was waiting for his dark counterpart to go rogue on her. Not predictable at all.

So glad I am not the only one!