Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I was loving this book until the very end. The accuracy of portraying an abusive relationship in this story is very real. Considering this is written in prose, the story pacing is excellent. Then the end. Without spoilers, just know abusive people don't change. They just don't. Victims hope their abusers will wake up and love and validate them. And I'm appalled by how many fictional books, this one, Twilight, Fifty Shades... portray this as being real and possible. My good friend who has been a therapist for twenty years has seen hundreds and hundreds of abusers, and only one sorta changed. Not good odds, which makes stories that end like this very unrealistic. What is more realistic is that Xiomera's mother has put up the pretense of change, because someone in her community has discovered her abusive ways. As soon as time passes, so will the "honey-moon-phase" and "dear-ole-mom" will return to her controlling ways once again, worse for the wear. I can't believe the message this sends to youth and the fact that it won such prestigious awards. It's sad and deplorable. We read this book in my book group and all the members agreed, this is not a good message to send to people in abusive relationships. Return home after running from the abuse, and your abuser will realize the error of their ways and suddenly love you? Sorry that never happens...