Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma

Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma

5 stars- I think…

Lochan and Maya Whitley are thirteen months apart and have always felt more like friends than siblings. They take care of their younger siblings and have become their parents. Their mom has a new boyfriend and is an alcoholic and their father has been absent for five years after the divorce. Lochan and Maya have to grow up fast and don’t experience things most teenagers do. But they’ve discovered something between each other. They’ve fallen in love. They know that their romance is wrong and could end horribly, but they fight for their love desperately. This is a love story that has no happy ending. I don’t know what to say or do. I’m conflicted. I usually wait a couple of days to write a review after reading a book, but I don’t want to wait because this feeling is fresh inside of me. I don’t know what to rate this book. I loved it, but at the same time I couldn’t read too much of it because of the subject. I just… I don’t know. I think I’ll stick with five stars. This book deserves five stars, if not more. I just… this is a book where it leaves you breathless and conflicted and emotional. I’m so emotional right now. I feel as though I’ve experienced the book in real life and real time. This book is hard for people to except. There’s topics in here that people find disgusting and it’s hard for people to push those feelings aside and look at the psychological aspect of this book. I have a hard time accepting Lochan and Maya’s relationship, but at the same time I feel like Suzuma wrote so beautifully and captured feelings and ideas so perfectly that this was believable and it wasn’t disgusting. It was wrong and disturbing but I never once felt like I was going to hurl from what was happening. I in some sick twisted way wanted what Maya wanted. I wanted that happy ending for them, but I knew it wouldn’t happen.


The main female character is Maya. I don’t really like Maya to be honest. But I sympathized with her. I felt sorry for her and her family’s situation. She wasn’t a bad character at all, but I don’t think I’m either supposed to like or hate these characters. Instead of feeling anything for Maya, throughout the book I felt like Maya. That probably doesn’t make any sense, but that’s how I felt and it’s hard to describe.


Kick-Butt Heroine Scale: 8 (?) Like I said it’s hard to give this book any sort of rating.

The main male character is Lochan. I thought Lochan was unstable, crazy, borderline bipolar, and in desperate need of mental help. Even though I thought those things I loved Lochan. I’m so conflicted about Lochan and Maya. I don’t know if I liked them or hated them, but I know that I cared for Lochan’s character and that I was broken by the ending because of him.


Swoon Worthy Scale: 8 (?)

The Villain- I guess the mom is the villain. I absolutely hated her. I didn’t understand why she kept coming back if she didn’t want them or even care about them. She was a terrible person. You can’t be a good mom if you’re a bad person and she’s a perfect example of that.

Villain Scale: 8

I loved the little ones. Those kids touched my heart and I cried for them. I loved Kit, Tiffin, and Willa. They were so sweet and the things they made me laugh and cry. I feel like they need a story. They are all so different and I don’t know how they coped with what happened. I need to know how Tiffin and Willa are. I need to know if Kit is still causing trouble or if he is still trying to be “the man of the house”. I want more of these kids and I don’t want to see them go. I feel like they still have a story to be told that’s each their own.


Character Scale: 10

This book is amazing and it’s hard to read at times, but it’s worth it. I’m so glad I read this book. I have been wanting to read this book for a while and I’m so happy that I finally did. I’m not let down and I feel like this book gave me a new look to what we think we see. This book made me realize that not everything is what it seems and that judgments shouldn’t been made unless you know the whole story. I know this isn’t the last time I’ll read Suzuma’s works because she is definitely a great writer.


Cover Thoughts: I love this cover. It’s simple and the heart design is beautiful and fun to trace when I’m bored in class. The red is striking and perfect.