Forbidden discussion

Ok, so I gave this book a 2 because if you're going to pick a topic like incest, every part better be amazing. The only reason I didn't give it a 1 is because I really liked the writing style and I thought it was a pretty good book till the ending. I have several issues with the ending.

For starters, I hate that they have sex. Not because of the incest thing because before reading I was expecting that to happen. However that was before I was introduced to characters that 100% knew the problems them having sex could cause. So they spend dozens of pages tormenting over how they can never ever ever have sex, and then the minute they have time alone they do it. And they were prepared, or at least Lochan was. Who out of the two it makes zero sense for him to have condoms. Now, him wanting an incest relationship with his sister makes more sense than Maya wanting one because he’s socially…challenged. But he felt their relationship was wrong more than she did.

So beyond being annoyed that they have sex, I’m annoyed that it’s their mother who catches them. Their mother who does not even stop by once a month. I can’t believe that she would stop by the house because Kit called her when they couldn’t even get her to care about Willa dislocating her shoulder.

I would have much preferred Kit throwing a fit after catching them. Or Francie throwing a fit. Or a breakdown from Lochan telling Miss. Azley. Instead they get caught doing the one thing they swore not to do, by the least likely person to have any effect on their lives. It would have been better even, or more realistic I should say, for them to get caught by their mother after having sex several times. Instead they get caught literally right after they finish. Not during, but right after Lochan comes so he can die not being a virgin. I’m pretty sure that’s the only reason why they get caught having sex instead of getting caught making out, which would have caused the same reaction from their mother. It’s stupid on so many levels. It would have been better for Maya to get pregnant and for them to actually have to deal with the usual consequences of an incestuous relationship.

Other things I’m disappointed with, is how you don’t hear from Francie or Miss Azley after they get caught. Those are the two people who actually have an impact on Lochan and Maya’s lives outside of family. I’m annoyed that Lochan being able to talk in class is glanced over. And that there’s no interaction from the first friend he’s able to make. Those are huge deals that explain part of why it makes sense for him to have a relationship with his sister. I’m having trouble understanding how he wouldn’t stop the relationship after he became a healthier person. The book could have had a bigger impact if they were able to stop their relationship and try to move on. That’s harder to deal with than being arrested and one character killing themselves without any growth.

Now I’ve saved my biggest annoyance for the entire book for last. I am absolutely livid that it glorifies suicide. It’s in no way okay for Lochan to become a hero because he kills himself. It does nothing for him or Maya as characters. And I cannot believe that Maya would still idol worship him and understand completely that he killed himself for her. How would she possibly be able to know for sure that he killed himself to protect the family instead of killing himself out of shame which is ten times more likely? Besides that it sends a horrible message to readers. Suicide is not a way to fix a problem. It will not cause your family to be accepting and able to move on towards a better life.

This book had so much potential, I’m just really disappointed and angered by how the author chose to end it.

Eml wrote: "Ok, so I gave this book a 2 because if you're going to pick a topic like incest, every part better be amazing. The only reason I didn't give it a 1 is because I really liked the writing style and I..."

i kind of had the same feelings when I read it first, but when joined the author on facebook I knew the book could not have ended in another way.

Trust me it´s the perfect ending for this type of love story.It also shows the real consequences for main character´s acts
Another thing is that correct me if i am wrong but u are not so keen to that type of relationship or let me be more specific where you claim that the main characters fall in love due to their psychological issues which i can not quite agree . I believe the author want to open the topic about taboos nowadays and the limits each person puts no himself .How far are you ready to go, would you and what would you do in the name of true love?. Writing this comment in 21 century i can freely draw an analogy between this book revealing something still considered forbidden and taboo in our times and book from the 19th century when something forbidden and inappropriate was having sex before marriage or marrying a husband not in your league ,not to mention having a lover or running away with some man who is not your husband. Specially the last one was considerate the biggest taboo and one of the most disgraceful things you can bring to your family .The author shows quite well that main characters overcome their flaws due to their relations and mutual support. For Example Lochan starts reading his work and communicating with his peers with the time ,which I quite believe is due to Maya’s conversations and convictions
Another view for the ending, let me call it mostly romantic , is that their love was pure and true .A love the world was not ready yet for .It shows how harsh and unfair can be the world with two people in love when it doesn´t appeal to the moral standards of the society .It also makes us to ask ourselves what exactly we consider for right and what for wrong. How can we accept that nowadays sex is twisted in so many ways and is still accepted by the society as something likely to discuss meanwhile the story of Maya and Lochan is being torn apart just because it is said ´´it immoral, sick or depraved ´´At last, final words for the end , before our eyes has been revealed the best way this story can end . You don’t question it , its like arguing with James Cameron for the script of Titanic and wanting to make some changes .

You should always question everything. Otherwise there's no merit to things you think highly of.

I have no problem with characters falling in love because of their psychological issues. I can believe that's why Lochan and Maya fell in love. However, I don't see their relationship as something that could last long term, especially when they themselves know it is wrong. I see it as a temporary coping mechanism for dealing with being pushed into the roles of parents. I think there are other love instances when falling in love because of issues is permanent, but Lochan and Maya's situation is different. Not to mention the fact that they are 17-18 and 16 year old kids. Their brains won't be fully developed for more than 5 years. Relationships between kids hardly ever work out. And that's people that aren't related to each other.

I read the book because I was curious how someone could take on the subject of incest in a consensual relationship. And I thought the author did a pretty good job until the ending. Lochan killing himself does not show real consequences. Real consequences are Maya getting pregnant or the two being confronted by people who care about them and forcing them to realize what their relationship means. By killing himself, Lochan doesn't gain anything as a character. He doesn't get to deal with the consequences of his actions, he just dies. Never able to become more than a screwed up 18 year old.

And I don't believe the family's reaction to him dying. He doesn't leave a note. There's no way for them to know he did it to save them. It's ten times more likely he would killed himself out of shame. His family should be furious at him, not understanding.Even adults can't cope with suicide. I can't stand that the solution to the book is suicide. That never fixes anything. Real consequences to their actions is the mother being put in jail for neglect. Maya and Lochan being forced into counseling and the kids being taken away. I get that would go against the idea that their love was pure and their relationship with each other should always stay that way, but in reality that wouldn't be allowed.

I would have loved to see Lochan and Maya try to move on from their relationship and be with other people. That's something incest couples have to do. Instead this book teaches that if you hurt yourself,(which happens multiple times, Maya falling down the stairs, Lochan's panic attack, Lochan making his knuckles bleed, Lochan's suicide)people will be more understanding and your problems will be fixed.

for what ever reason i found this book very hard to read and not because of the subject matter in fact that was why i brought it to try something different. i think it was because i didn't connect with them much and found it very depressing for a quick weekend read. i wanted to love it but i just didn't.
but i think it was the injustice in the book that annoyed me, i hated the bitch mother who ended up getting away with everything including neglect, i hated that Maya was alone with no support and had to deal with everything by herself at the end and hated that Kit then had to become the "dad" after Lochan death. it just felt like such a cruel ending.

for a book with a controversial topic this book is well executed.

Veronica wrote: "for a book with a controversial topic this book is well executed."

I agree..

I agree with most things that you said, about Lochan and Maya getting caught by their mother. I don't understand why she would be the one to catch them sleeping with each other, and if I remember dimly enough, one of their siblings also knew about their relationship? Obviously not seeing them together, but...yeah.
Though I do feel as if it weren’t for their mother being a douche, and was actually being a supportive mother like figure for her own children, Lochan and Maya wouldn’t have had such a relationship between each other. Of course love and closeness exists between siblings, but to have the two of them being somewhat of a mother and father towards Kit and Willa... I think their mother plays a huge role in contribution to Lochan and Maya’s love life.

Look at it this way, if their mother was always with them, cooking and cleaning and just being there for them, Lochan and Maya would have been just two normal siblings, just like Kit and Willa.
Whereas how this story tells, their mother practically just threw Lochan and Maya into that responsibility of being like a mother and a father towards Kit and Willa.
Seeing as to how they have to do that, the two of them felt and grew closer, working together for their siblings. That is what may have sparked their relationship further, all beginning with the acts of their mother.

Think of it openly, though this may not happen nowadays in society and home life, there are relationships between cousins that come to life because of parents being irresponsible of their own children or unable to satisfy and fulfil parental duties.

It may be uncomfortable for many readers to read something about a brother and a sister falling in love and having sex, but if you just interpret how they came to do that, you would understand. Love isn’t a game; it’s feelings that develop from small things deep within the heart and mind. The things Lochan and Maya did such as: Working together, getting to know each other, living with each other and being there for each other were the small roles that contributed to strengthen their relationship.

I hope I made sense; I’m ever so sleepy today!

Well, the only reason why the mother caught them, was because the other brother told her what was going on and told her they were at the house. So because of this fact, it didn't bother me that their mother was in fact the one to catch them.

Yeah it was kinda crazy that she was so furious about it, considering the type of mother she was, but honestly, no matter how neglectful she was towards her children, I could see how an incestuous relationship between her 2 oldest children would still cause her to react the way that she did. I mean bottom line, it is all kinds of f*cked up, what was going on with them.

I still think the story was done superbly though. I feel the outcome that we got was the only one that could have made sense considering their situation, & the type of people,(Lochan mainly) who were caught up in that situation. I don't think the ending was glamorized or glossed over in any way. I think it pointed out clearly, that this was beyond a jacked up occurrence. And in life things are not always going to come out of the fire in a easy or less horrific manner. people don't always get the chance to work through their issues to reach a brighter tomorrow or become a better version of themselves through hardships or heartbreaks. It's simply the truth, that more often than not things end in a very short, sometimes horrific, & often times with unfinished closure. And for this particular story & the events that unfolded, the ending here was a fitting one, IMO.

If they were two best friends and not related at all, people would have said it was envitable that they would end up together. But even so, I found it hard to believe, maybe because I thought the writer forced and rushed those feelings they were suppose to have on to the readers. I felt like the lead up to them falling in love could have been more developed. I felt most of the time that the writer was telling me, instead of showing me.

I didn't think it glamourised sucide at all, Loch didn't want to do it, where as Maya did but changed her mind. If it glamourised suicide, Maya would have killed herself to be with him. And I think Maya would have understood the reason behind Loch's death because Loch was willing to be considered a rapist and an abuser to protect Maya and tried to get her to agree with it, so she knew Loch was willing to put himself through hell to keep her safe, literally if you believe in the bible over suicide. But the rest of the family and the outside world could see it as shame,

I was annoyed about the mother finding them. I thought that maybe they would tell social services about what a terrible and negletful mother she is and that she's a liar. But I suppose they couldn't do that because the children could have been taken away. And after all the talk about not having sex until it was safe, I thought they were talking about when all the children had grown up and they could runaway somewhere, not the first minute they were alone they were alone.

The novel, however, was beautifully written.

This is ridiculous all of you folk expect from ( Geri, Nuran, ) are hypocrites did the author deceive did she lie to you in the description of the book before you read it NO . You all knew what you were going to read from the start you never knew the whole story but you knew the stories controversial concept. But still All of you went ahead and made the decisions to read the book now man up and face the consequences admit you cannot face such a controversial concept instead of ripping the story apart in threads it angers me that instead of looking at yourself and accepting I could not accept this concept you are throwing judgemental views.
The author had no intention of imposing suicide on us readers she did not went out her way to show suicide is an excellent idea look guys you do it . You all are forgetting this book is not real it is FICTIONAL. All you think Lochie was the elder so he should have stopped the relationship he is at fault he fell in love because of his social isolation. But come on do you need a reason to fall in love why should have Lochie stopped ? That’s like the characters mother thinking Maya being raped and automatically blaming Lochie you all are doing the same he was big so he should of stopped did once in the book go ahead read it again Lochie or Maya had it planned we are going into this relationship they were hesitant the whole time and author kindly enough took time and made the characters analysis there each step which I liked it made us readers feel there turmoil. The author did’nt need to do that but she did you all folk are treating this incest like its murder he should felt with consequences for failing in love ? For sacrificing himself? You all try to blame on fact they were teenager its infatuation or some psychology thing why ? I do not think their love was a teenager thing you might think that due to their age but what if they where older? Then what justification would you give? Feelings, norms roles , attraction everyone has different reasons they love someone from the start of the book it was like when your children and you pretend to play houses that's what I felt about Maya and Lochie relationship they never stop playing that was their reality . If we look past our own view forget their age, forget their siblings and think did they behave like siblings? Truly think about that Trisha and Geri ? There are different forms even in siblings relationship they bicker, friendships, hate each other etc you cannot even label or tell someone how you should behave as siblings because that's also a form of labelling not everyone the same my point is from the start I never felt that they were siblings more like friends. Geri would you judge or try and analysis childhood friends who have seen each other in dippers then lead to a relationship marriage even would you not think how attraction is developed ?

I could be wrong here but I think the society and other people believes can burden you with what is right and what is not but until you as a individual do not believe in then its nothing . Society says they are sister and brother but did they believe it? I once believed my cousin brother was like a real older brother I never had but to my cousin I am nothing, a stranger now society would impose and say our mothers are sisters so we are cousins but to him I'm a stranger and always will be . I think its the same with the characters in this story they always knew they were the we children elder siblings but to each other they were friends.
You ask why did the family cry for why did not judge who is going to judge him a 5yr old girl who does not even understand fully what suicide is or the 9yrs old come on grow up I know children are smart now a days but this is suicide even if you are explaining to your own young child that someone has died your likely to say there with god or the angles are taking care of them not he committed suicide or they got a heart attack, murder would U do that to your child NO unless you’re Mad . To the wee ones they lost their brother whom they loved who was their only father figure too Kit it was guilt he knew Lochie is dead because of him he knew the moment he ran after the jail car that he won’t see his brother but he did not even imagine death. No one thought there were more crimes Neglected by their mother two children having to grow up sooner than their age witnessing alcoholic abuse by their mother being emotionally abused. They were huge factors but no lets ignore them there like a flu. I only have one complain that the teachers were no help and the Mother faced no consequences I thought it was the mother who caught them to put kit in scenario and so that then audience would dislike the mum. I would had hoped Lochie and Maya to get there happy ever after Yes all of you can call me stupid I do not care. But understand one thing the ending was also like that because of you all for folk with soft heart or whatever who could not handle this concept because if the author had gave the couple HEA then you all would be complaining about that too so you can stratify everyone even if someone ripped their heart out.
NEXT TIME FOR THE LOVE OF GOD OR DUE TO THE MISTAKE YOU HAVE MADE THIS TIME EITHER DO NOT TRY TO BE BRAVE OR IF YOU DO READ SOMETHING YOU DID NOT UNDERSTAND OR LIKE PLEASE JUST STATE IT WAS NOT YOUR CUP OF TEA INSTEAD OF RIPPING THE STORY APART . I DO WHOEVER UNDERSTAND EVERYONE HAS THEIR OWN OPINION BUT PLEASE REMEMBER THE BOOK WRITTEN OFF AS FICTIONAL IS FICTIONAL AND NOT TO BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY LIKE REALIfE.

You need to calm down and get over yourself. Obviously we were aware of the subject because we read the book all the way through. There are plot holes and some messages(other than incest) that I have major problems with. If I find an issue with a book I'm going to bring it up regardless of whether or not it has incest in it. Don't act all high and mighty and like you're more intelligent than us just because you agree with the author's choices.

Ha its fine if You get supporters but one person disagrees then oh lets get the claws out we are living in 2014 come on centuries ago marriage with poor and riches was wrong until time went past what now U need to wait another century for people to accept I said all that because people are mainly complaining about the incest and then suicide then keep saying consequences shit ur are entitled to your opinion then so am I but U do not need to drag a book down the gutter for that

I'm sorry how is posting almost an entire paragraph in all caps and insulting people not "bringing your claws" out. There's a way to calmly disagree. People are going to be complaining about the incest relationship because that was the relationship portrayed in the book. It's no different than people complaining about an unrealistic heterosexual relationship that isn't incestuous. And I can handle suicide in a book if it isn't glorified and unrealistic. No one automatically comes to term with their brother of all people taking their own life. And I don't see how the children weren't taken away when such traumatic events happened to the family.

I get the part where your saying the children should have got more help but people on this discussion keep saying they should have hated him? There children they do not understand death yes they would be confused but do you think anyone would sit down and explain the whole situation to them there 5 and 9 you cannot do that . Yes kit would be traumatized, confused I agree with that because he knew about the incest but It was not shown in the book but remember the author cannot hold your finger and explain everything this book is for grown ups we have to understand am saying this because if the author did write in more greater details you all would complain she's going on and on and on with details remember films are like tat to there is a certain limit they have which they have to portray the film in likewise with the book . You cannot handle suicide fine I am glad you have decent to admit that suicide is not a good thing but we cannot close our eyes and think it does not happen rape happens neglected happens what I was mad about was a mum left her children she Neglected them she was a alcoholic she emotionally abused them but all of you behave like oh that's just life get over it the characters are at fault the should face consequences give it a break the writer portrayed their feelings so that we could connect to them fine it never worked with you or the others. I do not understand some books for example I read fifty shades of grey I didn't like it did I ripping the book apart no did I insult other people who liked the book no I just said I never likedor understood because I was left feelings confused due to tat was my first intro to bdsm I found that the author should have done more research that's it for kind information. You can post a hate discussion but I cannot express my views ? I give up Yu want to argue with more go ahead your just giving the book negative attention which would increase readers to buy it .

Nobody on this thread complained about the incest. It's about the plot holes. I'm assuming you didn't even read anyone's complaints before you went on a long, very hard to read, rampage.

I really enjoyed this book and thought it was very well done. I do see the problem of the mother happening to be around but then Kit did tell her because he thought Lochie told on him, so it was his little rebellious revenge thing. Very hard because it completely backfires and I am sure after Lochie's death Kit will be quite devastated considering Lochie didn't tell on him in the first place. How would Kit know that they were sleeping together, though? Then again he could have told the mom just because they were together and he was mad and that's all it took. I don't like it that Lochie killed himself, but I can see something like that actually happening. He was utterly trapped and in a corner. His last thoughts are harrowing and so sad. I thought it might be cliche to have Maya kill herself so I'm kind of glad she didn't at the end, though it felt like she almost should in light of how everything went to shit for her. I don't think sibling incest is as upsetting or weird as say, father/child or mother/child incest or some kind of relationship with an unequal power balance. At least Lochie and Maya were close in age so it wasn't like a 30 yr old with a teen. It is interesting as someone else mentioned that we have all kinds of really depraved sex going on in the world where women are being beaten or mutilated for someone's kicks but we're squeamish about a loving relationship between siblings. Meh.

Thank you memo you understood the story so well we need supporters i just got so sick of the negative comments and no one thought the neglected n abuse the kids suffered was a big deal but omg everything else is wrong

See that bit where ur saying Lochie never told on kit well he kinda did he was being practical like a parent would and told the teacher that kit afraid of heights so kit then got told not to go .

It's been a while since I read it and I am reading a bunch of other things so I will check it again. I thought something was said at the end that Lochie didn't say anything but I could be wrong. Either way, the whole thing is really sad. I appreciate that as we don't want to have sad endings but sometimes they must happen as life has lots of possibilities. I am glad the publisher/editor didn't give grief over those plot points.

Ooh ok i understand yeah i was sooo touched when i read this book i was in tears a few times while reading this book i think it is beautiful i felt sad by the ending but if the author did went through the change identity happily ever after then folk would still complained

Sönïa wrote: "This is ridiculous all of you folk expect from ( Geri, Nuran, ) are hypocrites did the author deceive did she lie to you in the description of the book before you read it NO . You all knew what you..."
i have never felt more connected to a review in my entire life! kudos for absorbing the essence of the book and not failing to portray your emotions..

Anoosha wrote: "Sönïa wrote: "This is ridiculous all of you folk expect from ( Geri, Nuran, ) are hypocrites did the author deceive did she lie to you in the description of the book before you read it NO . You all..."

Thanks