Customer Reviews

Stained (Richard Jackson Books (Simon Pulse))

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A quietly powerful, expertly told tale about an insecure teenage waitress and three men whose lives collide with hers. Seventeen-year-old Jocelyn McGuire is 17, a lapsed Catholic in a community of believers, working in a small-town New Hampshire diner in 1975. Her childhood friend-turned-nemesis, Gabe, is missing. Her on-again, off-again boyfriend, Benny, breaks up with her on the advice of the local priest, who holds a creepy sway over his male, teenaged parishioners. Jocelyn's narration alternates between flashbacks of her history with Gabe, a past that includes a childhood sexual assault, and a present tense account of his disappearance in which she actively puzzles out what's happened. The ending is triumphant with Jocelyn realizing she's not to blame for the way Gabe or Benny have treated her, and with her taking bold action against Father Warren - a move that puts this girl with the "stained soul" squarely on the side of angels. Excellent, finely wrought fiction that will feel relevant and immediate to today's readers.

The characters in this book are completely haunting. Days after finishing the book, I find myself thinking about all of them--the experiences they shared, the decisions they made, the truths they learned. This is one of those books you can't put down, because even when you do, you keep thinking about it. A 5-star winner.

I read STAINED in one sitting, and as soon as I finished it, I started it all over again! While the suspenseful story keeps you turning the pages (Where is Gabe? Why did he disappear?), Jacobson's unpretentious, pitch-perfect writing is making its way to a deep place within you - a place that connects you to all the characters in this book and keeps you thinking about them well after the last page is turned.

I picked this book up for $1 at a used book store. It looked and sounded interesting. It was an interesting, if somewhat depressing read.

This story follows Jocelyn, who is in high school, as she struggles to deal with her boyfriend Benny's off and on again attitude toward their relationship. Benny's mom is really sick and a new priest that comes into town convinces Benny to make a deal with god. If Benny gives up all the physical aspects of the relationship with Jocelyn then maybe God will help Benny's mom get better.

Jocelyn is an outcast because her mom is divorced and living by herself, and she has very low self-esteem. Jocelyn struggles with the churches rejection of her and her mother, while dealing with the small town pressure to fit in. Now she has Benny constantly making her feel guilty. To add to the mess of emotions Jocelyn still has feelings for her neighbor Gabe, Gabe is in general pretty mean to Jocelyn. Still Gabe and Jocelyn have a history that she can't let go. The chapters alternate between Jocelyn at present (in high school) and scenes from Joceyln's childhood.

All in all this was a sad story. It was a story about religious fanaticism in small towns and how sometimes it's not about being good to people but about avoiding the rage of God. It's about a small town's prejudice against people like Jocelyn's mom and how that reflects in Jocelyn's life. Jocelyn's mom also blames Jocelyn for her father leaving. As such, it is about how someone who has no self-esteem or respect for herself puts up with people abusing and walking all over her.

There is a lot of eluded-to and flat-out abuse in this book. I think the book ends as happily as it could given what it is. It is fairly well-written. I suppose it gives incite into how bad things can get in a small-town setting and how much effect one person has on the state of things in a small town if he has the power of God behind him. The plot line was not especially engaging and the ending was not surprising.

Overall all this book did for me was make me happy that I don't live in the 1970's, happy my parents are not divorced, and happy that I don't live in a small town. It also made me very sad for anyone who has Jocelyn's type of life. Definitely not a book to read to raise your mood. A good read though if you want some incite into small-town religious fanatic lifestyles.

I read a book called Stained. This was a really good book. It is about a girl, Jocelyn, who has been friends with a boy, Gabe, for fourteen years. One day he comes up missing. No one has seen him and no one has heard from him. Joss, Jocelyn, is having so many problems between Gabe's missing and her boyfriend Benny. Her boyfriend wants to break up with her. There are search parties going on for Gabe. Joss is just so confused right now. Joss goes out looking for him in the woods. She finds Gabe but he doesn't want anyone to know where he is. She goes back the next day, but he is gone. Through out the whole book, Joss goes back and forth through each chapter to tell about the past and why things are the way they are now.
I really liked this book. I liked when Joss found Gabe out in those woods. I also liked that Joss and Benny got back together. I didn't like it that Gabe was gone.
I would recommend this book to girls especially because it is more about a girl. People who like stories about girls who fall in love would love this book like I did. This book is for people who like stories that switch back and forth.