Book Review: Forbidden

Forbidden
Author: Tabitha Suzuma
Pages: 464 pgs
Reading Level: YA
Release Date: June 28th 2011
Review Source: Simon Pulse
Available: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Borders

Summary: (from goodreads) Seventeen-year-old Lochan and sixteen-year-old Maya have always felt more like friends than siblings. Together they have stepped in for their alcoholic, wayward mother to take care of their three younger siblings. As defacto parents to the little ones, Lochan and Maya have had to grow up fast. And the stress of their lives—and the way they understand each other so completely—has also also brought them closer than two siblings would ordinarily be. So close, in fact, that they have fallen in love. Their clandestine romance quickly blooms into deep, desperate love. They know their relationship is wrong and cannot possibly continue. And yet, they cannot stop what feels so incredibly right. As the novel careens toward an explosive and shocking finale, only one thing is certain: a love this devastating has no happy ending.

I have to admit that I was very hesitant on reading this book because of the nature of this story. But I have to say that I am glad I decided to read it. What an incredible book!!! After reading Forbidden, I had to take some time to think about what just happened and how I can put all my emotions on paper for this review. I have NEVER read such an emotional book. It was like riding a rollercoaster. My emotions were everywhere. I was happy one minute and then I was sad and crying. The next minute I was scared and nervous and then angry. This was simply just an AMAZINGLY FANTASTIC book! I cant wait to read more of Tabitha’s work.

The story is about Lochan and Maya who are madly in love, but it’s a forbidden love because they are brother and sister. Lochan is 17 years old who is handsome and extremely smart and also senior in high school. He doesn’t have friends and while in school, he doesn’t talk to anyone. Maya is 16 and also in high school. She has friends and is very social. While out in public, they try to be as normal as possible, but it’s pretty hard when they have so many responsibilities at home. You see, their mother is a loser, and that’s putting it nicely. She is hardly home and when she is, she is drunk and puking or passed out on the couch. Lochan and Maya have 3 other younger siblings – 2 boys and one girl. When Lochan and Maya were very young, their father left their mother and moved to Australia with his new wife. So Lochan and Maya have become their brother’s and sister’s caretaker. They have to dress then, take them to school, feed them, make sure they do their homework, and tuck them into bed - pretty much everything that a parent would do for their children. One day, Maya and Lochan realize that they are madly in love. They have always been very close and protective of one another, but they didn’t realize that it was a different type of love – a love that is not allowed between a brother and a sister.

I understand that incest is something that our society does not accept and is considered a taboo. But the way Tabitha writes this book, you see and “feel” the love that Lochan and Maya have for each other. It’s like they were soul mates, but soul mates that just so happen to have the same mother and father. I love the way Tabitha writes. Each sentence was like poetry. I am so glad I had the opportunity to read this amazing book. I TOTALLY recommend reading “Forbidden.” I promise you will not be disappointed and once you start it, you will not be able to put it down.