From Where I Stand

This is the second book that I have read from the talented Tabitha Suzuma. These books, aimed at a young adult market, both seem to deal with young people with some mental difficulties. In this book it is a lad called Raven who is trying to deal with the events surrounding his mums death.



The novel starts as Raven is being taken to a new foster home. From the moment he gets there he doesn't really feel as though he fits in. He has basically withdrawn into himself and prefers to spend his time in his room away from his new foster parents and their annoying little daughter. However it is the young girl that seems to make the break through and help Raven begin to feel as though he is wanted.



While the narrative itself is easy to read and the plot flows along quite nicely this is no light reading. In fact some of the elements that it deals with are not easy to read about. One issue of this book is self harm and cutting, and this is a serious issue that needs to be addressed through practical help books and through fiction. In light of some of the darker issues of the book it would have been good if the publishers had thought to put some helplines or helpful addresses at the back of the book. Unfortunately they haven't.



This book surprises right to the end and there are some incredibly powerful descriptive pieces. At times I could really empathise with the character. At one point where Raven freezes at the top of a high slide in an adventure playground I could really imagine that so clearly because I do not like heights!



The description of the surroundings is not the important part of this story, they are good but incidental. However the description of what is going on in the mind is lucid, clear and very real. This is a book that may shock and surprise, especially with some twists, but it will definitely give any teen or adult something to think about!