Because I Am Furniture

By Thalia Chaltas

So, I read through this book yesterday and all I can say is whoa. It is a very intense novel-in-verse written from the perspective of a young girl in an abusive household. Anke is the youngest child in her family, with an older brother and an older sister, and she is the only child that does not get abused by her father. At first I didn’t know if I would like that the book was written in verse, but after a while, I didn’t even notice it. My only beef with the whole book was that there were times when the story switched settings and times, and it took me a bit to find my place in the story again. Otherwise, the story was very believable. The pain, the confusion, and the sense of belonging to a team were all very intensely felt. And I have to say, the part where Anke is reading on the couch in her normal manner and her father says something inappropriate to her- was scary and hard to read.

I am truly glad that I did read this book, but all I can still say about it is whoa.

I would recommend this book to high school students- but only to mature readers.