CONTENT WARNING: Child sexual assault and abuse
A Scar Like a River by Lisa Graff tackles the very difficult and heartbreaking issue of child sexual assault and the accompanying trauma and efforts at healing. This book was only available at my library as an audiobook, so I listened to, rather than read, this one. It was a very long listen, and very, very difficult at times, given the subject matter. But I know, sadly, there are likely middle grade readers for whom a book like this is of utmost importance.
Fallon Little is thirteen and has a scar that runs diagonal across her face. Behind that scar are three traumatic secrets that Fallon has kept from her parents. One of these secrets – how she got the scar – she has shared with her best friend, Trent, but the other two secrets, involving sexual abuse and the cover-up of that abuse, Fallon has buried deep. However, after Fallon’s uncle dies, things start to unravel for Fallon and the other secrets threaten to emerge.
All of occurs while Fallon is in the midst of a changing friendship dynamic, while she is dealing with her mother’s chronic illness, and while she is boycotting the school’s production of Hello Dolly. So, it goes without saying that Fallon has A LOT going on during this period of time.
I commend the author for tackling such an important and heavy topic as child sexual abuse. The therapy discussions and the nuances of a person’s trauma and healing were handled really well. I will say, I was actually angry about how Fallon’s parents were portrayed as blameless victims. Towards the end of the book, Fallon says something like, “I hit the lottery with my parents,” and I yelled at the audiobook, “No you didn’t!” While Fallon’s parents were not the direct abusers, there were many actions and behaviors that I felt augmented her trauma and that made Fallon feel not safe in sharing her secrets with them – which is a trauma in and of itself. For instance, Fallon was very obvious with her dislike for one of her abusers, but her mom never asked why and still forced Fallon to live with the abuser. And, after one of the abusers was revealed, a few days later, Fallon’s mom had the abuser over and asked Fallon to “just hear her out.” Excuse me!?! I think it’s probably because I am a parent, but I was furious with the parents, especially the mom, taking no accountability. And because the author didn’t call the parents’ behavior out at all, that left a bad taste in my mouth.
I’m trying to think about who I would recommend this book to. I do think this is an important topic to tackle, but I’m not sure I would recommend this to all readers of a certain age. I would recommend parents reading it first before giving it to their child, and would recommend it for 12+, especially those who have experienced abuse or trauma.
WHAT I LIKED
- The tackling of a very difficult, painful topic
- The nuanced way that trauma, healing, and even forgiveness were handled
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE
- It was very, very long and a bit of a slog to get through; I think there were way too many subplots going on
- The lack of accountability for the parents’ actions in the trauma
Have you read A Scar Like a River? What did you think?
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