Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma

Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma
Release Date – June 28, 2011
Publisher – Simon Pulse
Pages - 464
My Rating- 10/10
*Special thanks to the S&S Galley Grab for this one*

Here is the Goodreads synopsis

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 don’t know that there is a rating high enough for this book. I know a lot of people after reading the synopsis might be a little leery of picking this one up. Do yourself a favour and read it! I haven’t been as impacted by a book since Stolen by Lucy Christopher. It’s the type of book that grabs your heart, squeezes and leaves you changed.

The writing in this is so hauntingly beautiful. Tabitha manages to break your heart with the littlest words. She makes you feel everything - the pain, the love, the joy, the fear, and the happy family moments too. You are sucked into this little world of Lochan and Maya’s and are so invested in these characters.

I don’t think it’s possible for me to dislike a character as much as I disliked the mother in this book. She’s horrible. The fact that two teenagers were left to be the adults in the house and care for three younger siblings was awful enough, however her coming in and out of their lives was much worse. It broke my heart each time the children would get excited when would come back. I knew she would disappoint them eventually. You see them slowly become more and more broken until your heart shatters for them.

The 5 siblings are so fully developed. You understand why each one does the things they do. You want to protect them, and at the same time shake Lochan and Maya and make them see reason. Lochan and Maya are both so broken. They both have issues even making connections to people outside of the family for fear of people finding out about the home situation. The pressure and stress that these two have would be a lot for most adults, never mind teenagers.

I also ended up caring about the other siblings (Kit, Tiffin, and Willa). I especially loved Willa. Poor, young, Willa. I couldn’t help feel bad that this adorable little child seemed old beyond her young years. It’s almost like she wasn’t getting to be a child. Kit and Tiffin each broken their own way, and act out in different ways. You could see the bond and love between all them (even when Kit pushes Lochan to his breaking point).

The end of the book devastated me. You can see the ending coming, and as you speed towards it you want to scream at the characters to stop. You want to try to prevent it, but really this is the outcome you’ve already come to expect. I will suggest having tissues on hand as it’s a sad, haunting ending that will stay with you.

It’s a heavier read, so make sure you’re in the mood for this type, otherwise I recommend this to everyone. It’s one that is going on my bookshelf in hardcover once it gets released.