More Than Anger

by Lexi Bruce

It is no secret that Anna's parents are going through a rough patch. When that rough patch turns positively volatile, Anna starts to wonder why her parents are staying together at all. Will their anger destroy everything Anna has ever known? Can Anna allow herself to fall in love when she sees how it can turn so easily to hate?

Genres: Teen, Young Adult, Realistic Fiction, Contemporary

185 pages, Hardcover

Published December 16, 2019

Reviews

[Hristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a Hi-Lo fast read written in what seems like poetry at first glance, but is in fact prose.
I really enjoyed the story, I found it to be told really well. Anna's feelings are depicted so vividly, even if you haven't found yourself in a situation similar to hers, you still can't help but feel for her.
The pacing is something I had an issue with. It was inconsistent, both rushing and dragging at times.
There were bits I wished there was more of, like her friendship with Jess and the budding romance between her and Dave, but overall I enjoyed this book.

*Copy received through NetGalley
*Rating: 4/5 stars

[Terry]

Quick book about a girl with angry parents. Offers insight to how parents’ dysfunction impact kids. The ending was a bit pat, but this fast read will appeal to teens looking for something real and fast. No profanity, a bit of teen drinking. Nothing that would shock even a middle schooler.

[Samantha Carson · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was good, but not great - a fast read written in clear, simple language that would be perfect for struggling/hi-lo teen readers. It doesn't dig too deep, but still has enough grit to appeal to older readers.

[Marianne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Anna's little family is falling apart but her parents won't admit it to themselves or to her. She is hurting, struggling in school academically and socially. Written in prose, it's a quick read, high interest. But a little unbelievable in that the teenage child has to be the adult and tell her parents to split up so that it will be better for everyone.

[Sandra "Jeanz" · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is another Hi-Lo reading style book, which my rough understanding of the term means a high interest plot with a lower difficulty words for those newer to reading. These books are available for a wide range of ages from young children to teens and adults too.

I really like the cover of this book, it being red, a colour associated with anger. There is also the electrical wire sparking featured prominently on the cover, which fits in with the More Than Anger title and plot with Anna’s parents arguing. The sparking of the electrical wire also really represents the point in the book where Anna finally lets her feeling known to her parents very well.

The main character in this book is Anna, her parents have been growing apart and arguing more for some time. In fact, their constant arguments are actually having a negative affect on Anna’s school grades as she is finding it increasingly difficult to concentrate to do her homework. Then she is worrying at night and not sleeping well which has a knock-on effect on her performance at school. Her father then admonishes her for her falling grades and even goes so far as saying she isn’t allowed to attend the school dance. Though when her father proclaims unless her grades improve back to the A’s he is used to her getting she is not going her mother takes the opportunity to say of course she can go to the dance, continuing on to excitedly suggest they need to go shopping to get Anna a new dress and so on. Anna and her best friend Jess used to take it in turns to do their homework together at each other’s houses, but because of the arguing Anna feels ashamed and avoids inviting Jess round to her house anymore. Anna quite literally feels she is living in a war zone. Anna goes to Jess’s house more and more yet has to think of excuses to prevent Jess coming to her home as she doesn’t want everyone to know about her parents continual disagreements. Anna feels too ashamed to talk to Jess or anyone else about her parent’s relationship issues.

When Anna’s mother announces they are going on a family camping holiday, Anna is dreading it. The last great family holiday they had was a camping trip many years ago and to Anna it feels like her mum is trying to recreate that. Sadly, the arguing and sniping at each other doesn’t stop. During an argument at the cabin Anna’s dad leaves in the car. Anna goes walking alone and ends up making friends with some other teens on holiday, though they are staying at the opposite side of the lake. Anna soon becomes friends with them. She enjoys their company and actually opens up to one of them. After talking to her newly found friend and confidante and her parents yet again arguing when she returns to the cabin, she really loses her temper and just shouts at them both that if they are so unhappy together maybe they should just end their relationship and get divorce.

I felt sorry for Anna, though she portrays that is such good friends with Jess and goes to her house as a sanctuary that you would have thought she would have confided in her about her parent arguing. Then on the other hand Anna comes across as maybe not as confident as her friend Jess. Anna does gain confidence and has her first kiss with one of her new friends that she meets whilst on holiday.

My immediate thoughts upon finishing reading the book were that this was a really good example of a great Hi Lo reading book. The subject, plot and characters were all interesting and were presented in an easy flowing reading style. Though these Hi Lo books are generally quite short they do have a lot of content and you do become attached to the characters in the same ways you do with longer books.

[Leilani]

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with the ARC.

Book Description:
Hi-Lo. It is no secret that Anna's parents are going through a rough patch. When that rough patch turns positively volatile, Anna starts to wonder why her parents are staying together at all. Will their anger destroy everything Anna has ever known? Can Anna Allow herself to fall in love when she sees how it can turn so easily to hate?

My Thoughts:
It wasn't mentioned that the story was going to be written as a prose and it caught me off guard. It took a little while for me to get used to the format because I was expecting it to be a novel. While I was reading, I couldn't connect to the Anna or the other characters in the story. I didn't particularly like the the writing style because it kept bringing me out of what was happening in the book. I ended up DNFing at 26%. I really wanted to push myself to continue the story because it is a fast read, but nothing was capturing my attention to make me continue. Maybe I will give it another chance later on.

Favorite Lines:
"I imagine myself, alone."
"as much as I want someone to love me, I can't get past the fact that I've seen love turn to hate so quickly."

[TheNextGenLibrarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Free from my parents and their anger.”
😡
Anna’s parents used to love one another, but now all they do is fight. She feels caught in the middle of it, trying to diffuse their anger constantly and it’s exhausting. Anna escapes to friends’ houses, her crush and even alcohol to hide from her parents’ rage against one another. It’s changing how Anna sees relationships and she struggles to see a future for herself without hate and anger.
😡
This YA novel in verse is perfect for Hi-Lo readers. @west44books does an amazing job of publishing books like these that kids will gravitate towards due to lots of white space, topical storylines and fast-paced reading. This is one to read for those who need help regulating and controlling emotions or know those that need to.

CW: anger (theme), toxic relationship, alcohol

Very surface level.

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this story we follow Anna, and see how she goes about her everyday life with parents who hate each other. Do to this she push her friends away, and any guys that seem to like her even if she likes them back. Her family ends up going on a family vacation, and while there Anna reaches her breaking point and her parents all the feelings she has been hiding. In the end everything works out, and she even manages to get the guy she likes.

[AGMaynard]

Speed read for hi-lo category. Laid out as though a prose poem, though it reads as straight prose with generally spare language plus occasional italics and lots of white space. Constant anger, distance, and disruption at home make for a tough time for teen Anna. Also includes a line drawing of a long lit fuse that "burns" down until the end when the anger is largely gone and healing and new beginnings seem possible.

[Megan Erickson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked this up in the library, intrigued by the back of the book's synopsis. The storytelling was interesting enough, but the colloquialism of the verse didn't allow me to get into it. It feels like the thought trail of a trauma ridden 16-year-old, which is accurate enough, but a whole book of it was monotonous. Though most of this book was believable, her being the catalyst of her parent's divorce was not plausible, especially with the volatility of their fights.

[Selina]

Sorry but this book is in prose. Like a poem. Nowhere on the blurb it is mentioned that this book is in poetic form. I’m not fan of such books. Sorry no offense to the book or the author but this ain’t my cup.

[Sesana · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not the strongest novel in verse I've ever read. It's a little fast and a little light, and stays pretty surface level for the most part. Might work well for struggling readers, though, which is the point of this line of books.

[Skye · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was helpful to read a book that I could definitely relate to :,). Some of it felt predictable and rushed in a way that didn't add a lot of depth to the overall book, but I liked it overall and it did make me feel better and heal a little part of me that still hurts.

[Aaliyah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me like reading before i hated reading. I related to this book so much with struggles with parents. I loved how the book had the poetry font and it was easy and fast to read. Tbh i feel like more books should be like that

[Sana Lai · Rating 3 out of 5]

it was short book. Tells the story but kinda cryptic. But I actually liked it.

[Brooke · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars, would recommend

[Lucy · Rating 2 out of 5]

📖 2.5 stars

This book had so much potential to be great. While I do understand that the book is a young adult novel, it felt like it only mentioned slightly how Anna reacted to her parents yelling physically and mentally. I also felt like the fact that her parents get into a lot of arguments was very overused and overpowered because it seems to be found on every other page. I feel like there could have been a better use of space, like there would have been space for her emotions to be better described. From my understanding, this book was supposed to be about a young girl wondering if she could find love because she always sees her parents' love turn into hate, so I would have liked to see more of a romance aspect from Anna's character. Also wanted to know if her and her bestie's relationship was mended, if she still talked to the guy she met while camping (it felt like his character just dropped off), and what happened between her and the guy she liked.

[Claire Kotelman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why is realistic fiction always so sad? and sometimes relatable. From the title, I thought it would be a completely different story, but at the end it did make a lot of sense. I totally shipped Dave and Anna, but also the same time, I absolutely love Pat and Anna. I don’t know how to decide between them.