[Review] Stronger Than You Know by Jolene Perry

Jolene Perry
Stronger Than You Know
[YA contemporary]

You can buy it here:
Stronger Than You Know (Amazon hardcover)

FTC: I received an eARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Summary (via Netgalley):
After police intervention, fifteen-year-old Joy has finally escaped the trailer where she once lived with her mother and survived years of confinement and abuse. Now living with her aunt, uncle, and cousins in a comfortable house, she’s sure she’ll never belong. Wracked by panic attacks, afraid to talk to anyone at her new school, Joy’s got a whole list of reasons why she’s crazy. With immense courage, Joy finds friends and grows closer to her new family. But just when hope is taking hold, she learns she must testify in her mother’s trial. Can she face her old life without losing her way in the new one? Will she ever truly belong in a world that seems too normal to be real?

My thoughts:
This was the most heartbreaking, super emotional book I have read in a while! Joy was taken from her mother after years of every kind of abuse you can imagine, after being locked in their home and not being alowed to get out. When the police get her out, she ends up living with her aunt's and her family. I loved everything about the book! Joy slowly learned to trust people again, to feel comfortable around them and to be confident.

I first heard about the book online and a few people mentioned that they felt there was not much happening apart from her healing and dealing with what happened to her. While I see what they are saying, I have to disagree. Her healing and dealing with what happened is important. Everything else would have distracted from the story. Her healing was slow, but I felt the author did a great job of making Joy's transition seem normal, yet it did not drag out.

I absolutely loved the characters in this book. Joy was such a strong girl. She was brave and she survived so much. I just want to hug her long and tell her what a wonderful person she is. The same goes for her Aunt Diana and Uncle Rob. They took her in and treated her like she was their daughter. They were worried about her, they took care of her and did everything in their power to give her a happy life. They fought for her when Joy could not do it herself. Jolene Perry even portrayed Joy's cousins in a very realistic way. They were close to each other and - being teens - did not always understand why things were so different for Joy, so they acted inconsiderate at times, even rude. Nonetheless, they changed when they learned more. And that leads me to Justin and Daisy. These two are the best friends you can imagine. I loved how they both drew out different aspects of Joy.

It broke my heart to slowly understand what all Joy had to endure for the first fifteen years of her life, but what really, really moved me and brought tears to my eyes over and over again was how strong Joy was. She found joy in her life and learned how to trust people after all that had happened to her. Joy is easily one of my all-time favorite YA characters ever!

Rating:
5/5