Glass is exploring the very topical and painful issue of the aftermath of rape but I honestly don't know who I would recommend this to.  It's a challenging read, both because of the form (it's disjointed at best) and the graphic descriptions.  It's a novella, not a novel, but even then I found myself unable to finish it.  Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.  I'm sure this will speak to some but it wasn't my cup of tea.

The synopsis of this book is much better than the actual book.  Filled with surreal and disjointed prose this is like a runaway poem that wasn't quite sure of its direction. I spent half of the book trying to figure out what the hell I was reading and why.



Babies made of Jelly, teachers made from pudding, the world has people who don't have skin, and Peach is stumbling through the dark trying to recover from what I'm assuming was a rape, although the description was difficult to figure out. Her parents are very odd and the whole book just left me wanting to shower and wash my brain.



There are graphic scenes that may turn a lot of people away (I'm not that squeamish) but I was left confused and not grasping the praise this book has received.  I may be in the minority but I found this book to be truly terrible. There are so many other books out there about rape and the turmoil and trauma it causes that this was just not a necessary read.

Peach is an interesting novella that goes in depth to the effects of a violent rape on a young girl. I have to commend the author for taking such a difficult topic and showing the horror that can occur once something so violent occurs.

Unfortunately, I had a very difficult time reading this book. This was more of a I-should-have-known-I-wouldn't-like-it, but I thought I would give it a try because of its length. Although the writing style is beautiful and raw, this novel could not attract me into it. I was a little turned off by the constant food symbolism. 

Understandingly, Peach is disconnected from her real life, which the reader definitely feels. We follow her through her life, which at times is confusing and leaves us with more questions. However, due to this disconnection with Peach, I had no connection to the work. 

If you like symbolism and appreciate it, you may devour this novel. I give the novella two stars. The writing saved it overall, along with the subject matter. This would be a good work to be used in a classroom. However, as a read at home, I did not enjoy it.

I  have mixed feelings about this book. The prose was intriguing-- reminded me of Aimee Bender meets Christopher Durang. Peach is assaulted one night by Lincoln and must come to grips with the aftermath, including her unexplained physical changes. 
In the #metoo world we live in, assault stories are especially relevant. All the same, the tangents in this book lost my attention rather than built character and suspense. For as thin as this book is, the lack of linearity made me more willing to put it down rather than read it straight through (which you absolutely could). 
Still, worth a read. An interesting new literary voice.

**WARNING: POSSIBLE SPOILERS**Peach follows the life of Peach, a girl who was brutally raped, as she tries to return to her normal life. 

I very rarely give books 1-star reviews, but I couldn't justify ranking this novella any higher. It left me scratching my head, wondering what I had just read. The writing style felt better suited to a long poem, not a novella. The flow was strange, and the prose even stranger.

I liked the overall concept. Rape is a tough subject, and I applaud anyone who tries to cover it. Kudos to the author for that. The execution was confusing though. I understand that there was a lot of symbolism in the book, but I was so caught up in the absurdity that I had hard time digging into the details of the symbols themselves. Peach was raped by a giant sausage, kills the sausage, and then eats him--wait what? Not to mention, her baby sibling sheds sugar, and her boyfriend is part tree? Parts of the book felt like a twisted version of Alice in Wonderland, which sounds cool, but I couldn't get into it. 

If you enjoy unraveling webs of symbolism, give this novella a chance. It wasn't for me, but I'm sure there are those who appreciate this style of writing. This book will be released on January 23, 2018, if you're interested.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing the Kindle version of this book in exchange for an honest review.

My review will be posted on my blog on December, 29, 2017 (http://thriftybibliophile.com/2017/12/29/arc-book-review-peach-by-emma-glass)

The fear washes away. heart stops pumping. heart stops. Veins drain. Gut-wrenched, I spit from the pit of my stomach, rising up guttural and raw, a mournful moan, ragged and broken. Ragged and broken. When my heart restarts, blood does not flow. I am filled I am saturated with hate.

If anything about the above sentences bother you as a reader then I'd advise that you stay far away from this book. The entire book has a kind of stream of consciousness vibe that isn't going to be for everyone. But for me, it works. I found this book to be dark, disturbing, and incredibly violent. My heart aches for Peach who is the victim of rape. Rather than telling anyone she keeps it to herself because she just wants everything to be normal again. Only life doesn't work that way as Peach soon finds out. 

This is not for the faint of heart, I assure you, but it is absolutely compelling and very, very sad. 

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Will post review to Amazon on publication day 1/23/18.

This is a tough review to write, and I had to wait a day after I finished it to let it all actually sink in further. Visceral, gritty, graphic, and raw, this novel is hard to put down and even harder to think about. Initially the lack of punctuation threw me off (the English teacher in me so clearly annoyed). But when I began to think about why the author might write this way I realized the stream of consciousness is probably the way this young high school girl processed her memories after the very brutal attack at the beginning of the book. I was confused by her parents though: very clueless and sexual with each other, to the point of encouraging her to have sex with her boyfriend? What we do feel though is very clearly Peach's pain and her inability to deal with what has transpired until she finds the strength to act on it with new resolve. This is not for the faint of heart; and while I enjoy dark and twisted stories, this one--while thought-provoking--was often hard to stomach. I would certainly read more of this author as her voice is fresh and raw and clearly she is talented! I just don't want a sequel to Peach; it's too hard to bear.

I really had high hopes for this book as it was portrayed in a completely different way through the description and genre. I honestly had such a difficult time trying to comprehend the authors style of writing, I’m not sure I actually understood the story the way it was meant. Unfortunately due to that, I cannot give more then one star and that’s a first for me. It’s not the book for me but others who enjoy that type of writing style may like it.

What a treat it was to read this novella. Although short, and somewhat dream-like in feeling, the author does not fail to shock the reader just as much as Peach experiences shock following her assault. At times the story becomes confusing: are these people or are they objects? Do they always take on the characteristics of their names? But it really is so perfect. The more and more you read, the more you become intrigued with Peach's demon and how she begins to handle it. The passage of time is also odd, as the weight she carries increases rapidly, but weather seems to change paragraph by paragraph. It very much suits the feel of the book. Passage of time and the change that has come over Peach. It is a beautiful and tragic tale that deserves every minute of your time, especially for those who do not understand the aftermath of assault and rape.

This book was so strange and compelling and intensely visceral. In fact, the entire reading experience felt as if took place more inside of a body than an actual book itself. I'd recommend this to anyone who loves delectable experiments with language. I'm still trying to parse out exactly what this book was about, but it reads like an intimate and absurd portrayal of trauma that follows a sexual assault. Not absurd in a negative way, but absurd in the sense that trauma has the ability to fracture both our world view and our sense of self.

I received a DIGITAL Advance Reader Copy of this book from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  From the publisher - 
Introducing a dazzling new literary voice—a wholly original novel as groundbreaking as the works of Eimear McBride and Max Porter.
Something has happened to Peach. Staggering around the town streets in the aftermath of an assault, Peach feels a trickle of blood down her legs, a lingering smell of her anonymous attacker on her skin. It hurts to walk, but she manages to make her way to her home, where she stumbles into another oddly nightmarish reality: Her parents can't seem to comprehend that anything has happened to their daughter.
The next morning, Peach tries to return to the routines of her ordinary life, going to classes, spending time with her boyfriend, Green, trying to find comfort in the thought of her upcoming departure for college. And yet, as Peach struggles through the next few days, she is stalked by the memories of her unacknowledged trauma. Sleeping is hard when she is haunted by the glimpses of that stranger's gaping mouth. Working is hard when her assailant's rancid smell still fills her nostrils. Eating is impossible when her stomach is swollen tight as a drum. Though she tries to close her eyes to what has happened, Peach, at last, begins to understand the drastic, gruesome action she must take.
In this astonishing debut, Emma Glass articulates the unspeakable with breathtaking verve. Intensely physical, with rhythmic, visceral prose, Peach marks the arrival of a visionary new voice.

Oh, boy, what a tough novel to read as it was so graphic, but do you want to know the main problem?
TOO.
MANY.
ONE.
WORD.
SENTENCES.
PAGE.
AFTER.
PAGE.
OF.
ONE.
WORD.
SENTENCES.

IT.  DROVE. ME. NUTS. I could not enjoy the book as a result ... do teenagers really think or talk in one word sentences? Three letter acronyms such as #WTF and #OMG? yes ... the exact words I can only hope to use to explain this book.

Not. My. Cup. Of. Tea.

This short novel packs a punch to the gut, to the mind.
Peach, a high school girl, has suffered a traumatic sexual attack.  She doesn't tell anyone, and the reader is inside Peach's mind as she tries to act natural at home and school.  

The incredible wonder of this novel is the writing and how Emma Glass shows what a girl's world looks and feels like after a violent attack.  Peach doesn't see people in the form she did yesterday.  Her world has changed along with everything in it.

Peach's boyfriend is the closest thing to normal, even more so than her parents.  Peach cleans herself up and tries so very hard to act normal.  She is afraid to tell anyone, to go to the police.  Her senses are overloaded, and she sees her attacker everywhere.

PEACH is a novel for everyone, writing that makes it very clear what rape does and what the aftermath is life for a young girl.
This was a uniquely accessible book to read; it was an important book to write for all the women who have suffered.  In the baffling world of powerful men exposed for their exploitation, this is the time to know what women endure at the hands of crazed predators.

ARC courtesy of NetGalley and Bloomsbury, USA.

'Through the suds I watch my tears drown, fall down the drain. I want to follow with them.'

The writing style of Peach was very hard for me to get into, but once I did there were things that jumped out at me. Peach has survived an attack, she is pretending nothing happened, trying to block it,  yet tormented by the violence and her parents are clueless. What worked for me there, is how blind adults can be to intense pain and suffering in their children, seeing only the surface, on a sort of auto-pilot, assuming trouble wears a neon sign. Girls are very good at supressing the terrible things done to them, I would go so far as to say taught even.

The nararration is almost as disjointed as her reality that is spawning a nightmare, hunted by the very thing she wants to just forget. The physicality and open sexuality between her parents almost makes me cringe, knowing what has happened. “She pinches my bum as I move past her.” How different such things feel ‘after’ being violated. Of course, I could be reading it entirely differently than other readers, putting meaning where none is intended, that’s the beauty of this type of story. It seems artless, but it isn’t. It does feel like I am reading some teenagers diary or something, crawling around in the muck of Peach’s mind, all over the place, non-sensical and it’s a dizzying trip.

I think it may be hard for some of us to keep up it feels like such a young read, I often feel this way just listening to twenty something year olds explain things to me. “Keep up, lady!” It’s strange, it’s unique but some readers will be thrown off and say ‘what did I just read?’ That happens as much with literature as it does with works of art. I imagined her the entire time with a smile full of stitches, ears tearing up going about mechanically and no one hearing her screams. Dead inside, needing help and having no clue how to get it.

It’s like a story written on shattered glass and hastily glued together, it’s like a crime scene. You really have to be able to get into the style or all is lost. An original debut, but not for everyone. I think a teenager or young adult will relate to the ‘grtty’ feel of it more.

Publication Date: January 28, 2018

Bloomsbury USA

Incomprehensible.. I've never given a one star review before but this book was a chaotic mess and simply horrid. If I could give less than one star, I would. Will not recommend.

3.5 rounding up to 4 stars
I received an ARC of this novella from NetGalley and Bloomsbury USA in exchange for an honest review.

Excerpt from book :
Forest for Rest
I'm having a dream when I open my eyes. The sky is dark brown and spitting soil. everything that was up is down. Gravity is gone, cool clouds have caught me. They cover me. I am white. I am wet. My skin is wet. Wait. No. There are clouds below me. I feel the warmth of the sun on my back. But those clouds don't cover me. Not enough. Just thick patches. Bright white and blue in places. Thick white fur. Not fur. I feel. Wet. Moist. Mould. I am moulding. My skin is eating my flesh. Skin sinking. I try to touch the tops of the trees with my fingertips, try to reach, try to pull myself out of the clouds. I can't reach. The leaves leave me. Today I decay. I close my eyes to die. 

Peach is a young woman who becomes a victim of assault one night after work. Her parents do not seem to notice that she comes home bloody and bruised. Choosing to keep the assault a secret, she takes comfort in her boyfriend Green and attempts to regain some normalcy in her life. Continually subjected to the memories and smells from that night, and her attacker’s attempts to communicate, she realizes what she must do...

This short novella is dark, graphic, and heartbreaking as you read about this young woman who choses to suffer alone after a violent attack. The preview sounded like something I would enjoy reading but the unique writing style of the author (see above excerpt) left me confused as to what was actually happening in some parts of the story. Although I enjoyed the book, or what I could comprehend of it, I still do not fully understand what happened at the end...maybe I need cliff notes. I still think this novella was beautifully written and would be a quick read for anyone who loves this artistic style of literature.

I had no idea what I was getting into... I don’t like to read reviews before reviewing a book, but I wish I had done so with Peach. 

This is a challenging book, the writing style alone was completely unexpected, but I could appreciate the beauty of the prose. The story itself is horrific, confusing, and heartbreaking. Sometimes I felt like I understood what was happening and other times I was sure that I was missing it. I definitely see this more as a work of poetry more than a novel. This really isn’t my first choice... I think it’s marketed incorrectly. Three stars to the book I was greatly anticipating that left me wondering why we think this is considered a novel... Fascinating poetic work!

A shocking novella, almost a long poem, that is a quick read but will stay with you. I had no idea what to expect going in, but it kept my attention (despite the strange writing style) and shook me until the last sentence. A visceral depiction of sexual violence, stalking, and murder may leave bad tastes in a few mouths, but this book is raw and unlike anything else.

Super short, hard core, vivid and raw description of what happened to Peach and what she did about it! I cringed and gagged a few times but definitely an interesting read!

This book was very disappointing.  The description sounded interesting and powerful.  It wasn't only the stream of consciousness writing style that I found let the story down, I understand there are times when that writing can be very impactful, but you should still be able to piece together what is actually going on.  This book was so strange that you couldn't tell what was actually happening with the story.  Luckily, it was very short so I made it through the whole thing.  Overall, I found it confusing, disturbing and pointless.