Adam and Carly - Romantic or Dangerously Romanticized?

[OfficialEmma]

Yes, I think the author makes Adam look bad on purpose. It is like breaking the stereotypical knight in shining armor scenario to a protagonist who actually has serious problems.

Yes. Exactly! Adam is a relatable character.

Relatable? He kidnapped an innocent woman with chloroform, brought her to his torture den in the middle of the forest, almost raped her, and then played a role in her murder. He also had incestuous feelings towards his mother, and was an overly jealous, emotionally abusive and manipulative boyfriend to Carly. There's not one thing about him that I found relatable, if anything I thought he was a total garbage human being.

Yes. You are right. I said he is relatable because I've seen and heard of people like that. We've seen people like that in the movies, in the news, even in real-life. Such people have psychological issues. You can find guys with at least one of Adam's attributes.

[Nym182]

I agree...it's probably not a good idea to fill young minds with d istortioned notions of relationships and love

Especially since that is the age one is usually starting to dip their toe and try to figure out romantic relationships!

[Nym182]

A lot of bad things in this book are portrayed as normal. For example, Adam kills Terry and he is told don't worry you were confused, as much as much as I agree that this romance went a little bit over board, it was suitable to the characters of this book. Superhuman characters with superhuman love.

Yeah, I agree, Adam should still have been held accountable!

[Nym182]

Yes, I think the author makes Adam look bad on purpose. It is like breaking the stereotypical knight in shining armor scenario to a protagonist who actually has serious problems.

Yes. Exactly! Adam is a relatable character.

Relatable? He kidnapped an innocent woman with chloroform, brought her to his torture den in the middle of the forest, almost raped her, and then played a role in her murder. He also had incestuous feelings towards his mother, and was an overly jealous, emotionally abusive and manipulative boyfriend to Carly. There's not one thing about him that I found relatable, if anything I thought he was a total garbage human being.

[Nym182]

Yes. Exactly! Adam is a relatable character.

Relatable? He kidnapped an innocent woman with chloroform, brought her to his torture den in the middle of the forest, almost raped her, and then played a role in her murder. He also had incestuous feelings towards his mother, and was an overly jealous, emotionally abusive and manipulative boyfriend to Carly. There's not one thing about him that I found relatable, if anything I thought he was a total garbage human being.

Yes. You are right. I said he is relatable because I've seen and heard of people like that. We've seen people like that in the movies, in the news, even in real-life. Such people have psychological issues. You can find guys with at least one of Adam's attributes.

I understand relating to a character who has psychological issues, but the second he acts on his impulses to hurt someone should have ended that.

[That Reviewer]

The fact remains that Adam and Carly's relationship isn't different from most relationships I've seen in my short lifetime so far.

I don't think it was out of place for Adam to fall head over heels in love with Carly when he didn't know much about her. This is as realistic as it can be.

I really and truly hope that most of the relationships you've seen so far in your life don't include boyfriends and girlfriends destroying evidence and covering up for a partner who has murdered, has a history of kidnapping and has a creepy torture down in the forest.

Relationships really aren't supposed to be like that.

In an ideal world, relationship shouldn't be like that. But you won't feign ignorance that stuff like this happen often. I'm sure if you look deeper, you may have been privy to a relationship where one partner covered for another because they were insanely in love.

[Nym182]

The fact remains that Adam and Carly's relationship isn't different from most relationships I've seen in my short lifetime so far.

I don't think it was out of place for Adam to fall head over heels in love with Carly when he didn't know much about her. This is as realistic as it can be.

I really and truly hope that most of the relationships you've seen so far in your life don't include boyfriends and girlfriends destroying evidence and covering up for a partner who has murdered, has a history of kidnapping and has a creepy torture down in the forest.

Relationships really aren't supposed to be like that.

In an ideal world, relationship shouldn't be like that. But you won't feign ignorance that stuff like this happen often. I'm sure if you look deeper, you may have been privy to a relationship where one partner covered for another because they were insanely in love.

I am sure stuff like that happens often, but it's not something that should be romanticized, especially when the secret is something as serious as what happened to Terry. Covering for your boyfriend or girlfriend because they stole a Cd or something is not the same as covering up their murder.

I'm not saying you shouldn't be loyal to someone you care about, but even loyalties have their limitations and young adults should be taught that sometimes you have to do what's right, even if it's hard to do. Carly should have turned Adam into the authorities, not cover up the proof because she's "insanely in love". That does not give someone the license to do whatever they want.

[readerrihana]

I really and truly hope that most of the relationships you've seen so far in your life don't include boyfriends and girlfriends destroying evidence and covering up for a partner who has murdered, has a history of kidnapping and has a creepy torture down in the forest.

Relationships really aren't supposed to be like that.

In an ideal world, relationship shouldn't be like that. But you won't feign ignorance that stuff like this happen often. I'm sure if you look deeper, you may have been privy to a relationship where one partner covered for another because they were insanely in love.

I am sure stuff like that happens often, but it's not something that should be romanticized, especially when the secret is something as serious as what happened to Terry. Covering for your boyfriend or girlfriend because they stole a Cd or something is not the same as covering up their murder.

I'm not saying you shouldn't be loyal to someone you care about, but even loyalties have their limitations and young adults should be taught that sometimes you have to do what's right, even if it's hard to do. Carly should have turned Adam into the authorities, not cover up the proof because she's "insanely in love". That does not give someone the license to do whatever they want.

I agree with you. If young people are not taught at home or school, they learn through TV, books, friends etc. So they need positive influences as much as possible

[SangeethaNarayan]

Though I agree that a lot of their relationship was weird, we have to keep in mind that this was a fantasy story as well. So what applies to a normal teenager may not necessarily apply to this story. That being said, I'm not sure if this is an appropriate book for a regular teenager. I think parental guidance would make sense in such a scenario.

[Bothofus07]

Yes! Adam and Carly's relationship would certainly be considered toxic in reality. The whole storyline that Carly basically saves Adam from himself, and destroys all evidence of his past crimes, is not a particularly solid foundation for a relationship. I have to wonder if Adam turns dark again later in the series, leading Carly to regret the unquestioning faith she placed in him.

[Nym182]

Though I agree that a lot of their relationship was weird, we have to keep in mind that this was a fantasy story as well. So what applies to a normal teenager may not necessarily apply to this story. That being said, I'm not sure if this is an appropriate book for a regular teenager. I think parental guidance would make sense in such a scenario.

I do understand that this is supposed to be fantasy, but i also don't think that should be completely forgiving concerning the characters themselves. Yes, it can allow certain aspects to slide, but I don't feel like it should excuse Adam and Carly's relationship with each other. Their relationship is toxic no matter what setting they are in.

[Nym182]

Yes! Adam and Carly's relationship would certainly be considered toxic in reality. The whole storyline that Carly basically saves Adam from himself, and destroys all evidence of his past crimes, is not a particularly solid foundation for a relationship. I have to wonder if Adam turns dark again later in the series, leading Carly to regret the unquestioning faith she placed in him.

That would be an interesting development, I just don't know if I want to stick around to see where it ends up going haha.

[Howlan]

Yes. Exactly! Adam is a relatable character.

Relatable? He kidnapped an innocent woman with chloroform, brought her to his torture den in the middle of the forest, almost raped her, and then played a role in her murder. He also had incestuous feelings towards his mother, and was an overly jealous, emotionally abusive and manipulative boyfriend to Carly. There's not one thing about him that I found relatable, if anything I thought he was a total garbage human being.

Yes. You are right. I said he is relatable because I've seen and heard of people like that. We've seen people like that in the movies, in the news, even in real-life. Such people have psychological issues. You can find guys with at least one of Adam's attributes.

Yes, his character is like a young serial killer in the making!!!

[Howlan]

Yes! Adam and Carly's relationship would certainly be considered toxic in reality. The whole storyline that Carly basically saves Adam from himself, and destroys all evidence of his past crimes, is not a particularly solid foundation for a relationship. I have to wonder if Adam turns dark again later in the series, leading Carly to regret the unquestioning faith she placed in him.

That would be an interesting development, I just don't know if I want to stick around to see where it ends up going haha.

Yes, definitely a development that I would be interested in. Considering the title of the next installment is Split Adam the possibility of Adam turning dark is more likely than not.

[Howlan]

I really and truly hope that most of the relationships you've seen so far in your life don't include boyfriends and girlfriends destroying evidence and covering up for a partner who has murdered, has a history of kidnapping and has a creepy torture down in the forest.

Relationships really aren't supposed to be like that.

In an ideal world, relationship shouldn't be like that. But you won't feign ignorance that stuff like this happen often. I'm sure if you look deeper, you may have been privy to a relationship where one partner covered for another because they were insanely in love.

I am sure stuff like that happens often, but it's not something that should be romanticized, especially when the secret is something as serious as what happened to Terry. Covering for your boyfriend or girlfriend because they stole a Cd or something is not the same as covering up their murder.

I'm not saying you shouldn't be loyal to someone you care about, but even loyalties have their limitations and young adults should be taught that sometimes you have to do what's right, even if it's hard to do. Carly should have turned Adam into the authorities, not cover up the proof because she's "insanely in love". That does not give someone the license to do whatever they want.

Yes, I think that the these developments in the story can produce negative tendencies in young adults.