Official Review: Trauma by Cynthia Fridsma

[Excel 2021]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Trauma" by Cynthia Fridsma.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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What would you do if you lived in a house with a father who constantly assaults your mother, a brother who is sexually obsessed with you, and horrifying nightmares that seem so real, it leaves you with headache and pain? Welcome to the life of Susan, a bright, but a very unfortunate teenager. Trauma, written by Cynthia Fridsma, is a lovely novel that seeks to raise awareness on the "chronic diseases" called plaguing our homes. Fridsma is a seasoned storyteller. She is the author of several works including Sybil, Hotel of Death, The Lost Planet and many others. Trauma is her latest published work.

Much like every normal teenager, Susan dreams of love and fantasies about Kyle, her childhood friend. But her life is far from perfect. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong for Susan. She went on to discover that her entire life was a lie, her parents whom she grew up with, weren't her biological parents, and that her dreams were more than just nightmares; they were pointers to her unfortunate past and the dreaded future to come. To further complicate issues, we discovered that the psychopath in her nightmares is a living breathing person with just one desire in life; to take Susan's life. The identity of this mystery really took me by surprise. But as the saying goes, all is well that ends well. Get your copy and follow Susan on her quest for self-discovery and safety.

First of all, I think the author did a great job of combining several themes into one project. Themes such as spousal abuse, sibling abuse, sexual abuse, incest, uncovered secrets that often leads to family disunity and sometimes breakup, and so on, were fully expressed and well-represented through the eyes and mind of Susan. I think our society needs to find a permanent solution to these recurring issues that just won't go away. Proper awareness just like what the author has done with her work, will go along way towards achieving this.

Unfortunately, I must also say that the author over did things a little. Susan is supposed to be a normal teenager with feelings and emotions. Yet she has gone through all these traumatic incidents with very little or no emotional impact. Even the most "emotionally balanced" human, do struggle and would require help to cope with challenges of this huge but I didn't see enough of that in Susan's case. It made her appear like a superhuman which i believe isn't the author's intention. This I think is because of the complexity of the novel. The author tried to compress a lot of information into very few pages which made her task very difficult. I felt she should have narrowed her scope to a few themes that are manageable so as to create a masterpiece. However, It didn't diminish my excitement and desire to finish reading.

The diction employed by the author was simple and easy to follow. Also, the editing was properly done as I didn't find any grammatical or spelling errors. I am awarding this work 3 out of 4 stars for reasons already stated. However, it is a great book. I enjoyed myself and I recommend it to lovers of horror, suspense, and teenage romance.

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Trauma
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[Hazel Arnaiz]

I felt she should have narrowed her scope to a few themes that are manageable so as to create a masterpiece.

I wonder which themes are worth keeping for further exploration, but will still make a gripping story. Thanks for the insights.

[Chigo Nwagboso]

The first paragraph detailed a serious and a pathetic matter. This is heartbreaking to be in such a situation. This will be an interesting read. Thanks for a great review.

[RHD]

Susan seems like a very sad individual. How she manages to go through all these and come out almost unscathed is simply a miracle. Good job on the review, Excel!

[markodim721]

I like how the author blended the themes, as well as the ability to write about such sensitive topics.

[Asma Aisha Ansari]

This sounds like an exciting book with a very intriguing plot. However, it seems that the author could have developed Susan's character a bit more to make her a more relatable character.