Review: Violence Begets by P.T. Denys

After a tragic accident devastates his family, 16-year-old Rick St. James starts his junior year of high school alone in a suburb of Salt Lake City, Utah. When he meets Kevin Vincent, he’s too distracted by the promise of new friends to see that Kevin has secrets of his own.

Having created an environment where he's feared and admired by his classmates, Kevin finds pleasure in using his good looks and violence to control and manipulate those around him. Secretly, he cruises the gay club scene, turning tricks to earn money so he can party and get high.

As Rick’s dad becomes increasingly violent and abusive at home, the two form a surprising and volatile trust. In this battle of wills, their precarious friendship will either keep their lives from blowing up around them or possibly light the fuse that will cause the explosion.

My initial reaction to this book -

I could not stop reading this book, it was brilliant and beautiful. It was also brutal and unbelievably sad and I won't forget it for a long time.

I may write a more extensive review once my head and heart have healed a little.

Well a week has passed but I'm still struggling to put into words how much I loved this book. Be warned, it is sad - it is more than sad, it's tragic - from the beginning to the end. Yet in the middle something beautiful blossoms. Have you ever seen a patch of weed with a pretty flower in the middle, well that is this book to me.

I'm not going to rehash the blurb or the story, there's no point. I will say at the start I HATED Kevin...just goes to show, don't judge a book by it's cover, or don't make assumptions til you know the full story. Yeah, it was one of those books that made you stop and think about your interactions and responses to people. Nobody knows what goes on behind closed doors. Instead of being preachy though, this story made me love the characters and because of that I felt every, single moment of their pain. Each and every one and it still hurts.

Not an easy read - but a must read. A real must read.