So Much It Hurts

By Monique Polak

Iris is an aspiring actress, so when Mick, a well-known visiting Aussie director, takes an interest in her, she's flattered. He's fourteen years older, attractive, smart, charming and sexy—in other words, nothing like her hapless ex-boyfriend, Tommy. But when Iris and Mick start a secret relationship, she soon witnesses Mick's darker side, and his temper frightens her. Before long, she becomes the target of his rage, but she makes endless excuses for him. Isolated and often in pain, Iris struggles to continue going to school, where she is preparing for her role as Ophelia. When her family and friends begin to realize that something is terribly wrong, Iris defends her man, but she also takes the first tentative steps toward self-preservation.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
• Release date: Sep 1, 2013
• ISBN: 9781459801370

Monique Polak

Monique Polak is the author of more than thirty books for young people. She is the three-time winner of the Quebec Writers' Federation Prize for Children's and YA Literature for her novels Hate Mail, What World is Left and Room for One More. In addition to teaching at Marianopolis College in Montreal, Monique is a freelance journalist whose work has appeared in Maclean's Magazine, the Montreal Gazette and other Postmedia newspapers. She is also a columnist on ICI Radio-Canada's Plus on est de fous, plus on lit! In 2016, Monique was the CBC/Quebec Writers' Federation inaugural writer-in-residence. Monique lives in Montreal.

Reviews for So Much It Hurts

[pith_2 · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

I received this book through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers program; it arrived on 16 July 2013. DISCLAIMER: I do not condone abuse in any form. When I discuss the abusive relationship between Mick and Iris below, it is in the context of a fictional relationship between fictional people.REVIEW:I had read Monique Polak's MIRACLEVILLE (also won through LibraryThing) and was pleasantly surprised. While it wasn't in my general area of interest, I appreciated the character development.Sadly, I cannot say the same for SO MUCH IT HURTS. At points, it honestly feels like a "How to Tell If You're in an Abusive Relationship" pamphlet. I agree that it is important to hear such stories, but this one felt utterly predictable. Perhaps the point is that it can happen to anyone (since Iris is the "good girl", while her friend Katie is more adventurous), but it still felt generic to me.Beyond that, I found it hard to see what Iris ever saw in Mick in the first place, aside from the fact that he was accomplished. In one of their first major exchanges, he's already insulting her clothing and being domineering and controlling. And it's not as if this is set back in the 1950s. Iris was born in 1995, so she's a modern teenager; don't they cover this sort of thing in school at all?If it sounds like I don't have sympathy for Iris, believe me, I do. Having known many women who were in abusive situations, I know it can be hard to see it for what it is, and even harder to break free. But in the end, there was not enough originality in SO MUCH IT HURTS to keep me intrigued. I predicted almost every insult, every punch, the intervention, everything. The subplot with Iris's father was one of the few things that felt interesting, but even that ended up being tied in with the overall message.

[hankesj · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was a super fast-paced novel that I got through in literally like 4 hours. Maybe it's because my next novel deals with many of the same themes in this novel, but it had me on edge the entire time wanting to know what was going to happen with Iris and Mick (Kudos for unique names, too). I also super duper am in LOVE with the cover. It's such a simple but effective cover. I was glad to see that this story was much more than just a physical abuse type of story -- that there was hope and strength involved as well. Overall, I really enjoyed this novel!

[sabrinamk · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

First of all, So Much It Hurts was not the right book for me. I think it covers an important topic, but it was almost as frustrating to read as it is to watch a loved one go through abuse. Perhaps that is a good thing as it accurately reflects that emotion, but I was left feeling regret at picking it up.

[darkang3l_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Overall, I enjoyed 'So Much It Hurts'. This book was a bit fast paced- a little too fast, but the story was good. The characters were well-developed, and had a voice of their own that was unique. I never found myself bored with the story, but I did get quite frustrated with Iris.I could see the story of So Much It Hurts really happening, and it does happen which added the appeal to this book. Monique Polak has created a story that can reach out to people in situations like 'Iris and Mick', and help them realize that they are not alone.I would recommend this book as a book worth reading, even if though I became insanely frustrated with Iris.

[lms8esmith · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Even though I knew this book would deal with an extremely sensitive topic, I could not finish reading it. I know that abuse happens in many forms to many different ages, but I found Iris, the main character, too trusting and at times desperate. I read around 150 pages, and I felt that the author could have begun to introduce the interventions even more so, but the other characters in the book just seem to be ok with Iris' abrupt decisions and changes. Maybe abuse has touched me and my loved ones too closely; maybe I just wanted to scream at her and her loved ones. I did skim the last few pages to see if another character finally said something to Iris. I think the interventions came a little too late.

[saffron12_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I received this book through LibraryThing Early Reviewers. I do not believe that I have read any of Ms. Polak's books before. After reading this one, I might like to see about some of the others. It appears that some are part of the hi-lo series of interest to teens that Orca published some years ago. (I have read a few of those titles by other authors, and was not very impressed.) Iris is 17 years old, and lives in Quebec with her mothers. She aspires to be an actor. A theater director from Australia, Mick, is visiting the play production she is in, because he teacher knows him. Iris falls in love with Mick (who is 31, by the way), and seems to reciprocate. At first, and then he becomes more and more controlling. . . and his intense anger begins to show itself. Iris finds every excuse in the world for the things he does to her. My favorite character is Mrs. Karpman, Mick's next door neighbor. She is the one character I really like in this book. I really want to like Iris, but I found myself getting very frustrated with her. What I kept thinking: "Why didn't she just leave this man? He's too old for her and he's pretty vile when he's not being charming."Overall, this was a good read. It is well written, and worth the time and effort. It presents a controlling relationship very effectively. I did root for Iris, too. I really wanted her to "wake up!" This is a definitely a good book for teens.

[nicolegorr · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I received an Advanced Readers Copy courtesy of LibraryThing.So Much It Hurts is a story about a young aspiring actress named Iris who falls for a visiting director, Mick, who is considerably older than her. She ends up falling in love with him and he showers her with romantic gestures while keeping their relationship a secret. Eventually Mick turns violent and gets physical with Iris over the smallest details and disagreements. Meanwhile Iris remains in denial and assures herself that he still loves her and regrets hitting her each time. She later learns that several of Mick's past relationships have also gotten physical, one of which has a restraining order against him. Iris finally learns how to let him go and choose herself over him.Overall, I really enjoyed this novel. Once I started I was finished within a day and I didn't want to put it down. I found myself getting so angry with Mick and frustrated with Iris because she's so blinded by the love she thinks she feels. I'm glad she finally came to terms with the fact that Mick is not a good person for her and she needed to get herself away now before it was too late. The mark of a good novel is one that gets your blood pumping, and this one definitely did. Job well done.

[edgoldberg · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Thirty-one year old Australian theater director Mick Horton is in Canada observing Ms. Cameron’s (an ex-flame) high school production of Hamlet. Seventeen-year-old Iris Wagner plays Ophelia. Mick notices Iris and tells her that she has talent. There is an immediate attraction and they quickly become lovers, then in love. Sometimes their sex is romantic, sometimes rough and impersonal. Iris likes Mick’s forceful, take-charge manner. She begins staying overnight in Mick's loft on weekends, lying to her mother. Soon, Mick begins to show aggressive tendencies; he begins slapping her face, escalating into punches. But Mick also has a fun-loving, romantic side. Iris, like other battered women, takes the blame and tries not to irritate Mick. She feels alone because she has 'outgrown' her best friend, Katie, at Mick's suggestion. She can't talk to her mother. The only person who seems to know the truth is Mick's next door apartment neighbor, 70-something Mrs. Karpman.So Much It Hurts, Monique Polak's 14th young adult novel, is nicely written about a difficult subject. Readers will empathize with Iris. Mick's aggressive behavior is amply, but not overly portrayed. Iris' loneliness, after having given up her friends and lied to her mother, is real, as are the other characters. The comparison between Iris’ love for Mick and Ophelia's for Hamlet is compared throughout the book. The ending, primarily the 'intervention' of family, friends and Mrs. Karpman and Iris' ultimate decision are too pat and easy, though. Regardless, So Much It Hurts sheds needed light on abusive teen relations.

[joyfiction_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Having known someone who was in an abusive relationship starting at the age of seventeen (though more mentally abusive than physically- not that one is any better than the other) a part of me both wanted to love and hate this book- love because I watched a friend in an abusive relationship and was hoping it’d be addressed in a way that was as real as possible and a part of me wanted to hate it for the very same reason. (Sounds ridiculous, I know, but my brain can be a bit mercurial at times emotionally speaking.)I didn’t, however, love the book as much as I would have liked to. While it handled the escalation of the abuse, the denial by the victim and the inevitable breakdown of the relationship in a realistic- albeit cliché- manner (clichés are clichés for a reason, after all) I had a hard time liking Iris. Feeling sorry for her situation? Yes. But liking her? Not so much. And the book itself seemed to be paced badly like certain parts were rushed.Overall it was a good enough book. Perhaps not one I would read again but decent enough regardless. Had the pacing been better I would have enjoyed it more. (And as for liking Iris? Well, I’m just one person so maybe other people liked her. We all have differences in opinions on characters, after all.)

[lilwolfmisty · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I could not put this book down I thought the author was a bystander in my life. I met my ex when I was 17 and thought I knew everything just like Iris in the book and my ex was 12 years older than me Iris's "boyfriend" is 14 yrs older than her but as far as I am concerned they could be the same person! Very good picture of how an abusive relationship starts and why it is so hard to leave.