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    Stained
    Stained
    Stained
    Ebook256 pages3 hours

    Stained

    By Cheryl Rainfield

    3.5/5

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Sixteen-year-old Sarah Meadows longs for "normal." Born with a port wine stain covering half her face, all her life she’s been plagued by stares, giggles, bullying, and disgust. But when she’s abducted on the way home from school, Sarah is forced to uncover the courage she never knew she had, become a hero rather than a victim, and learn to look beyond her face to find the beauty and strength she has inside. It’s that—or succumb to a killer.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateOct 1, 2013
    ISBN9780547942100
    Stained
    Author

    Cheryl Rainfield

    Cheryl Rainfield is the author of the novels Scars and Hunted. A survivor of abuse, she often draws upon her own experience in her intense and highly charged fiction, heralding the strength and courage of ordinary people. She lives in Toronto, Canada. Visit her website at www.cherylrainfield.com.

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    Reviews for Stained

    3.5/5

    15 ratings2 reviews

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    • 2/5
      Having been born with a port wine stain, Sarah has suffered a lot of bullying from other kids (and sometimes adults). The day that she is finally going to start treatments to minimize the colouring of her birthmark, her father announces that his company's finances have been gutted by a yet-unknown person. They can't afford the treatments; they might even lose the house. Upset, Sarah goes to school like normal, only to be picked on by more people. And then she's abducted by someone she knows. Blindfolded, raped, starved, and locked up where no one can hear her, Sarah has to find a way out before her abductor ends her life.Well, this is one of those books that I wanted to like a lot more than I did. It's partially based on some of the experiences that the author had when she was a child, and for that I am genuinely sorry that anyone would have to suffer anything akin to what Sarah did. But I'm only reviewing the book itself, not the author's life.The book itself feels quite choppy to me. I never felt drawn into the story at all; I did finish the book, hoping that at some point it would grow on me, but it really didn't. I also felt that the characters were quite two dimensional. Nick, for example, just existed to show what was happening with Sarah's parents and to repeatedly tell the readers that Sarah is incredibly strong and brave. He didn't feel like he had his own separate personality at all. And, to be honest, I found it rather disturbing that he kept thinking about kissing Sarah when he knew that she had been abducted. It just skeeved me. I guess this was to show the reader that, in spite of what had happened to Sarah, she was still lovable and nothing could make her not be. A great sentiment and a true one, too, but right after Sarah had escaped from her abductor, they're kissing in Sarah's bedroom and Nick is feeling her back. Okay, Sarah does freak out a little bit, but I can't imagine that less than twenty-four hours after escaping from this crazy guy who had abused and raped her repeatedly for four months, Sarah would feel like doing any of that. It just doesn't ring true to me.And then there is Sarah. She thinks about Nick a lot while she is being held captive, which I found a little strange. Granted, they're friends, but Sarah doesn't seem all that into Nick until the reader discovers Nick's crush on her. Then it's on. As Brian, her captor, is raping her, Sarah is thinking about how she should have taken a chance with Nick. That just...seems so very wrong and off to me.I had problems with the dialogue, especially when it concerned Sarah's parents. It never rang true to me. Towards the end, as they are driving back from the hospital after JUST getting their daughter back after FOUR MONTHS, they start talking about the embezzled money (which Brian, of course, is responsible for). It just felt so weird and fake. I would think that they'd want to talk to their daughter, hold her, cry with her, hug her...and honestly not give a crap about the money at this point. Even worse? Sarah is understandably jumpy and paranoid after her ordeal, especially since Brian hasn't been arrested by the police yet. She thinks a car is tailing them on the interstate as they drive home from the hospital. And what does her father say? "You've got to let it rest." WHAT THE FLYING FUCK. She's been free for mere HOURS and her father is telling her to "let it rest?" I can't even. I. Can't. Even. The ending was just over the top for me. Brian, Sarah's abductor, breaks into their house and plans to kill everyone - Sarah, Nick, and Sarah's parents. But he doesn't obviously. That just reeked of a bad after-school movie or something. And then things just...ended. I understand that not every book needs a definite stopping point with all loose ends tied up, but it rather felt like the author decided that she was tired of writing and just stopped. It felt like we were still in the middle of a lot of different things.Altogether, I found this book disappointing at best. There's not a lot of "meat" here; it has a very bare bones feel. I wanted some introspection, but it's more of a blow-by-blow of what is happened. There is no closure, and I honestly would fear for Sarah's mental health if she was a real person, because I don't think she'd be getting the help she needs to healthily deal with what happened to her.
    • 5/5
      Book Info: Genre: Reading Level: Young AdultRecommended for: Those who need to learn to be their own heroBook Available: October 1, 2013 in Hardcover, Kindle, and Audiobook formatsTrigger Warnings: bullying, kidnapping, sexual assault, rape, attempted murder, reported murderMy Thoughts: “Sometimes you have to be your own hero.” That is the lesson Cheryl Rainfield has said she tries to show in all her books. I'll admit to being a Cheryl Rainfield fan—I have liked all of her books I've read to date, and was very excited to find this one among my Vine offerings this month. I was also incredibly happy to note that my ARC has the original cover, the one deemed “too harsh” by some retailers, leading to a new cover being designed. That's fine, but I liked this original one, which really brings home the situation in which Sarah finds herself.This is an incredibly difficult book to read, on multiple levels. First of all, the content is difficult, especially for anyone who has experienced any of the traumatic events reported in the book. Also, most of this book is thinking about things, talking about things, discussing things, and the internal dialogues of Sarah and Nick. There is not a lot of action, because the book is about the drastic changes that Sarah goes through as a result of her experiences. So people who prefer a more plot-driven book may have difficulties going through this. There also tends to be some repetition, but that's to be expected in this sort of book.Most of Cheryl Rainfield's books have at least one or two characters who are part of the QUILTBAG, which is also true in this book. None of them are main characters, but they are there, living their lives, and loving whom they please. I love this about her books. This one is also about learning to live for yourself, accept yourself for who you are, and not to spend so much time worrying about the opinions of people that have no control over your life, and I think that is a lesson well learned by younger readers.Sensitive readers should take note of my trigger warnings, and be braced. While not necessarily explicit as other books I've read, the events are nonetheless raw and difficult to read. However, it's a very moving book, and one I think a lot of people should take the time to read and think about. And definitely check out Cheryl Rainfield's other books as well, as she has some really great stories to tell. Recommended.Disclosure: I received a paperback ARC from the Amazon Vine program in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.Synopsis: In this heart-wrenching and suspenseful teen thriller, sixteen-year-old Sarah Meadows longs for "normal." Born with a port-wine stain covering half her face, all her life she’s been plagued by stares, giggles, bullying, and disgust. But when she’s abducted on the way home from school, Sarah is forced to uncover the courage she never knew she had, become a hero rather than a victim, and learn to look beyond her face to find the beauty and strength she has inside. It’s that—or succumb to a killer.

    Book preview

    Stained - Cheryl Rainfield

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