"I know someone hurt you. Now it's time for you to fuck shit up, baby."
Grace accidentally fell into a successful acting career in Hollywood when she was in middle school. Able Yorke-- a famous Hollywood director-- plucks Grace up and promises her a life of fame and success. Able delivers on this promise but it costs Grace everything.
This novel reminded me of a less prose-forward version of Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. We meet Grace on the downswing of her career. She is broken after a toxic partnership and she is hiding out from the public eye at her parent's house. Most of this book details the numbness and shame that comes with all of the sorted ways an abuser can breakdown another person and bend them to their will. It is a hard first half to read through, BUT this book is not called The Comeback by accident. There was something so gratifying and encouraging about starting at Grace's lowest functioning point and watching her rise up and take back her power.
I really loved Berman's writing here. It is deceptively light despite the content. Berman weaved Grace's pain into the fabric of this novel in such an interesting way. With each chapter it felt like she was letting a little bit more of the raw emotion out of the box. This made me feel like I was wading into something heavy instead of being dunked under mercilessly and that felt more true to Grace's experience.
Content warning: on page sexual assault
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⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4/5 stars
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