This is the best YA contemporary I have read in years. A hard-hitting, compelling and awful story about a girl whose trauma causes a downward spiral that impacts her whole life, and the lives of those around her. Reminds me a bit of Louise O'Neill or Courtney Summers.

Ever Since is a book that hurts. It contains depictions of sexual assault, child sexual abuse, domestic violence, substance abuse and suicidal ideation... so it was always going to be a harrowing read, but what really makes the book stand out is Virginia's painfully honest voice. It is not always easy being inside her head, but the need to know she will be okay makes it impossible to look away from.

Bruzas adds another dose of power to the tale by interspersing it with stories of women from mythology-- Medea, Fatima, Aife, Sita --each a victim of abuse in one way or another, calling attention to the horrific timelessness and universality of Virginia's story.

It is so painful to watch Virginia spiral, turn to sex as a coping strategy, destroy friendships and rely on alcohol to get through the day. I, too, felt consumed by helplessness as her already small support network slipped away. I wanted her to speak up, get help, yet understood why she didn't. It is only when Virginia comes to suspect an eleven year old girl is being groomed for abuse that she starts to feel like maybe, finally, enough is enough.

The author's note is a must-read also.

I found it somewhat hard to read this book. Mainly because of the triggering content that is in it. The premise was devastatingly sad but beautifully written. This book is definitely not for the light hearted, so be aware if you want to read this!

With that being said, I found it hard to connect with the characters. None of them were really introduced properly or fleshed out. Because of this, the dialogue between them and Virginia felt empty. I didn’t get to know their personalities and see them develop. Rumi and Virginia’s relationship also felt out of place. It felt like it happened out of nowhere.

Also, the most crucial part of the story (where Virginia is convinced Lyra is being groomed), doesn’t come until a lot later in the book. This left me feeling kind of bored. Overall, despite these criticisms, I would still recommend this book to other readers. The topics in this book are important and deserve to be discussed.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC copy of this book to read and review. All of these thoughts and comments are my own.

I will say that before you read, please look at the trigger warnings because this book is full of them.

Wow…just wow. This book is so beautifully sad. I couldn’t put it down. I feel like this is such an important read for anyone, People with or without SA trauma.

This book is heartbreaking yet hopeful. It’s about trauma, friendship, and looking out for signs of abusive weather it’s physical, sexual, alcohol, etc. The author really captured a lot of emotion with her writing and I think this book is lovely in a heartbreaking way.

5 stars.

this was a really good! I liked the characters, and they were super well-developed. the plot was super cool and fun to read, and the writing was also smooth and easy to understand
highly recommend

I really appreciated receiving an early copy of this novel!! It is the book that has made me cry the most this year. In fact, the crying started early and really didn’t stop until the end.

Ever Since is a devastatingly delicate book on finding the courage to speak up in the face of abuse.

Virginia is a girl who is so often judged by her peers, and sometimes even her own friends, that she leans into THEIR ideas of who she is. This comes straight from her own trauma which essentially wiped out her self-worth and her own sense of identity. While the character is meant to be unlikable for her actions and behaviors, I truly love her.

Bruzas did a masterful job creating a character whose intentions can’t always match her actions, and she did this without explicitly having to say: trauma might make you like this.

While I do not share the main character’s history, as a reader, I understood the way one mistake can make you feel like you might as well lean into bad choices—especially when it seems like the world won’t forgive you anyway.

This book has been living in my head for weeks after finishing. I highly recommend it!

Ever Since is a sad story of sexual abuse and suicidal thoughts. This is a story that needs to be told because these kind of things are happening everyday everywhere. With that being said I feel this book could've been so much more. I didn't feel the deep connection or pain for the characters like I thought I should. I feel like my heart should've been breaking for them and it didn't. Although the author was able to keep me reading to see how it all turned out. Overall it wasn't a terrible book I was just hoping for more.

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for allowing me to read an ARC of Ever Since.

Even though this book was heartbreaking I highly recommend it be read. It's uncomfortable to be read, absolutely. The subject matter, though, is something that happens every single day. Just because it's uncomfortable doesn't mean it should be ignored.

I really enjoyed the writing style. I know it's a bit different and jagged, but it made me feel like I was in the mind of a seventeen year old. I spoke and thought that way at seventeen. The book also makes you think of CSA survivors in a different way. The aftermath of trauma can be devastating and it can influence your life in many different ways, not just the typical ones you think of. Ever Since really hammers that part home and I think that's one of my favorite parts about it.

Ever Since is raw and gritty and a must read.

This book is so beautifully and painfully written.

Alena Bruzas' Ever Since tackles the complex and hard topics of abuse and child molestation and the effects that come with it.

Instead of having the main character, Virginia, be the typical girl-next-door, innocent main character, Bruzas writes her with complexity that quickly becomes understood and empathized with.

Definitely a 5-star read, but if you choose to read this novel, be sure to check the trigger warnings.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Alena Bruzas for giving my an e-arc to such an incredible novel.

Not an easy book to get into for me. I do appreciate the ARC from NetGalley for the purpose of this review. However, I did not get through the entire book. The writing style and the trigger filled content matter was difficult for me. Two stars.

Ever Since is a beautiful and heartbreaking story about the sexual violence experienced by vulnerable girls. Alena Bruzas gave us a gift with the character of Virginia, a girl in a lot of pain who people are quick to judge before offering compassion. Unfortunately, this is the case for a lot of girls who are suffering silently and acting out their pain instead of speaking to it. So many girls do not speak up about the ways they've been harmed due to the way society shuns girls who behave outside of what is considered acceptable.

Who is there to talk to when everywhere you turn you are being labeled and treated like you cannot be trusted?

When Virginia finally speaks up and shares her story it is because she wants to protect a younger girl in her community who she believes is the next target for abuse. Virginia quickly picks up on how Lyra is being groomed and in order to try and protect her she shares her truth. Virginia grows a lot as a character and as a result she forces her friends and the supporting characters and community around her to grow.

While this story deals with heavy themes, it does so from a trauma-informed approach and I appreciated the care the author handled this narrative with. Bravo!

Thank you to the author and publisher for the e-arc copy!

EVER SINCE by alena bruzas is a spellbinding & lyrical debut about telling your story in the wake of abuse.

through the protagonist, virgina, bruzas explores the haunting nature of childhood sexual abuse & trauma—how it lingers within your mind & body, becoming a kind of grief you can't shake. virgina’s abuse leaves her with devastating shame since she feels like it’s her fault. she experiences more instances of sexual assault because she doesn’t understand consent. and, when she discovers a girl she knows is being groomed for abuse by the same man who assaulted her, virgina must decide whether to stay quiet or reveal the truth of her own past for the first time.

EVER SINCE is a novel that understands victimhood is complex. there’s no such thing as a “perfect” victim & even survivors who don’t cope in the healthiest ways are still worthy of love. still worthy of being believed. and they still didn’t deserve the trauma they endured.

virgina's story is many things, but above all, it’s about hope. i can’t wait for it to be out in the world this may.

if you’re a survivor, this book is for you. ♡

This was hard for get into, for a few reasons. The subject matter was triggering, more than I thought it would be, and the way it was written felt off and sloppy. I didn't enjoy this and I did DNF at 35%.

Ebook received for free

A hard but required reading about someone who experienced a lot. Glad I came across this.

I loved the story, the world building and meeting the different characters. I felt completely immersed in the story and couldn't stop reading it.

In a devastating and beautiful novel, Alena Bruzas writes about a complex topic that way too many people survive. This book is not for everyone due to the topics that it handles, so please, read at least the synopsis before you start.

I finished Ever Since in what would have been one sitting if I didn't have to attend classes. The main character, Virginia is not the girl-next-door protagonist. She is hard. She is gritty. She has lived through and survived so much and those wounds, while buried, are very much a part of her character. I feel that if I talk more about how much I loved this book, I will spoil it, so my review will end here, but please, if you can read this book, please do. It's a truly brilliant novel and I am so excited to see what else Alena Bruzas' brain can write.