Because I Am Furniture by Thalia Chaltas | Book Review

Read Thalia Chaltas's posts on the Penguin Blog.
Anke’s father is abusive to her brother and sister. But not to her. Because, to him, she is like furniture— not even worthy of the worst kind of attention. Then Anke makes the school volleyball team. She loves feeling her muscles after workouts, an ache that reminds her she is real. Even more, Anke loves the confidence that she gets from the sport. And as she learns to call for the ball on the court, she finds a voice she never knew she had. For the first time, Anke is making herself seen and heard, working toward the day she will be able to speak up loud enough to rescue everyone at home— including herself.

Books in verse have this wonderful way of distilling emotions into so few words. Yes, I tend to sail through them, but I appreciate how not a word seems to be wasted. Because I Am Furniture by Thalia Chaltas is a verse book that has been on my shelf for ten years. I bought it back when the Penguin-Putnam warehouse used to have sales (yes, I completely miss those days). Yet, like many of us when we buy books I just read all the other more shiny, more new books first.

Anke is the youngest of two siblings. She feels ignored and overlooked in her family. You see, her family life is terrible. Her father is abusive. He physically abuses her older brother Darren and touches her older sister Yaschia. Yet, in this stockholm syndrome kind of way, Anke feels that because she does not face any of the abuse really that her dad loves her siblings more than he loves her. She feels as though she might as well be furniture in her home. However, Anke joins the volleyball team. It is because of this extracurricular that she starts to become more confident in herself and as she continues yelling MINE for the ball, she begins to also find her voice.

Because I Am Furniture was such a quick read. I read Thalia Chaltas’s book in a matter of hours. Yes, there’s the whole verse factor. However, I also found Anke’s story to be quite moving. She really grows and comes of age and finds her voice. Her journey is well written and paced. Also, I liked that the book didn’t get graphic with the abuse, just because that can be so hard to read. Plus, there’s the element of Anke finding confidence through sports which is so cool and not something I’ve read a lot of. If you can get your hands on this book, I recommend it, especially for something like a readathon.

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April (Books&Wine)

April is in her 30s and created Good Books And Good Wine. She works for a non-profit. April always has a book on hand. In her free time she can be found binge watching The Office with her husband and toddler, spending way too much time on Pinterest or exploring her neighborhood.

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