Review: RAGE by Gary Lusby

16-year old Jay can’t stand the domestic violence caused by his drunken father, especially when that abuse is mainly targeted to the one person who means the world to him—his mom. “His mom was a prisoner in her own home and his dad controlled everything.” (137) Jay truly loved his mom (yeay!), which was why he picked a girl just like his mom (eesh!). It’s kind of gross when you think about that.

As memories flood his frustrated mind, the rage inside Jay grows more fervently and intense. His poor mom—what a stupid, little thing. Why didn’t she just leave? Fear. That’s what all abusers thrive on. Fear. Take away the fear, take away the violence. His mom won’t help herself, so it was up to Jay to do it for her.

Reading through it, I kept hoping that Jay would kick his father’s ass. On the other hand, Jay was getting so angry that, deep down, I worried that he might take out his rage on someone else, like his girlfriend (like father, like son.)

The story brings an interesting psychological perspective to why men hit women (insecurity, power, the need to control, etc.)—nothing I didn’t know already. For some reason, the author felt compelled to repeat the same thing over and over again. Okay, we get it! There was abuse in the house. Now what? 

Additionally, the POV constantly switched from 3^rd person to 1^st. So was Jay telling the story, or was it narrated? Odd. This should’ve been kept uniform. Also, there was way too much football. Sports have never held my interest. 

Towards the end, I wondered: Will Jay kill his dad? I hoped so, but I didn’t want his life to be ruined. The author attempted to pump the reader with excitement and seat-gripping adrenaline, but failed. The book was just a long, warring battle (yawn.) It was just a repetition of the same ideas over and over again.

Ultimately, this was a boring read. 

My rating: 2 stars