Because I Am Furniture in Penguin's Point of View Books

Dec 18, 2008 Lauren rated it really liked it

Shelves: own

Because I Am Furniture is a book that tackles many hard subjects such as rape, verbal and physical abuse. Thalia defiantly doesn't shy away from the hard parts with these topics, making this a gripping and startling novel told in verse style.

Normally, I'm not a huge fan of verse, with the exception of Ellen Hopkins and Sonya Sones, because of the lack of character and plot development that they usually have. With Because I Am Furniture it worked perfectly with the story, because both were ragge ...more

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Jul 07, 2010 Audrey rated it liked it

Full review can be found on my blog.

My thoughts:

I think the correct feeling I had when I finished this book is that I wished it was more. More emotional, more depth to the characters, more engaging to the reader. It was undoubtedly all of these things, but not to the point where I was a sobbing mess or screaming at the characters.

The abuse portrayed in this novel is described with the best mix of detached denial and up-close horror. Anke’s feelings about it is conflicted which both surprised me Full review can be found on my blog.

My thoughts:

I think the correct feeling I had when I finished this book is that I wished it was more. More emotional, more depth to the characters, more engaging to the reader. It was undoubtedly all of these things, but not to the point where I was a sobbing mess or screaming at the characters.

The abuse portrayed in this novel is described with the best mix of detached denial and up-close horror. Anke’s feelings about it is conflicted which both surprised me and was realistic. She hates her father for what he is doing to her siblings, but she feels worthless because he doesn’t pay the same ‘attention’ to her. It’s a twisted way to think, but when you consider a daughter’s longing for her father’s appreciation it is scarily probable.

Another part I thought made the novel unique is the strong imagery that I wasn’t sure a verse novel could achieve. I loved the references to leaves and trees, along with the attached symbolism. Anke’s voice served her character well, both with the hints of fear and longing. I do wish I was more engaged with her character though, there were quite a few times I felt like I was “on the outside looking in” when I would rather, as a reader, be experiencing her emotions as well (you know what I mean?).

I did feel the secondary characters excluding her family were a bit weak. They felt mostly flat, especially the two love interests, Jed and Kyler. I wanted a bit more from Rona as well but I can understand Anke’s desire to keep her at arm’s length when regarding the personal issues. I loved the way volleyball was incorporated into the novel, kind of like the forbidden activity but something she can’t help but love.

Lastly, I thought the ending was only okay. The way the abuse was resolved felt a bit clichéd, not to mention (just a tiny bit) reminiscent of the novel Speak. I wanted a bit more, and wished it could have been a bit less tidy. I also thought that throughout the majority of the novel Anke’s emotions are always strongly portrayed until the very end where it kind of fell short.

Rating in HP Terms (OWLs): Acceptable

3.2/5 because I enjoyed this one quite a bit. It didn’t take long to get used to the verse style and it dealt with a tough subject with poise and directness. It never shied away or sugar-coated a very serious topic that deserves attention. Anke’s character is exceptionally written and the conflict portrayed in the novel is very strong. I wanted a bit more emotional attachment to Anke along with secondary characters with more depth. Figurative language is very well used (ugh, English teacher, go away!).
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Dec 31, 2010 Realteenreviews rated it liked it

Shelves: dream-catchers-list

The Gist
Anke’s father is abusive. But not to her. Never to her. When his temper flares it’s always her older brother, Darren who takes the hits. And at night, it’s always her older sister, Yaicha. Waiting in her room for the inevitable – every night before he goes into his own bedroom he goes into hers. But never Anke’s. Because she is furniture to him. Not a daughter, not even worthy of his abuse. But when she makes the school volleyball team, she realizes that she may be stronger than anyone r The Gist
Anke’s father is abusive. But not to her. Never to her. When his temper flares it’s always her older brother, Darren who takes the hits. And at night, it’s always her older sister, Yaicha. Waiting in her room for the inevitable – every night before he goes into his own bedroom he goes into hers. But never Anke’s. Because she is furniture to him. Not a daughter, not even worthy of his abuse. But when she makes the school volleyball team, she realizes that she may be stronger than anyone realizes. Through volleyball she find the voice that she never knew she had. The voice she needs to stand up for her family and for what’s right.

What We Think

Reviewed by Dream Catcher

Number of Pages: 352

This book was on a book list that the North Star made for me. She filled it with books that’s she’d only heard of (never read) and so I was to read this. Not even knowing what it was about. Not that it really mattered (I created a list for her that was equally if not more devious). It was a quick read. It’s written all in free verse poetry that sounds so unpoetic that it almost wasn’t free verse. I mean, it obviously was poetry. But the way she wrote it almost made it seem like she was too lazy to actually write an entire book, so she just cut out almost all the dialogue and shortened every plot point into a few lines. Viola: free verse poetry. And I’m not just saying it because I don’t like free verse poetry or something. Because I actually do like that kind of poetry, just not when it’s written like that. I think that’s fair. It was very mediocre.

Speaking of mediocre. The characters were so bland. Not personable or likeable. Not even mean or annoying. Just bland. Anke was supposed to be this inner strength guru who can fight the emotional battles inside herself and come away strong, confident, and ready to fight. Sure, she kinda, a little, described this in her poetry. But to me it sounded really fake. Like someone who never had to struggle writing a story about a character who constantly struggles. Just didn’t sound real. Anke’s family was even worse. I mean, the father was supposed to be horrible. So I guess she hit the nail on the head there. He was disgusting. The mother was just as disgusting though. Anke described her as this great mother who she loved and trusted and all that. But her actions disproved everything that Anke said. She just sat and watched all of her children being abused by their father and did absolutely NOTHING about it. If I had three kids and they were being abused I’m pretty sure I’d do everything possible to make it so they weren’t abused anymore. Right? I just couldn’t stand her character because of that. She was so wide-eyed and he-didn’t-mean-it all the time. Ugh. Anke’s brother, Darren, wasn’t that bad actually. He seemed like a pretty normal, abused, older brother. Pretending nothing was wrong so his younger sister wouldn’t get upset and that kind of thing. Going to Anke’s volleyball practice. So he wasn’t that bad. But the sister, Yaicha, was terrible. She was mean and uncaring and not sensitive at all. I just didn’t like her at all. Some could say I should cut her a little slack because she WAS being abused (which might have lead to her being really rude and mean) and I get that. I did give her a break. But that doesn’t mean I liked her character any more than I did. She annoyed me and didn’t seem like a good older sister or even an okay character. Anke’s best friend, Rona, was another character I had a problem with. Usually she was alright. Very typical don’t-care-about-what-people-think highschool girl. And, sure, that was fine. But there were times when she was REALLY mean. And Anke would reproach her for it. So, naturally, I suspected there would be more conflict here – where Anke confronts her about her mean comments or something. Nope. Something with that was extremely unsatisfying and disappointing. Then there was Angeline – a girl that Anke had to hang out with from time to time. Anke claimed Angeline was the most annoying person on Earth. But she wasn’t. She was clueless and obscenely naive and innocent. But not nearly as annoying as Anke made her out to be. So that kind of annoyed (I said ANNOYED/ANNOYING way too many times) me…though I’m not sure if that’s more of Anke’s fault or Angeline’s. Either way I was annoyed at some character or another. Which isn’t usually a good sign. Oh, well. Yeah…so characters…not particularly good…yeah mostly just average.

The plot…wasn’t really a plot. At least I think. There was the idea of abuse and volleyball. But there was no real plot to it. Just a bunch of random events in poem form squashed together, trying to convince people that they make a complete story. And I guess you could say…if you’re being generous…that there is some tiny bit of plot or story or whatever. TINY bit of plot, if any. Mostly it was just an idea and a few emotions and weird events. Not really much of anything, in my opinion. Oh, and they separated the book into four parts. I didn’t really understand that. The sections weren’t clearly defined as anything of significance. I didn’t understand the difference between some the sections. It seemed random and senseless to me. Not method to the madness of that.

The first line was pretty good. “I am always there.” Good, right? Yeah, sure. But then if you read on, you will see something utterly unforgivable. In the NEXT line she states the entire title. UGH! I am in physical pain just thinking about it. Terrible. To state the book’s title at all – let alone in the second line – is unbearably cheesy. Ugh. Here is the second line for you: “But they don’t care if I am/because I am furniture”. NO! Right there my heart sank, and I had that terrible foreboding feeling of knowing a book isn’t going to be good. Bad choice of the first few lines, Thalia Chaltas. Not okay.

If anything, though, the last line is WORSE. Not possible? Oh, it is. It’s cheesy and unsatisfying. One of those endings that makes you go “WHAT IS THAT?”. Well…that’s what I think if I don’t like the ending to the book. Anyway, the ending line was just bad. But the ending in its entirety was abrupt and not exactly complete. There were things that were never resolved in the story. It’s funny because for a book with hardly any plot, the author actually manages to not complete the LITTLE plot she managed to come up with. What a remarkable feat *insert eye-roll here*. Only one major thing was resolved but still…I don’t know. It felt wrong and unfinished.

Here’s the nice part of the review. Yay. The cover was pretty good. Eye-catching at the very least. Real-looking house in the background with a white cut-out silhouette of a girl as the main focal point. Cool. Good job there, Speak Publishing. And the title. Also interesting enough to catch the eye. Or, I guess, the ear if you hear the title. Because I am Furniture. Different, mysterious, maybe even a little dark. Good combo for title. So those were good.

I made the book sound horrendous, didn’t I? Honestly, it wasn’t that bad. Just a little below average. I would never go around and recommend it – I usually only do that with really good books. It was a disappointment, no doubt about that. I’d been expecting something dark with a hopeful ending, made unique by the fact it was all in poetry. Not exactly the case. But it wasn’t HORRIBLE. Just not that great. I finished it really quickly – like two days – and didn’t hate it or love it. An easy read that’s not very memorable. Actually, not memorable AT ALL.

Real Teen Rating~ C- : Read it if you’re bored. ...more

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Dec 10, 2009 Ashley rated it liked it

Shelves: atypical, poetry

I was a little disappointed in this book because it had so much potential. I love reading novels in verse, because it allows you an insight into the mind, thoughts and feelings of a character without the distraction of endless descriptions, explanations and commentary. It is, simply, what they are.
This novel didn't really do that. There was so much potential with the story. A girl who lives in a severly abusive home who is ignored by her father, and everyone else within the home and finds herse I was a little disappointed in this book because it had so much potential. I love reading novels in verse, because it allows you an insight into the mind, thoughts and feelings of a character without the distraction of endless descriptions, explanations and commentary. It is, simply, what they are.
This novel didn't really do that. There was so much potential with the story. A girl who lives in a severly abusive home who is ignored by her father, and everyone else within the home and finds herself almost wishing for the abuse her siblings face, because at least that will be something. Allowing volleyball to become a refuge, and a place to find acceptance, and ultimately a voice was a brilliant decision.
However, I felt that the author dropped the ball on this one. (Haha... I just realized the pun, sorry...) There wasn't the emotion I expected through the poems. I never really felt the character's involvment in her own story. They spent more time on her experiences in school and friends than they did on the relationships among family members. While I don't relish reading about pain and abuse, I felt that there should have been more attention given to something that huge. There were times throughout the story where the abuse felt almost like a second thought, that the author knew she needed to refer back to it a couple of times, so here, let me toss it out there before I return to what I really wanted to say. I was also rather disappointed in the quick resolution at the end. Real life rarely works like that. No matter how much we may wish it, life will not become great overnight, so for the author to make life beautiful suddenly was a disappointment, and I think that she cheated a little, almost as if she didn't trust her readers enough to allow them to handle the hard truths of life and living.
Overall, the book was good, and many of the poems were wonderful, but I don't feel like the story lived up to its potential. I feel that this story was bigger than the writing allowed it to be. ...more

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Mar 22, 2021 April rated it really liked it

Shelves: verse, ya, contemporary, 2021-unhaul

Because I Am Furniture was such a quick read. I read Thalia Chaltas's book in a matter of hours. This verse book was worth picking up. Read my full review here Link goes live 6/30/2021 ...more

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Sep 22, 2010 Lacie Solt rated it it was amazing

Well, I read this in about three hours...It's really a powerful book. The main character, Anke, will inspire people with how brave she is of how she found her voice no matter what the consequence was...It was incredible! it was a great quick read that made me think. ...more

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