Saving Noah by Lucinda Berry -- Starting May 10th 2024

[Shae]

We forgive murderers, not pedophiles.

Not since Lionel Shriver brought us We Need to Talk About Kevin has a writer delved into the complexities of a disturbed mother/son relationship. Until now.

Meet Noah—an A-honor roll student, award-winning swimmer, and small-town star destined for greatness. There weren’t any signs that something was wrong until the day he confesses to molesting little girls during swim team practice. He’s sentenced to eighteen months in a juvenile sexual rehabilitation center.

His mother, Adrianne, refuses to turn her back on him despite his horrific crimes, but her husband won’t allow Noah back into their home. In a series of shocking and shattering revelations, Adrianne is forced to make the hardest decision of her life. Just how far will she go to protect her son?

Saving Noah challenges everything you think you know about teenage sexual offenders. It will keep you up at night long after you've read the last page, questioning beliefs you once thought were true.

[Shae]

21% (view spoiler)[ wow this is so hard- I do not know how the mother could think that the parents of the girls would be ok at the dinner party and just accept they are all kids. I want to know what happened, for her to think it wasn't sexual assault that it was just kids playing doctors. (hide spoiler)]

[Shae]

35% end of chapter 5 (view spoiler)[ wow the girls were 6! And it was multiple times, he couldn’t control himself. This is hard to hear. I can’t imagine what this would feel like being his mother (hide spoiler)]

[Shae]

chapter 8(view spoiler)[ it is so hard hearing about the boys in the centre and the things they are in there for. I also struggled to hear his sister say she wouldn't care if Noah touched her private parts (hide spoiler)]

[Karen]

This sounds like a tough read, but most intriguing.

[Shae]

definitely a tough read!! But very gripping

[Shae]

finished (view spoiler)[ wow that was so hard to read. I struggled in the end, it broke my heart her helping her son die.

It also made me angry about the Dad and how he never could empathise with Noah (obviously he couldn't disclose his past, but to totally shut him out). (hide spoiler)]

[Krystal]

2%(view spoiler)[ Good lord, starting off strong with the question of whether you still love and support Noah or don't. (hide spoiler)]

[Krystal]

Shae wrote: "21% [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[ She is definitely in denial on the abuse and assault her son did. She can't grasp that someone she loves so much would do something so horrible. (hide spoiler)]

[Krystal]

28% (view spoiler)[ How horrible of Joe- a facility for sexual offenders and they are literally offending at the place they are supposed to recover. (hide spoiler)]

[Krystal]

40% (view spoiler)[ The dad didn't handle it well- he had every right to be upset and every right to feel the way he did, but he should have handled it better, especially for Katie's sake. (hide spoiler)]

[Krystal]

40% (view spoiler)[ It's definitely difficult to know how we are supposed to feel about Noah. He's sorry for what he did, knows he did something abhorrent, and knows he has a problem. What do we do with that? (hide spoiler)]

[Krystal]

56% (view spoiler)[ The dad isn't wrong, but there is something there and he needs to tell his wife. He needs to open up and give her more about why he can't forgive his son. (hide spoiler)]

[Krystal]

Shae wrote: "chapter 8[spoilers removed]"

Agreed, that was really hard.

[Krystal]

58% (view spoiler)[ His mom just doesn't get it. She truly has blinders on- as a Mom, I can see why, but it doesn't make it right. Noah knows he did wrong, knows that what he did is just as bad as any of those other boys at the centre. (hide spoiler)]

[Krystal]

67% (view spoiler)[ It is odd that the courts didn't madate some type of therapy when he was released (hide spoiler)]

[Krystal]

Finished (view spoiler)[ The ending was tough to get through, that's for sure. So many emotions. THE DAD!!! Wow, what a terrible father and person. Seriously. (hide spoiler)]

[Krystal]

Shae wrote: "finished wow that was so hard to read. I struggled in the end, it broke my heart her helping her son die.

It also made me angry about the Dad and how he never could empathise with Noah (obviousl..."

(view spoiler)[ This!! He could have done something, something! It was definitely maddening to read that. (hide spoiler)]