Forbidden question

I don't think there should be a punishment for love. This book made me think. Nothing in it grossed me out, because instead of reading of a sick relationship between a brother and a sister, I read of two teenagers living a disarranged life and having the luck of finding each other and having each other to count on when everything else is going wrong.
Their relationship was pure, and true.
I don't think it's wrong. Right now we can think of it as that, but the truth is we'll never fully understand the situation until we live it.
I think all types of love are good. And seriously, in a society where almost every kind of love is generally accepted, Maya's friend, Francie, made me think. Why can't we also accept that kind of love? We accept gays, which are somehow against nature, as you'd say. The natural course of things is for men to find a woman and vice versa. Yet we have come to accept that. So what's wrong with saying it's okay for two people like Maya and Lochan to be together, too? There's only their blood between them. And really, in the end, who are we to tell them, "no, it's wrong." they're doing nothing against us. It's not our life, it's not our job to tell them what to do. I think who you love and who you're with is entirely your business, and no one should ever try to dictate on that.

This book made me really mad! I dont understand why there are sooo many rules.. if you are in love everyone should just leave you the hell alone! Like really? Why does evryone have to put their stupid shitty rules in everyone's faces? Just because it's "gross" or "weird" doesnt mean you should forbid it... ugh !!!!!!!!!! I'm so mad at that stupid law... it ruined the happy ending i was hoping for!!!! ugh grrrr

Incest has never appealed to me and it has only repelled me. I love my brother and my family, but it a different love and affection than to say love with a boyfriend or husband. However, you define love for yourself. Lochan and Maya can justify their affections for each other and they prove to the readers that they are rational. For the best, incest should be avoided, but some people are so deprived and damaged that they are only a few people they can relate to and confide in romantically. To me, that's okay.

I do still believe that incest is wrong. Like many other situations. But obviously I felt a great deal of sympathy towards them and I understood that they loved eachother.

ofcourse i know that in 'real life' the situation would be seen as wrong and illegal, but the way that Lochan and Maya were both portrayed made me forget about the wrong aspect of the relationship and focus on their situation that they were forced into. by no doubt i wished that they would end up not being brother and sister so they could live a normal life, for me the sibling issue didnt matter as the effect they had on each other, and it was obvious that they loved each other dearly, outweighed the law

Well who are we to say something is wrong or right. much much more horrible things are going on that are cruel and disgusting and us just saying something is wrong will not change anything. I live like this my opinions doesn't change anything so why give it all it does is create an argument when the problem still proceeds. So instead of saying something is wrong or right just live your life and help the best you can. Because the sad reality is world peace is not possible and things like this will always go on and it just might get worse and worse.So to answer your question is it right or wrong my answer is it simply is. That means it happens and i cant do anything about and it really none of my businesses.

When I read the synopsis, my reaction was ohhhhhh-kay. But reading all the reviews and comments, I must say most peoples first reaction isn't very justified, since we don't know the full story and how it happened.

When I first saw this book my first instict was ew. How stereotypical of me and how utterly wrong. This book was anything but that, it was a poetic, heart reanching, tear jerking, eye opening book. It was incrediable. They didn't seem like brother and sister for they saw one another as their equal not someone who they had to compete with. It really made me look around and wonder what other peoples home life was like. Tabitha Suzuma wrote a master piece that has been one of few books to make me think. I tip my hat off to her because she fufilled a ginormous accomplishmet.

I admit that Lochan and Maya probably would not have loved each other had they been born in a conventional family with loving parents. However, Lochan would not have been Lochan, Maya would not have been Maya then. They are what they are because of their circumstances. So their love is true, in their reality.

They didn't just fall in love because they were lonely. They honestly, genuinely liked each other—being brother and sister had nothing to do with it. Maya said it herself: she never saw Lochan as just her brother. And, Lochan, he saw black-and-white. He hid his feelings for Maya behind the fact that she was his sister; he knew he wasn't supposed to feel things for her, he knew it wasn't normal, so he denied those feelings.

They weren't attracted to each other because they were related by blood; they were attracted to each other because they found each other appealing.

To be honest, I don't see anything wrong with their love. I wasn't grossed out—I wanted them to end up together in the end.

i dont' know, I mean if you love sombody go for it don't let no one stop u
"how can something so wrong feel so right"
-lochan

To be honest, I was a little grossed out at the beginning. And it came as a shock to me when I realized that they loved each other (I don't read the synopsis). But like other people's comments, who are we to judge love? We can never really understand their relationship until we experience something like that for ourselves. The conversation with Francie was really effective. Those were my exact thoughts and Maya questioning them proved how judgmental our society can be.

The author also did well in addressing doubts and what ifs. What if they had a normal home life? What if they weren't related, would they still love each other?

The ending was heart breaking. I kept hoping that they would somehow find a way to be together. What happens to them after? To Maya? To Kit and Tiffin and Willa?

I went into the book thinking that it was going to be a little gross and awkward, but when I finished it I cried like anything and I completely understood! In their situation its not bad at all and I started getting so confused about this really awful law that exists - I just sat there thinking: "How unfair and stupid is this law??"

I started the book expecting to be grossed out,but I don't know it was unexpected and I loved it.
I hated the ending and bawled my eyes out!
What I realized was that nothing is actually good or evil and black or white-Tabitha is definitely an amazing author.

i believe if you love someone, and they love you back, no matter what race, sex, sometimes age(sometimes age is tooo far apart. like, people over 18 with people younger than 18) even brother an sister. it's not like lochan and maya were affecting anybody.. leave them alone. they've had a rough life.i felt horrible. it changed my whole perspective on life.

Hmmmmm... I really enjoyed this book. At first I was worried that I wouldn't be able to get past the incest relationship, but as many other reviewers have said who are we to judge who others love? I understand why people today have such a prejudice against incest relationships, I mean look at how the media portrays it. We are told about the risks of such relationships, in regards to having children; mutations can occur in the genes because of similar traits that both people share. But if the two people are willing to take that risk, who are we to stop them? Look at the history of the royal families of the world, they inter-marry between familiy members to keep the crown purely in the family, and we don't look poorly upon them. So why is it such a taboo topic now? The Media!!! That's why... Like almost everything else nowadays, the media plays a major role in how we view things.
Personally I loved this book! I enjoyed reading about topic that a lot of people aren't even comfortable talking about. It was interesting seeing this "issue" from the point of view of the two people actually in the relationship, it definetly changed the way I looked at these situations.

Although inconceivable, this book was brilliant! It's one of my favorites, and I find myself thinking about it often.

They were two abused kids: abused my their parents, society, their siblings. And I feel like they dealt with their situation the only way they knew how.

I find it sad that there are readers who immediately judge and bash this book instead of taking a moment to understand. He was literally closed off from the rest of the world because of his anxiety disorder, and she was his only calm in the entire world. They thought they knew better, but they didn't. And how would they when their entire structure, and the structure of the people around them, was solely their burden? Their reaction to such a hard life was extreme, but not completely surprising.


I felt uncomfortable at times, but never was I grossed out. Their love was actually pretty beautiful ... wrong, but pure in a way that most legal relationships are not.

The ending literally killed me, because as sick as it may be, I was kind of hoping they could find a way to be together. It's just an example of flawless writing, I think.

I think there is a reason for the 16 and up targeted audience because clearly, anyone who is around 12-14, won't consider this book in a mature approach.

This was a very risky story, and Sazuma was incredibly brave to write it.

Incest isn't a light topic. Its only legal in a few places. To many people, including me, the theme is usually avoided in casual conversation. To most it's down right disgusting.

The author clearly states that they didn't want to be in love with each other. Lochan and Maya were brought up in this very neglectful house hould and start to have these feelings towards one another. They thought it was terrifying. However, the way she describes their love, at times it makes the reader have seconds thoughts about the subject.

I don't have an opinion on incest. I love my brothers, but I'll never be IN love with them, and the idea makes me feel very uncomfortable.

Even if my home life was ten times worse than in the book, I would never be able to even consider my brother in that way. That is a line that my mind can't even begin to fathom crossing.I mean, the thought would never enter my head. It's just wrong.
The only way I could see that being a microscopic possibility, would be if some epidemic killed everyone else on the planet except them. But they actually had others to date in the book. So I vote "no. It is wrong."

I can get past the incest simply because they didn't have brother/sister relationship. Biologically the love was wrong but from a social p.o.v, it was right. At first they were more of best-friends than siblings and as they grew up they became parents to 3 kids. They have never seen each other as siblings throughout the books, they see each other as best-friends and comrades when parenting. That's why I can't see their love as wrong because they could have been any 2 people of the street (nothing about them was brotherly/sisterly stuff) if it weren't for blood.

Kimberly wrote: "Personally, i feel bad for these kids because of their horrible situation at home. Their moms a drunk, and an 18 and 16 year old are parenting 3 kids. I feel that what they did was deffitely wrong ..."

Agree. Details were too much, most of the time i was debating between returning the book and reading further.

I agree it was a gr8 book and the deets didnt gross me out just made the book orginal u have to think bout it from their point of veiw best friends , not sibling, been through everything together

I agree but I am leaning mostly to right because theyre socially ackward teens with a terrible life and Lochan doesnt have much to like in life except his family.

I agree-- their love for one another is pure for the motivation behind their love is pure--their love innocent and flawless---

Am I the only dude who has read this book?

That we're sorry for their situation at home yeah, I agree. But for the rest? Nope, actually nothing grossed me out in this book!