Bent Heavens

Whoooo. How to review this? Let me try. First, it's a masterwork. Beautifully written, not one wasted sentence and every little detail that seemed superfluous ended up being used meaningfully. I went into this cold. [b:Scowler 15797695 Scowler Daniel Kraus https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1360646291l/15797695.SY75.jpg 21520599] was one of the few books I have read that has actually scared me. I still think about it. Bent Heavens is also terrifying but in a different way. It's very, very, very upsetting and difficult to read. Had I known, I would not have chosen it for cozy shelter-in-place reading. Woof. So what I did was read this in small chunks a little bit each day. And I needed the breaks. The emotional punches from this one are strong. Because when you get what Kraus is really saying, what he is really showing you here, it will knock the wind out of you.In the end, I think this is an important work. It's meaningful. It is not for the light or cozy reader, despite it's being in Young Adult. Should it be a YA book? It is at my library. Just because the protags are teens does not mean it automatically belongs in YA. Then again, I could have handled it at that age. Listen, this review and my emotional nerves have me talking to myself. I need to get back to Anna Karenina.