Kissproof World
By: William West
Genre: Fiction
Number of Pages: 246
Published: August 30, 2022
Publisher: TouchPoint Press
Dates Read: March 1, 2023 - March 4, 2023
Format: Paperback

Trigger Warnings: Abuse, sexual abuse, incest

Neva is a young therapist who is grappling with her own past as she tries to help six troubled teens living in a halfway house on the Texas coast. There, she meets Alec, a teen at Morning House who reminds her deeply of her twin brother who passed away. As Neva tries to protect Alec from the same fate as her brother, life at Morning House begins to unravel and begins to lead everyone down a dangerous path.

I honestly kind of struggled with this one a bit – nearly everyone had some form of sexual abuse or incest and yes, it’s kind of hinted at in the description, but not as much as it probably should have.

William West’s background as a social worker shows up in this novel for sure as this does dive into the depths of the abuse and neglect the characters went through. It’s not really a feel-good read, it will probably make people uncomfortable, but it will challenge the reader to experience a viewpoint of life with at-risk youth.

I will say, the last ⅛ of the book is what saved it for me – as they started piecing together the big mystery that was playing out throughout most of the book.

Overall, this book was a bit challenging for me because it had such tough storylines that the characters went through, but it was still worth the read for me.

*Thank you TouchPoint Press and the LibraryThing for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review