As I wrote in my last post, I’m going back through my lost reviews and pulling from my Goodreads and limited remaining posts that are currently somewhere floating around on the internet and stuck in some weird in-between on my WordPress. This week, I’m trying to post reviews from the four books I won from Goodreads giveaways in 2020: More than Words by Jill Santopolo; This is All I Got by Lauren Sandler; Josephus by B. Michael Antler; and the AMAZING Sherlock retelling – Angel of the Crows by Katherine Addison.
My confusing review of This is All I Got pulled from my Goodreads:
Okay, I’ve got no idea how I truly feel about this book. I won it a while ago in a GR Giveaway and finally got the chance to read it. I found it entertaining. I enjoy Sandler’s writing. But upon finishing it, I felt a bit icky. I was a single mother, barely getting by, at the age of 19. I received public assistance to cover daycare costs while I worked and attended school. I even found myself in the situation of making “too much” and losing childcare assistance, which meant I literally couldn’t afford to work. So I saw a lot of my past self in these pages. I identified with Camilla and it’s part of what pulled me into her story.
What felt wrong to me though, is that there is no story without Camila, but Camilla gained nothing by letting her story be told. It just feels like she was used and my heart hurts for her.
So yeah, just not sure about this one.
What about you? Have you read This is All I Got?
Have any thoughts about how and should a subject be compensated in a situation like this?
Let’s talk. Leave a comment below!
Jess Combs 
Let's talk about it! Leave a comment below. I'd love to hear your thoughts...