A father who never loved him… eighteenth birthday, Billy is introduced to a younger brother he never knew he had. An eight-year-old who is barely capable of navigating the corrupt world of his father’s boxing club.
In order to secure his freedom, Billy must fight for it. To save his little brother who is next in line for the slave trade … he must die for it.
SOMETHING I AM NOT is for anyone who has ever questioned who he is, why he is here, and whether the world would be a better place without him.
Written for the General Market (G): Contains little or no; sexual dialogue or situations, violence, or strong language.
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Don’t pick up this book if you’re trying to read to fall asleep. There’s no sleeping here. This story has you on the edge of your seat and there are so many twists to the plot you won’t see coming. Billy McQueen will get to you and you’ll find yourself cheering for him, praying that he will finally get the love he so deserves.
Deeply troubling, deeply moving Christian YA novel tackling the hardest of all subjects: human trafficking of children. Not an easy read, but such a necessary one. Cher covered the subject with intensity, but also with sensitivity, shining the Light in the evil corners of the world. Young adult, yes–but not too young.
Something I Am Not by Cher Gatto is a Christian contemporary allegorical story. It is absolutely heart-breaking and beautifully written. The love and pain reach from the pages and lodge in the reader’s heart.
You cannot help but love and admire the main character who is lost but in his lostness, he still tries to rescue another. He does not want the innocent to have to walk in his footsteps.
The main character clings to hope. It is a hope that God sent following a prayer. It is a hope that he clings to even though life looks so very dark. “Don’t believe the lies that threaten to shake and destroy you… you have a God who loves you.”
The novel has the main theme of fathers and truth. Our heavenly Father loves us unconditionally and will never leave us to suffer alone. In contrast our earthly fathers may be abusive and not treasure the gift of life. The abused think they deserve the behaviour they receive and it is heart-breaking as they excuse the behaviour. “Even now I defended him.” The father of all lies wants to separate us from God. He wants us to believe the lie that we are unloved and worthless. The truth is we are loved and Jesus paid the ultimate price for each and every one of us. We must tune into the voice of God.
How we view God is often coloured by our experiences. “Maybe He wasn’t scowling down from His throne, watching and waiting for me to mess up so He could knock me across the room. Maybe… God was more like this man.”
There is the horrendous theme of human trafficking and modern day slavery. There are some hard to read scenes. There are parallels with the Biblical story of Joseph.
Church is not about a performance. Church is about coming to God just as you are. “Church is never about being something you’re not.”
Something I Am Not was a painful read but it also had a great hope and His name is Jesus. Cher Gatto has produced a heart-wrenching read with some gems of love sandwiched in between the pain.
I received this book for free. A favourable review was not required and all views expressed are my own.
This book was extremely intense! From abuse to human trafficking to faked deaths and more, this book had a lot to offer.
Billy believes himself to be Max’s son, yet he struggles with the abuse he suffers from Max. This book holds nothing back in dealing with children sold for sex. Yet Billy is surrounded by people who care for him in the way of his high school principal Dan and his best friend Jersey. Suffering the abuse he did, Billy doubts his own self worth. Yet helping others including an 8-year-old boy he believes to be his brother as well as some girls leads him down a different path than what Max intended.
As I read this book, I felt every emotion Billy experienced as well as those around him. The world-building is incredible. I truly felt I was in the story as I was reading. Never having had a child die, I can not imagine the grief Dan and his wife Kelly must have experienced.
I have to say I would love to see a sequel to this book that explores what happens to Dan, Kelly, Billy, Toby, and Jersey. I think Billy has an incredible future ahead of him being blessed by God with his life and his family.
So if you do not mind reading intense young adult novels that are not all sunshine and rainbows, but are ones that truly exemplify God’s mercy and love for His people, check out this book for yourself.
I received a complimentary copy of this book from CelebrateLit, this in no way influenced my review. All opinions are my own.
Something I am Not is a powerful story of loss, danger, healing, and redemption. It’s life and it’s hard. This story was hard to read but I couldn’t stop. I know it says it’s a young adult fiction title but I’m not sure I want my kids to read this book. It’s intense. There is so much pain and abuse.
I enjoyed reading how the book came to be and where the influence for the book came from. I fear this is really a hard subject to study but it’s also a subject that is prevalent in our world. There is so much going on that we don’t understand or know about. In our area, we are aware of human trafficking as a major interstate that is used for this purpose runs near us.
This is a book that I can recommend but that I also want to say please know what’s in the book. There is a lot of abuse and things that might trigger someone so take care if you’ve had a hard past yourself. This book is wonderfully written and just really does make you need to read the whole thing.
I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from Celebrate Lit. All views expressed are only my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC regulations.
I would normally not choose to read a novel like Something I am Not because boxing isn’t very interesting to me. I chose to read it, in part, as it deals with overcoming abuse. Billy learns to forgive himself and all the other people who used him.
This is not a book to read if you are looking for a lighthearted escape. However, it is a great book to read if you want to remember that God is in your life.
I enjoyed the realistic details Cher Gatto includes in her writing that make scenes have more impact. It felt like I was there watching the story unfold. Another great aspect to her writing is that there is no profanity in this book. That is very hard to do with the rough characters and situations here but she does it well.
The story got my attention three fourths of the way through. It was Billy’s experience recognizing God’s hand in multiple points of his life that really is my favorite part. The novel ended happily considering all the heartache the main character experienced.
I looked at Cher Gatto’s website and was interested in the description of her next book. The plot sounds fascinating. I plan to read Regent after it is released!
There were too many things to say that would spoil this book so I will finish by just encouraging you to read Something I am Not if this fits your reading style and needs.
I received a free advanced reader copy of this book. All opinions are completely my own.
This is not an easy feel good kind of book. In fact it is one of the hardest stories I have ever read. It drips with raw emotions and sends readers to a place where evil lurks. There has been news reports and documentaries about human trafficking, but this book goes deeper. It goes to the under belly of darkness and exposes the truth that no one is immune from pain, desperation and a loss of hope.
Billy is a character that I wanted to rescue myself. I wanted to barge in the room, knock Max to the ground and tell Billy he was safe. The author lets us see inside a world where power controls people and their love of money devours their soul. Billy has been beaten all his life but his loyalty to Max is honorable. He knows God but I think he wondered where he was at times. The abuse is constant and savage yet Billy continues to draw strength from inside.
The scenes are graphic at times but is necessary to understand the emotional and physical abuse a person goes through. I have no good words to say about Max. He is an abusive, power hungry person who sees Billy as a way out of situations. I can’t even fathom how a “parent” could sell their child knowing the atmosphere they were placing them in. Max oozes with darkness and has no remorse for the torture he endures Billy to.
I admired Billy and his determination to survive. He is someone who knows that the truth will set him free. His journey is heartbreaking yet I feel it helped him grow closer to God. I don’t want to go into much detail about the story because readers need to experience it for themselves. Billy makes difficult decisions which define his future. There are a few surprises in the story which helped explained the ending. I admire the author for writing a story that not only exposes evil, but shows us that there is hope.
“But nothing-not wicked men or even demons that haunt you-can take you out of God’s hands.”
I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.
This book can be summed up in one word: POWERFUL. This is not a light-hearted, uplifting story. Although there are moments of hope and good, Something I Am Not is filled with pain and with the horrors and torment the depravity of sinful and greedy people inflict on those who can’t defend themselves. Or those who are so starved for affirmation, acknowledgement, or affection from the people in their lives.
While Cher Gatto doesn’t go into gruesome detail of all the abuse Billy suffers at the hands of others in his life, the nuances are there to give readers a pretty good idea of the many forms of abuse extracted on him. And when he loses his places of escape, the oppression deepens.
Gatto’s debut is thought provoking, emotional, and absolutely soul-wrenching.
Sometimes in my comfortable life in my comfortable home, it’s easy to forget about those who don’t have that reality. And that’s something that’s been on my heart and mind these last couple of months for those people who are now at home with no escape from their abusers.
I wish everyone had a Dan or a Jersey in their lives. People who show unconditional acceptance and love. I pray God uses me as that person for someone in pain.
Disclosure statement: I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book and was not required to write a positive review. All opinions are my own.
“To our son. Psalm 139: 13-14.’ Do you know what that verse says?” ‘For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.’” My eyes stung with the relinquished treasure.”
This was an incredibly well written and powerful book that will stay with me for a long time. It made me feel so many emotions, I can hardly think of what to write. This is not an easy read, but it is gripping and such a needed topic. I loved that even though it had a difficult storyline, it was filled with hope and always pointed toward redemption and forgiveness. I applaud Gatto’s very real portrayal of dealing with human trafficking from the view of a coming of age story AND from the male perspective. Sadly, I believe this story could be ripped from the headlines. FYI, topics deal with childhood abuse, human trafficking, and llegal activities. However, it is dealt with tastefully with such a distasteful subject, that it kept me reading long into the night. It felt good trusting how the author would handle it after the first third of the story. I can recommend it without a pause. It’s that good. I loved seeing the hand of God on him throughout the story. It has a young adult feel, with a sensitive storyline that I believe is needed in our community. I would not recommend this for younger readers, but for older teens and adults of all ages, it is well written.
I read this book through my Kindle Unlimited account as well as being provided a copy of this book by the author. All opinions in this review are my own.