I feel a bit guilty about not liking this book a lot. I feel mean, but here we are.

At first glance the writing is good. The theme and plot are ones that usually grab my attention. Usually I would love books like this, so why don't I love 'The Packing House?

I think it still mostly had to do with how long it took for the plot to build. There was a lot happening at once, so it seems there is a lot going on, but these basically were the same lot of things. The nightmare happens right at the start, but running away does not happen as a result like the blurb states, but about a third of the book in because of another issue. That might be a clue, somehow my expectations were set by the blurb, and then the plot was different. I mean, the extra background was good, but if you expect a turn and it doesn't happen for a long time it feels off.

I also noticed that I did not get the chance to like any of the characters. I do not actively dislike Joel, but I also didn't find any reason to like him, and that is the main character. I understand the book is written from his point of view, but can he please not dislike or hate at least one character apart from the girl he is obsessed with? Can there please be a character with enough redeeming characteristics to be okay to like?

The Packing House doesn't hold back. It has several major triggers and I was unaware of how brutal these would be.
This is a painful, heart-wrenching read, told through the unique voice of Joel who I wanted to meet, hug and hold his hand. Joel was so genuine I wonder if this was more of an autobiography from Cribbs.
The poetry that runs through this book is stunning, and I was in awe of the writing throughout. The plot wasn't as gripping as I usually like though, but I'll forgo it for the beauty of the writing and the book itself.
Really powerful book, and I would definitely recommend it and read more from the author.

When I read the synopsis of this novel, I was intrigued. Not because I thought it would be a fun read, but because I felt it would be an important one. As an elementary teacher, I have known many children who have suffered some kind of abuse or trauma in their childhood. Reading novels such as this helps me to understand the signs to look for and the way children may deal with their trauma.

In this novel, a 16 year old named Joel begins suffering from terrible nightmares. They keep him from getting enough sleep and he inevitably falls asleep during the school day. While asleep at his desk, he ends up having another nightmare and other students catch it on camera. Now he is being ridiculed at school, on top of having an unstable home life and the ever increasing bad dreams. All he wants to do is escape and figure out what's haunting him.

The entire novel is told from Joel's perspective. Even though you, the reader, may know what's causing Joel's nightmares, you enter on the journey with him to find out the truth. You will experience the emotions with Joel: fear, confusion, horror, loneliness, fatigue, hunger, anger, longing, happiness, sadness, and calm. Although you could read this book in one sitting, the story is heavy and you may want to take breaks to process what you've read so that you don't feel the extreme exhaustion that Joel does.

This book is beautifully written! There are some exquisite poems throughout the novel, written by the main character Joel, as he finds writing to be an outlet for his emotions. Sadly, it is clear that the author has first hand knowledge of processing childhood trauma and abuse. I believe this book will be a beacon of hope for many who need to know that they aren't alone.

I highly recommend this novel for anyone who works with children, for parents, and for those who have experienced abuse themselves and are ready to work through the trauma. 5 stars

Thank you to #NetGalley , #LiterallyPR , and #CherishEditions for a copy of #ThePackingHouse by #GDonaldCribbs in exchange for an honest review. The views expressed are completely my own. I look forward to the sequel!!!!

From the moment we see Joel fall asleep in study hall and have his nightmare recorded, the warning signs that could explain his behaviour are there. Throughout the book I found it incomprehensible that nobody thought to look beyond the surface…he was exhibiting classic signs of trauma and there were recollections of medical intervention that should have had someone (actually, many) looking a little further into what was happening.
The grim reality is that many victims of child sexual assault will go through their experience alone. They will find ways to manage their trauma and many will hit self-destruct before anyone has a clue. Joel offered indicators that should have been picked up on, and it’s hard not to feel broken by the state of a system that allows such behaviours to continue.
Joel is plagued by nightmares, which are evidently symbolic of his experience. Seeing how he developed these coping strategies was interesting, but I can’t help feel angered that it still has to be done.
The Packing House is not a book I’ll easily find myself able to recommend, but I sincerely hope that people will read it, take time to reflect on what is read and then do their utmost to make sure we do something to reduce the numbers affected by such trauma.
I’m grateful to NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this. While the subject matter is distressing, it’s a book that ought to be widely publicised.

We meet Joel Scrivener in the Packing House. He's 16, living with his mother and younger brother and his father left some years ago. It's clear that at school Joel is often uncomfortable and very angry too at times. He sleeps badly as he often has nightmares. Gradually things pile up - incidents at school, another flit with his mother and brother leaving another less than pleasant partner, the tiredness. The sudden move lands them in some less than desirable accommodation and yet another school. There is a feeling of a pressure cooker about to blow. Joel runs away...

The book follows this period of Joel's life through his eyes. The anger and problems, the puzzlement at the nightmares and issues with the lack of sleep, the deterioration of school work. We get an intimate look into Joel's mind and feelings. It felt honest - brutally so sometimes. There are highs and lows here. I winced for Joel at times and then tutted at others. I really wanted someone to take care of him and understand him.

Joel's story is interspersed with some of his poetry. While not happy at school he does enjoy English generally and poetry in particular. It is obviously an outlet for him but might it be more than that?

When we meet Joel at the start of this book he is probably a fairly ordinary if rather angry teenager. By the end we have learnt a lot more about him and he has found out far more about himself. I have to say that parts of this made for difficult reading. It may be that some would find this simply too hard to read. That said it may also allow others to consider their own positions too.

Personally I found this highly credible, emotional and powerful. I think it's a very good thing to make stories like this rather more public. By way of warning this does contain stories about sexual assault - those who have concerns should be aware of that. However the book also looks at the secrecy behind abuse and I think shining some light on such dark places is a good idea. Those who are living with problems may well feel less alone. Those who are dealing with issues may be helped. I guess this could be called a "YA" book however I feel it could be read by many who simply have an interest or concerns with the general subject. Personally I'm glad I read it.

“I can’t ignore these dreams. They come from somewhere. Maybe they’re trying to tell me something, but what exactly?

Joel’s nightmares have been getting worse recently. It doesn’t help that his mother is emotionally unavailable and his father has been MIA for over half of his life. When one of Joel’s nightmares is recorded and posted online, it makes it even harder for him to cope.

Childhood sexual assault is always going to be difficult to read about. While there are more books being published where characters have experienced this, not enough are written from the point of view of male survivors. That’s what drew me to this book.

It’s hard to be objective when sexual assault and its impacts are addressed so I’ll focus here on what did and didn’t work for me personally as I read this book.

One of the strengths of this book was that it dealt with trauma that the main character didn’t always have clear memories of. Trauma encodes itself in the brain differently than non-traumatic memories and sometimes this means the memories aren’t accessible until the survivor is safe. Joel’s memories begin to resurface in the themes of his nightmares and in flashbacks. His understanding of what he’s experiencing doesn’t come all at once.

Some aspects of the story didn’t ring true to me. <spoiler>Once Joel talked about what happened to him, his nightmares seemed to disappear. While I hope this is the case for some survivors, this didn’t seem very realistic.

I couldn’t imagine the police, when they showed up to interview Joel at his home, finding it necessary to use their lights and siren to announce themselves. Surely a simple knock on the door would have done the trick.

I’d also hate to think of a survivor being confronted by the police about such a sensitive topic in front of random family members or having to go with them straight away to the station in a police car to give a statement.

And why do the police say the perpetrator is “charged with” when they haven’t actually charged them yet? They hadn’t even interviewed the victim or conducted an investigation into the allegations.</spoiler>

With such an extended lead up to Joel remembering what happened to him, the events afterwards felt like a whirlwind. I was left with some pretty big question marks and some of those are because the book finishes so abruptly. I don’t know if a sequel is planned or not but here’s the short list of what I need to know...

<spoiler>Was Joel’s perpetrator responsible for what happened to the other boy we learn about from Joel’s childhood? Is there a way around the statute of limitations problem in Joel’s case as he’s only just remembered what happened to him? Does Joel get anything approximating justice from the legal system? Did the perpetrator also offend against Joel’s brother? What is Joel’s brother’s response to what happened to Joel? What possessed Joel to immediately set up candles when he learned what they meant for Amber?</spoiler>

There’s no indication in the blurb that religion is discussed in relation to the events in this book. Given that some readers will want to read it and others will avoid it for that reason alone, heads up: Christianity, including Bible quotes, are a part of this book.

Books in a book: Reading is one of Joel’s escapes. Throughout the book, he reads Fahrenheit 451, The Outsiders, The Chocolate War and Catcher in the Rye.

Content warnings include addiction (drug and gambling), bullying, domestic abuse, homelessness, homophobia, mental health (PTSD), physical abuse and sexual assault. Please be aware that the scenes describing childhood sexual assault are reasonably graphic.

Thank you to NetGalley and Cherish Editions, an imprint of Trigger Publishing, for the opportunity to read this book.