Review: It's Hard to Be Kalli
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 12 12, 2013
Kalli suffers from horrifying traumatic experiences from her childhood. In an effort to cover up her dysfunctional emotions, she specializes in sexual acts with one condition: it has to take place in public and never alone with a man in a room with closed doors and windows.She makes a bet with a childhood friend involving a blow job and gets sucked in deeper than she anticipated. Unable to deal with her fear, she determines to ruin herself further, which obviously leads to more conflict.What I liked about the story is Kalli's love and concern for her four-year-old twin brothers. Her mother is often strung-out, hung over or high, and neglects Kalli and her brothers. I also liked the subplot with Kalli's bestie, Scout, who is dealing with problems of her own. Together, Kalli and Scout support each other to deal headon with their problems.There were several graphic sex scenes both in the present time and in flashbacks. The ones in the flashbacks were fairly disturbing because it was told in the point of view of a ten-year-old girl. It's hard to understand how much pain and suffering Kalli endured and I was angry with her mother for being too high or drunk to figure out what was going on right under her nose. The worst part was when her mother says, "Oh look, you changed the sheets! They're so pretty." I wanted to shake her mother and slap her silly for her neglect.Ultimately, both Kalli and her mother, as well as her friend Scout face up to their worst fears and conquer them. So the story is uplifting at the end. While not everything is perfect, there is hope that relationships have healed, and the characters can move on to a more well balanced life.Be prepared to be emotionally gutted. This book is not an easy read, and it'll definitely twist your insides, especially when you think about the ten-year-old Kalli and how damaged she is. Ms. Berto has real skill in dragging the reader's emotions into the story to experience the pain and suffering of her characters. She can leave you reeling, even days after reading. I can only imagine how difficult it was to write such a heart-wrenching story.