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The Abuse of Ashley Collins by Jon Athan
Publication date: March 8th, 2017
Pages: 208
Spice: N/A
Synopsis:
Ashley Collins, a sixteen-year-old girl, has severe behavior issues. She regularly fights with her parents, Logan and Jane. When the fights become personal and physical, Logan and Jane decide to take matters into their own hands. They chain their daughter in the basement and abuse her in an attempt to rescue her from her bad behavior... while delving into their own deviance and depravity.
This is a story of family and abuse. This is a story of violence and discipline. This is the abuse of Ashley Collins.
Jon Athan, author of A Family of Violence, brings you an uncompromised vision of human horror. Can the cycle of abuse be broken?
WARNING: This book contains scenes of graphic violence, including violence towards children. This book is about abuse--verbal, physical, and emotional. This book does not feature any explicit sex scenes, but it does discuss sexual abuse. This book is not intended for those easily offended or appalled.
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Plot: I wasn't sure where the plot was going to go with the way Ashley acted and the submissive way her parents handled her. I thought perhaps Ashley would be the main antagonist of the story but then again, why would the book be called "The Abuse of Ashley Collins?" The plot was full of twists and turns but really showcased the necessity of empathy within a parent's upbringing of their children. If they had simply attempted to understand Ashley instead of immediately placing her in the role of being a bad seed perhaps things could have gone differently. The plot is very much in the wheelhouse of a psychological horror story. The family all had their issues and it was showcased as the story progressed. Eventually even the most innocent of minds became twisted and depraved. The story did have some pitfalls in the quickness of its progression from a place of misguided love to just openly evil. But such a quick path towards psychosis also heightened the suspense of the overall story.
Characters: I never found Logan or Jane to be appealing and they were meant to be that way. They were first mild-mannered parents who had no idea what to do with their wayward child but then their true colors really started to show. Ashley who seemed to have a wealth of issues finally gave cause for why she was acting that way, however, by the time her parents got their heavy handed lessons bestowed upon her she was also lost the circumstances of her abuse. Even the 12 year old, Calvin, had his own issues. There wasn't really one likeable character in the entire story but that was masterfully done one purpose. These characters are not meant to be liked. They are all monsters hiding in plain sight who eventually show who they really are when they are pushed in that direction. Out of all of them, I felt Calvin was possibly the only one that could have been redeemed. The author did a good job of not letting any of them be so intrinsically appealing that the reader would be upset if they were to perish. (Well, except for Tyler.) That left every single one of them as potential literary cannon fodder. A smart choice in a horror book of this level of depravity.
Characters: I never found Logan or Jane to be appealing and they were meant to be that way. They were first mild-mannered parents who had no idea what to do with their wayward child but then their true colors really started to show. Ashley who seemed to have a wealth of issues finally gave cause for why she was acting that way, however, by the time her parents got their heavy handed lessons bestowed upon her she was also lost the circumstances of her abuse. Even the 12 year old, Calvin, had his own issues. There wasn't really one likeable character in the entire story but that was masterfully done one purpose. These characters are not meant to be liked. They are all monsters hiding in plain sight who eventually show who they really are when they are pushed in that direction. Out of all of them, I felt Calvin was possibly the only one that could have been redeemed. The author did a good job of not letting any of them be so intrinsically appealing that the reader would be upset if they were to perish. (Well, except for Tyler.) That left every single one of them as potential literary cannon fodder. A smart choice in a horror book of this level of depravity.
Writing: I didn't find any issues in the writing that I could see. The grammar was good. The structure of the story was well done and plotted out well. The characters were described well enough to get a good mental image of them. The author did use the word 'austere' a lot to describe Logan, which got a little monotonous but hard to really think of some other way to describe the man. I do wish that the author had possible stretched out the story a bit more so that the time frame was a little more understood. The level of events that went out was hard to gauge time. Was it transpiring for a week? A month? Longer? Shorter? But as far as a quick read goes, this was well done by the author even if it made me a little worried about his mental state. How does one write such disgustingly reproachful things without them being a little tweaked in the noggin themselves? Psychosis or an extremely imaginative mind?
Overall: Truth be told, I didn't want to like this book. I wanted to hate it. I wanted to stop reading the minute the lighter scene came up and also nearly tapped when the curling iron was implemented. But something in me made me want to see how the characters faired. Would they be dealt with or would they get away with their evil deeds and live on to torment more people? How far would they go before they finally realized what they were doing was wrong? Would they ever? The fact that I had questions and speculations all the way up until the end was a great accomplishment for the author. I will say, that you cannot go into this story expecting rainbows and butterflies. This is not that type of story. If you have a strong stomach and a will to enter the minds of monsters, this is the read for you.
