Thalia Chaltas

Anke's father loves her brother and sister, but not her. He must love them. He loves Darren enough to get angry and hit him. He loves Yaicha enough to visit her room at night but he never even notices Anke. She remembers a father who would laugh and read bedtime stories, who smiled at her when he came home. But he doesn't even see her now. Nor does her mother, who doesn't see Darren's bruises and doesn't hear the whimpers coming from Yaicha's room. She only sees him.

To her parents, Anke is show more furniture, simply part of the scenery, something used and dismissed without a thought. So Anke loses herself in volleyball, something she excels at, something that makes her seen. With her new found talent and self confidence, she emerges a pretty young lady, one the boys can't help but look at. Anke likes being seen, being visible, until her new image turns another head- her father's.

Reading back over that, not knowing the story as I do now, I would be terrified to read it. But I only know this now, and the possibility of the fear her story could instill in the reader must have been foremost in the author's mind because she artfully and meticulously protects both her character's and her audience's emotions. You want your reader to experience the fear and sadness the character is living, through the character. You do not, however want to terrify and sadden your reader. A very fine line and I'm grateful for the restraint shown by the author. She could have made this one sting long after the story was over. Instead, using, verse both soulful and lyric, the reader is able to push through some very harsh, vivid imagery, carefully muted by poetry.

Thank God.

Anke is such a strong, brave girl. Even confused as she is by what she considers to be her father's "expressions" of love, she understands enough to know that while she wants the love of father, she doesn't want her father's idea of love. Her mother, though she redeemed herself in the end, disgusted me. I was reminded of Meredith's mother in Such A Pretty Girl by Laura Weiss, a character I would like to naively believe couldn't possibly exist in real life. I know better- I know she's out there. show less

Alright, alright. Time to write this damn thing. After I finished this one I needed a recuperation period. To be reminded of the everyday demons that really exist was quite a jolt from the fantasy world I have been living in with my fiction reads. But the truth is shitty people like the father in Because I am Furniture actually exist, and they probably won’t stop existing for a very long time.
Thalia Chaltas’ somewhat fictional, somewhat truthful accounting of an abusive home life and show more all the dynamics involved was chilling. I particularly liked how it was presented in poetry rather than prose. It really lent itself to showing you just how little people in that situation are truly living.
Please, if you are suffering at the hands of an abuser, or know someone who is; you are not alone and you have every right to get the hell out. You do not deserve this, no one does. If your abuser is a cop, then get the hell out of dodge. show less

A dark and empowering book of prose that captures what it's like to live in an abusive household. Anke is the only one not receiving her father's "love" and she should be grateful. The love that he doles out on her brother, sister, and mother is horrifying. He's emotionally, physically, and sexually abusive to them all; Anke is unnoticed, always in the background. She knows she should be grateful or speak up, but she doesn't want to be the one to tear the family apart. Things start to change show more when she joins the volleyball team. She starts getting stronger, filling out, and finding her voice. Suddenly, what her father is doing to her family seems even worse. What would happened if she used her voice and confidence to help her family? Written in beautiful, lyrical poetry this young adult book about abuse will horrify readers and inspire them to speak out when they witness something. A definite conversation starter. show less

I am so in love with this book, it's disgusting! Admittedly, I'm a sucker for novels in verse, but not only is this a novel in verse, but it has the most bad ass protagonist ever! Yes, this is worth multiple exclamation points, but I won't end this sentence with one.Ever feel like an underdog in your own family and wanted to hand that tyrant his/her ass? You so need to read this!