This was a powerful book. Albeit one that made me extremely uncomfortable, but great nonetheless. 
 Forbidden is a love story between a brother and sister. Throughout their lives they have been forced to take on the parenting roles of their younger brothers and sisters. Their bond grows deep and eventually morphs into something taboo: incest. 
 The two main characters, Lochan and Maya, were remarkably complex and unique. Each had their own distinct characterizations that led them to read as genuine and realistic. They were also terrifyingly understandable. I figured with all the rave reviews, the author must have been able to get readers to find her characters believable and compelling. And she didn't disappoint. Lochan in particular really blew me away. He was so emotionally layered, deep, and troubled. It was haunting to watch him grapple with his socially-abhorred feelings. His struggles and disgust for his feelings for his sister was so raw and unabashedly human. Maya also emotionally struggled with her feelings, but was more willing to accept them, so I found her a bit less compelling. Lochan definitely seemed like the star of the show in this book. 
 Plot wise, the author did a spectacular job at fleshing out their situation and making you feel their pain. The build-up for their romance was incredible and the sexual tension could've been cut with a soft breadstick. I actually, truly wanted them to be together (although I was still uncomfortable during the physical scenes). It was like I was revolted but also rooting for them. So it was like ????? very weird.... It's super strange to say, but like they aren't hurting anyone (other than emotionally scarring other people around them) so maybe just...let them..be together? idk. ack. I also keep imagining the publishing process for this book and can't fathom the balls required for her to submit this to literary agents and publishers and what they must have thought. I'm very, very glad they saw potential in it though, or we would have missed out on such a daring and thought-provoking story. The fact that it's extremely well written probably didn't hurt her cause either. Also, how is this possibly considered YA. Seriously. Yeah, it's about young adults but the subject matter and sexual situations aren't AT ALL comparable to other YA books, even the intense ones... 
 Bottom line, conceptually and execution-wise I would give this book 5 stars. It gets 4 stars from me though because I personally can't say I enjoyed reading it. It was one of those books/ movies that made me say "wow I am SO glad this isn't my life." I was grateful I could just walk away from the story whenever I wanted. It made me extremely uncomfortable and, on top of that, I like happy endings, or just the possibility of one. And this tragic story was doomed from the start.