CW: (view spoiler)[Rape, sexual advances from teacher towards student, racism, detailed sexual content, drinking, school rape culture covered3.5 Stars
CW: (view spoiler)[Rape, sexual advances from teacher towards student, racism, detailed sexual content, drinking, school rape culture covered up by administration, class discrimination. (hide spoiler)]
This book is told in first person alternating narrative. It features two teenage girls from vastly different backgrounds. Their worlds collide when Clare becomes a boarder in Dani's home as a way to provide some much needed extra income for Dani and her mother. Clare's wealthy background elevates her to someone with instant status in the school, a ready made group of friends, and of course a boyfriend. Dani dreams of going to Yale and knows her only chance is through winning a debating competition where she will be competing against wealthy kids who will buy their way to success.
In the story both Dani and Clare suffer from traumatic experiences which I think were well written and felt raw and real. However shocking it is to the Reader I think the responses of authority figures in the book is sadly a pretty accurate account of how many of these situations play out in real life. I didn't connect with the relationships in the story or even the main characters if I am being honest because I felt they weren't written with any warmth (if that makes any sense). Perhaps it will be a better explanation if I say I didn't get any 'feels' from them. The only relationship I was invested in was between Dani and her mother.
The strength and determination of the girls to be heard was the highlight of the book for me and I did appreciate the unity shown in the final pages. Despite not feeling moved by this book as I have by other similar stories, I know it is an important one so that elevated the rating for me....more
The inner voice of teen worry and self doubt is captured really well in this book. I remember hearing almost exactly the same kinds of selCW: Drug use
The inner voice of teen worry and self doubt is captured really well in this book. I remember hearing almost exactly the same kinds of self-criticisms tumbling through my brain. If I’m honest, they still do the rounds in my head from time to time in social situations. This book is all about Carla losing herself to better fit in with the ‘popular’ group. This is a pretty common high school story line and this book doesn’t particularly stand out above the others. There is a lot of drug use but it isn’t a gritty foray into the world of drug addiction. It’s more of a dainty dabble into a teen drug users life. It is an important issue though, and as I mentioned earlier the inner monologue is quite authentic. It showed how easily you can get swept into this world with a few harmless ‘tries’. The only alarming part for me was when someone commented that Carla had lost weight. She was really pleased they had noticed and credited ‘stress and drug use’ as being slimming! I should have written down the exact quote but it was an audiobook and the pen and paper were over there *points to kitchen table*. Overall, the book is okay, although I did want to shake some sense into Carla a few times, but I hear that is frowned upon....more
CW: (view spoiler)[death of a friend after a car accident, detailed sexual content, underage drinking, drug use, depression, grief, anxiety (hide spoiCW: (view spoiler)[death of a friend after a car accident, detailed sexual content, underage drinking, drug use, depression, grief, anxiety (hide spoiler)]
Firstly, let’s put a bit more effort into our book covers people! *shakes head slowly in disappointment*
This isn’t what I was expecting and it was a slow burn for me. I thought I was going to be reading a light-hearted book about a teenager with a bruised ego proving themselves to their writing teacher. I suppose that is what I got minus the light-hearted part. It turned out to be a deeper exploration of dealing with grief, depression, sexuality, friendships, falling in love, and making peace with the idea of proving one's worth to oneself and not others. The cast was extremely diverse which was wonderful. This diversity contributed to the conflict some characters felt as they navigated life whilst experiencing it through their various ‘lenses’. There was a lot of worrying in the book. That’s okay and an important part of the characters' journeys. However, when you spend a lot of time reading about people who are in a near continual state of anxiety it can mean you don’t get an opportunity to get to know them. I didn’t dislike Laila, I just couldn’t see much of HER as the anxiety and then depression became all consuming. I didn’t enjoy the relationships that both teachers developed with Laila as they felt ‘off’ and a bit unhealthy. Overall I enjoyed this book because I could relate to the themes and I enjoyed the witty dialogue, but I didn’t feel invested in the characters themselves. I did, however, say a loud "YES!" at the end of her final interaction with her teacher. (view spoiler)[Reclaim your power! (hide spoiler)]...more
The next paragraph is a spoiler but not really. I’ll hide it just in case but I recommend not reading the blurb (view spoiler)[ if you like a2.5 Stars
The next paragraph is a spoiler but not really. I’ll hide it just in case but I recommend not reading the blurb (view spoiler)[ if you like a bit of mystery in your books because it is essentially a novel summary including the ‘dot dot dot’ at the end. (hide spoiler)]
I’ve got to say I’m pretty lucky I listened to this as an audiobook because there was a lot of rage at the end. Being on my phone meant that there was zero chance I would throw it out the window in annoyance. I can’t promise this wouldn’t have happened with a paperback. FYI, I’m not in the habit of throwing my toys out of the cot, it's just that the ending was the worst. The. Worst.
I went into this book with very low expectations and during the first third it lived down to those expectations beautifully. Nothing was special about it. Unoriginal characters and average writing. I can’t pinpoint exactly when it changed for me but I was sitting in the kitchen plunging my coffee and I felt anxious (when will the cafes be open again? seriously, I’m over it!). I said to myself, “Self, why are you feeling anxious about coffee?”. Then I realised it was during quite a suspenseful scene in the book. I have read a lot of supposed YA thrillers but very few of these elevated the heart rate of this seasoned Reader. Don’t get me wrong people, this isn’t an amazing book but Ms Preston certainly managed to build tension during some of the scenes. I enjoyed that aspect of it, hence the 2. 5 stars (down graded from 3 because I still can't get past the ending).
My biggest issues are that not one of the people in Ivy’s life believed her! Imagine all your close friends right now. Are you picturing them? Say a random person they have never met comes in and talks smack about you what would they do? There’d be a verbal beat down of this interloper right? Not according to our author. Instead your nearest and dearest would turn on you in a flash. Completely and annoyingly UNREALISTIC. Yes there may have been a person or two with an axe to grind but come on people, everyone? Nope.
My next issue and perhaps it was done intentionally to explain the above issue is that Ivy is a total muppet. I have never seen a more ‘passive helpless victim’ mentality in a book. Fight back damnit! FIGHT. Rage against the dying of the light and all that good stuff. By the time she had realised what was happening (an embarrassingly long time) it was all over, red rover.
My last main issue was the ending. Ending a book like that is not clever. It is not mind-fudgey. It is not suspenseful.
CW: alcoholism, parent abandons child, racism, offensive comments made to girl about her promiscuity after she drunkenly ch**spoiler alert** 3.5 Stars
CW: alcoholism, parent abandons child, racism, offensive comments made to girl about her promiscuity after she drunkenly cheated on her boyfriend....more
**spoiler alert** CW: Self harm, suicidal thoughts, sexual references, child abandonment, drug use and overdose, references to school killings, schizo**spoiler alert** CW: Self harm, suicidal thoughts, sexual references, child abandonment, drug use and overdose, references to school killings, schizophrenia...more
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