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j_ritt02's review against another edition
5.0
I love this book. I felt it showed how this situation might really be handled.
ckausch's review against another edition
4.0
I have to admit that I didn’t like Bitter End as much as Hate List. Having said that, I loved Hate List so much, I can’t imagine how Ms. Brown could have topped it. Bitter End is a really great book.
Jennifer Brown has a talent for depicting the inner conflict and emotions of teens...
...So often, when the topic of abuse within a romantic relationship is discussed, people say, “I don’t know how she/he puts up with it. If it were me, I’d be out of there immediately.” Ms. Brown has crafted a realistic example of how the abuse slowly boils and how the abused find reasons to stay. Very well done.
Further thoughts at http://dogearedandwellread.wordpress.com/2011/08/03/bitter-end-by-jennifer-brown/
Jennifer Brown has a talent for depicting the inner conflict and emotions of teens...
...So often, when the topic of abuse within a romantic relationship is discussed, people say, “I don’t know how she/he puts up with it. If it were me, I’d be out of there immediately.” Ms. Brown has crafted a realistic example of how the abuse slowly boils and how the abused find reasons to stay. Very well done.
Further thoughts at http://dogearedandwellread.wordpress.com/2011/08/03/bitter-end-by-jennifer-brown/
lady_kristan's review against another edition
1.0
I've read "The Hate List" by Jennifer Brown, which I really liked, but I did not enjoy this book. I found it very predictable and melodramatic. It is about a serious topic (dating violence) that teens should be aware of, but I didn't care for it.
kelseybee17's review against another edition
3.0
This novel was decent. The writing was decent, the story was decent. It was just ... okay. I just felt like I had read the same story before because the characters of Alex and Cole were just so similar to almost every other domestic abuse novel I've read. The subplot about her mother was nice, but it wasn't amazing.
A lot of it made me made of course. The tone of the book didn't really feel the way it should have. Alex's friends and family didn't even make an effort to help her even when they knew about what was happening to her. Bethany and Zack were supposed to be her best friends, but they weren't, even after they found out was she was going through. They didn't try to help her at all. Her sister knew something, but did she mention it to her dad? No. Her mother-like figure, Georgia, had suspicions, but why didn't she act on it?
The character of Alex seemed like almost every character in abuse stories out there. In fact, I did find her quite annoying, even before her relationship started. There wasn't anything unique about her at all. Cole was told to be this perfect, perfect guy, of course, but really he just wanted to get in her pants.
Overall, this book was decent, it kept me reading (mainly because I just wanted to see how it would happen). But, truly, this book was very unoriginal compared to other domestic abuse novels out there. I kept saying almost becuase there is one domestic abuse novel that was actually quite original, and I'd recommend it over this novel: Dreamland by Sarah Dessen.
A lot of it made me made of course. The tone of the book didn't really feel the way it should have. Alex's friends and family didn't even make an effort to help her even when they knew about what was happening to her. Bethany and Zack were supposed to be her best friends, but they weren't, even after they found out was she was going through. They didn't try to help her at all. Her sister knew something, but did she mention it to her dad? No. Her mother-like figure, Georgia, had suspicions, but why didn't she act on it?
The character of Alex seemed like almost every character in abuse stories out there. In fact, I did find her quite annoying, even before her relationship started. There wasn't anything unique about her at all. Cole was told to be this perfect, perfect guy, of course, but really he just wanted to get in her pants.
Overall, this book was decent, it kept me reading (mainly because I just wanted to see how it would happen). But, truly, this book was very unoriginal compared to other domestic abuse novels out there. I kept saying almost becuase there is one domestic abuse novel that was actually quite original, and I'd recommend it over this novel: Dreamland by Sarah Dessen.
madlee's review against another edition
3.0
This book started out interesting, but as I continued to read it, I wish I had just stopped. Of course there are abusive relationships similar to this out there (and I know someone who has been through this), but just the characters in general made me want to rip my hair out for the stupidest reasons. Although I really did like Charlotte and Zack, they were fun characters. Alex on the other hand, not so much. I didn't really get to know her well as a character as everything in the book felt rushed. This book had so much potential to be better.
I don't want to give out any spoilers so I'm going to end this here.
My rating: 3 1/2 stars.
I don't want to give out any spoilers so I'm going to end this here.
My rating: 3 1/2 stars.
blakehalsey's review against another edition
5.0
My second Brown novel did not disappoint. I feel like sometimes YA books that deal with difficult issues, such as abuse, run the risk of coming across as inauthentic, but Brown treated the situation of Alex's boyfriend, Cole, physically and verbally abusing her with delicacy, rawness, and a realness that made me chest ache. I loved Alex's relationship with her best friends. This book really let the reader inside that all-consuming question when one witnesses abuse like this--why doesn't she just get out?--and allowed us to see that it's not always so simple.
marpesea's review against another edition
Didn't finish because it felt preachy, like an after school special with little else going for it. Skip this and read Brown's other book Hate List.