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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
5 stars for the prose alone, 1 star for the 'romance'.
This was for sure the most beatifully written NA I've ever read. Everything else was trash. I HATED the... oh god, do I even have to call it romance? It was not a romance. It was obsessive, unhealthy and completely disgusting. How wrong and romanticized the relationship was. I DESPISED the pervert was was supposed to be the 'love interest'. I seriously wished Maise - who I did not 'like' per se, but really sympathize with (also: she reminded me of Effy from Skins fyi) - would not end up with him, because she has been though enough, to end up with such a disgusting piece of shit. I was disgusted wit Evan so fucking much, and I couldn't believe it, but when I learned his past, I despised him a thousand times more. Twisted, controlling romaticized pervert. If it ended differently, I actually would've appreciated the book a great deal, and given it at least three stars. As is, I was utterly disgusted.
At least there was the writing:
"Out of everything I ever learned from Evan Wilke, I think that lesson was the most important:
that none of us actually grow up. We get bigger, and older, but part of us always retains that small rabbit heart, trembling furiously, secretively, with wonder and fear. There’s no irony in it. No semantics or subtext. Only red blood and green grass and silver stars."
This was for sure the most beatifully written NA I've ever read. Everything else was trash. I HATED the... oh god, do I even have to call it romance? It was not a romance. It was obsessive, unhealthy and completely disgusting. How wrong and romanticized the relationship was. I DESPISED the pervert was was supposed to be the 'love interest'. I seriously wished Maise - who I did not 'like' per se, but really sympathize with (also: she reminded me of Effy from Skins fyi) - would not end up with him, because she has been though enough, to end up with such a disgusting piece of shit. I was disgusted wit Evan so fucking much, and I couldn't believe it, but when I learned his past
Spoiler
he had an affair with a teenage girl he tought in the past already... I think he even gotten her pregnant. Don't tell me that once Maise grows up past a certain age, he won't do the same thing again, and again...At least there was the writing:
"Out of everything I ever learned from Evan Wilke, I think that lesson was the most important:
that none of us actually grow up. We get bigger, and older, but part of us always retains that small rabbit heart, trembling furiously, secretively, with wonder and fear. There’s no irony in it. No semantics or subtext. Only red blood and green grass and silver stars."
There were things to like/dislike about this book. First off, it was a great, quick summer read, which was something I was looking for. The story was a bit tawdry and forbidden in a way, a 18 year old girl has a one night stand with an older man who ends up being her 33 year old film studies high school teacher. Of course, a romantic relationship ensues and it is all a bit exciting, sneaking around. The Main Character, Maise had a very realistic backstory---her mother was a drug addict and never-do-well.
The issues I had was she called him Mr Wilke in bed---why when she knew from the get go his name was Evan? It made it feel a bit odd/creepy to me. In addition, there were some things revealed about Evan towards the end about his past that made me question him and I was a touch disappointed with the cookie cutter ending as well. Therefore, I didn't love it as much as other people I know have read it liked it.
But overall, I will say the writing was well done, fast paced and it was a great relief to not find major spelling/grammatical errors (with some authors whom you don't know, you can sometimes be in for a scary surprise). A good summer read, but it didn't knock my socks off like some of the ones I read last year did.
The issues I had was she called him Mr Wilke in bed---why when she knew from the get go his name was Evan? It made it feel a bit odd/creepy to me. In addition, there were some things revealed about Evan towards the end about his past that made me question him and I was a touch disappointed with the cookie cutter ending as well. Therefore, I didn't love it as much as other people I know have read it liked it.
But overall, I will say the writing was well done, fast paced and it was a great relief to not find major spelling/grammatical errors (with some authors whom you don't know, you can sometimes be in for a scary surprise). A good summer read, but it didn't knock my socks off like some of the ones I read last year did.
Unteachable is the story of an 18 year old who falls in love with an older man, just to walk into her film class the first day of her senior year to find out he's her teacher. Oops. You can't help who you fall in love with, right?
I just... omg. I don't think I've ever read another author than can pull on my emotions like this. This is my second[a:Leah Raeder|7105371|Leah Raeder|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1575938554p2/7105371.jpg] / [a:Elliot Wake|15254487|Elliot Wake|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1575938916p2/15254487.jpg]novel and I am obsessed. Everything about this novel is just breathtaking. The characters are so vivid and realistic, and Maise is one of the most realistic teen girls I've ever had the pleasure of reading. She's emotional and irrational and impulsive, but these characteristics are tempered with a passion and intelligence and drive. It's hard to write teen girls, because that phase in life is overwhelming and confusing and (thankfully) quite brief and so many novels (looking at you, YA) get it *SO* wrong. But not this. The way Maise reacts to certain events in the story threw me right back into my own teenage troubles. The only difference is that Elliot's writing style is... sublime. There is just enough metaphor and purple prose to perfectly express the melodramatic way in which a teenage girl thinks without being overly dramatic or unrealistic. I need MORE of this author.
The whole story leaves you emotional. I don't want to comment on the romance itself because it would spoil it, but man. The characters are the perfect shade of morally grey that you just...ugh. I'm so sad I finished this.
Lastly, I thought it was really interesting that Hiam is kind of a major side character in this novel. She's also in [b:Black Iris|18829666|Black Iris|Leah Raeder|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1420737066l/18829666._SY75_.jpg|26771709], and I wish I had read this one first because it adds a whole new layer of understanding to certain events in that book. I guess I just have to go and read Black Iris again :P
I just... omg. I don't think I've ever read another author than can pull on my emotions like this. This is my second[a:Leah Raeder|7105371|Leah Raeder|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1575938554p2/7105371.jpg] / [a:Elliot Wake|15254487|Elliot Wake|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1575938916p2/15254487.jpg]novel and I am obsessed. Everything about this novel is just breathtaking. The characters are so vivid and realistic, and Maise is one of the most realistic teen girls I've ever had the pleasure of reading. She's emotional and irrational and impulsive, but these characteristics are tempered with a passion and intelligence and drive. It's hard to write teen girls, because that phase in life is overwhelming and confusing and (thankfully) quite brief and so many novels (looking at you, YA) get it *SO* wrong. But not this. The way Maise reacts to certain events in the story threw me right back into my own teenage troubles. The only difference is that Elliot's writing style is... sublime. There is just enough metaphor and purple prose to perfectly express the melodramatic way in which a teenage girl thinks without being overly dramatic or unrealistic. I need MORE of this author.
The whole story leaves you emotional. I don't want to comment on the romance itself because it would spoil it, but man. The characters are the perfect shade of morally grey that you just...ugh. I'm so sad I finished this.
Lastly, I thought it was really interesting that Hiam is kind of a major side character in this novel. She's also in [b:Black Iris|18829666|Black Iris|Leah Raeder|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1420737066l/18829666._SY75_.jpg|26771709], and I wish I had read this one first because it adds a whole new layer of understanding to certain events in that book. I guess I just have to go and read Black Iris again :P
Holy shitballs! This was an awesome book. Raw, gritty and sexy rolled up into a fab taboo read. It's a definite 5 stars from me.
Unlike the typical teacher/student forbidden love romance stories out there. Maise, to put it nicely, is effed up. Her life is not a great one but she is wily and manipulative, using her sex appeal to her advantage.
Evan is a sweet guy, and finds himself sitting at the front of a rollercoaster (both literally and metaphorically) with Maise.
Their journey is complicated. It isn't perfect. But they have each other. Is love ever enough?
Recommended to EVERYONE.
Unlike the typical teacher/student forbidden love romance stories out there. Maise, to put it nicely, is effed up. Her life is not a great one but she is wily and manipulative, using her sex appeal to her advantage.
Evan is a sweet guy, and finds himself sitting at the front of a rollercoaster (both literally and metaphorically) with Maise.
Their journey is complicated. It isn't perfect. But they have each other. Is love ever enough?
Recommended to EVERYONE.
The writing is 5 stars,beautiful, but the story is 3 stars-i don't like Evan.
Thanks to my friend John for recommending this to me! It's not for everyone, but it kept me glued to the book for ages and I was happy at the end. What an unusual romance!
I guess I’m getting in the habit of actually writing reviews for all the books I read this year? Wild.
Anyway, I think I went into this one with high expectations because of some reviews I read. And while I did enjoy how this book was written, especially in relation to film, I did ultimately guess some of the plot points from a while off which I didn’t love (but in its favor some more cringey cliched predictions didn’t come to fruition, so I was thankful for that). Some of the choices the characters made and how the story ended also wasn’t very satisfying or fulfilling for me. I can’t really tell if you’re suppose to root for this relationship or not. I didn’t. I think you’re suppose to feel hopeful and happy that the two are together in the end and I didn’t feel that way. I guess I felt at odds with some of the messages the story was giving off, so that’s why it fell short for me. I think I wish she would have ended up alone and stronger because of it.
Anyway, I think I went into this one with high expectations because of some reviews I read. And while I did enjoy how this book was written, especially in relation to film, I did ultimately guess some of the plot points from a while off which I didn’t love (but in its favor some more cringey cliched predictions didn’t come to fruition, so I was thankful for that). Some of the choices the characters made and how the story ended also wasn’t very satisfying or fulfilling for me. I can’t really tell if you’re suppose to root for this relationship or not. I didn’t. I think you’re suppose to feel hopeful and happy that the two are together in the end and I didn’t feel that way. I guess I felt at odds with some of the messages the story was giving off, so that’s why it fell short for me. I think I wish she would have ended up alone and stronger because of it.