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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
Fucking obscenely beautiful. Maise is everything I wish I could have been at eighteen years old. If student/teacher relationships squick you out, even if the student is 18, this is not the book for you but otherwise I highly recommend it to everyone who loves a boss bitch heroine and steamy romance.
4 forbidden stars!!
If could rate this book based on the writing alone, I would. Unfortunately, there are other elements to consider as well.
As I have mentioned, Unteachable is superbly written. It reads almost like a graphic novel. Don't ask me why but it does. The prose is not your usual prose especially for the NA/YA sub-genre. There's nothing cheesy about it. It's raw and the voice of Maise is perfect for this little gem.
Unteachable centers around a young girl with a troubled upbringing and her teacher. Maise and Evan met in a carnival. They were just two people who hit it off right away, and I mean really hit it off. Unbeknownst to Maise, Evan was to become her new teacher. See, Maise wasn't exactly truthful with Evan about her age, which sets off a chain of events that had me turning the pages of this book, not caring whether I sleep or eat, just so I'd know if Maise and Evan would get their happy ending.
Leah Raeder crafted a gritty and emotionally powerful story that had me at the edge of my seat. Appalled, disgusted, hot-and-bothered were just some of the many emotions I felt while reading this book. And while I did enjoy myself very much, I did have some issues with some of the characters, which I will get into later.
Maise was a fascinating heroine. Sometimes, I have to remind myself that her age in the book was only 18. She acts more like a 30-year old most of the time. She was definitely unconventional compared to her NA contemporaries. For one, she wasn't a virgin. If she were a character in another book, she'd be cast as that girl. You know the one who sleeps with half of the boys and makes the life of the heroine a living hell? Yeah, that one. Thankfully, this wasn't that kind of book and Maise was the perfect heroine for this.
Evan on the other hand, as much there were moments where I felt for him because he obviously fell in love with Maise, didn't do it for me. Don't get wrong, he is a fascinating character and flawed. Very flawed. But the fact thatthis happened to him before and with his 17 year old student to boot, didn't endear him to me. Once is too many. I felt--and this is just my opinion, okay--I felt that it diminished what he and Maise had. A little back story would be nice too. Aside from what Park told Maise about Evan, nothing was really revealed about Evan aside from what happened to him. I would have loved that.
Wesley is another character I feel ambivalent about. There were times where I liked him and there were times when I was just like...
What he did was so not cool. I get it. You think your friend needs intervention but to expose her like that? Come on.
On the other hand, I liked Park. He's the kind of friend I would love to have in corner and take my back. Evan was lucky to him. He was the most grounded character in the book. I liked that he told Maise the whole truth, which should have been Evan's job by the way.
Despite my personal issues with this book, I still would recommend this to anyone who loves edgy and gritty stories. Don't be put off when you hear the word NA because frankly, this book cannot be categorized or be put in a box, as most great books are. Definitely not for the faint of heart though as it deals with a very touchy subject matter.
I'm out.
If could rate this book based on the writing alone, I would. Unfortunately, there are other elements to consider as well.
As I have mentioned, Unteachable is superbly written. It reads almost like a graphic novel. Don't ask me why but it does. The prose is not your usual prose especially for the NA/YA sub-genre. There's nothing cheesy about it. It's raw and the voice of Maise is perfect for this little gem.
Unteachable centers around a young girl with a troubled upbringing and her teacher. Maise and Evan met in a carnival. They were just two people who hit it off right away, and I mean really hit it off. Unbeknownst to Maise, Evan was to become her new teacher. See, Maise wasn't exactly truthful with Evan about her age, which sets off a chain of events that had me turning the pages of this book, not caring whether I sleep or eat, just so I'd know if Maise and Evan would get their happy ending.
Leah Raeder crafted a gritty and emotionally powerful story that had me at the edge of my seat. Appalled, disgusted, hot-and-bothered were just some of the many emotions I felt while reading this book. And while I did enjoy myself very much, I did have some issues with some of the characters, which I will get into later.
Maise was a fascinating heroine. Sometimes, I have to remind myself that her age in the book was only 18. She acts more like a 30-year old most of the time. She was definitely unconventional compared to her NA contemporaries. For one, she wasn't a virgin. If she were a character in another book, she'd be cast as that girl. You know the one who sleeps with half of the boys and makes the life of the heroine a living hell? Yeah, that one. Thankfully, this wasn't that kind of book and Maise was the perfect heroine for this.
Evan on the other hand, as much there were moments where I felt for him because he obviously fell in love with Maise, didn't do it for me. Don't get wrong, he is a fascinating character and flawed. Very flawed. But the fact that
Wesley is another character I feel ambivalent about. There were times where I liked him and there were times when I was just like...
What he did was so not cool. I get it. You think your friend needs intervention but to expose her like that? Come on.
On the other hand, I liked Park. He's the kind of friend I would love to have in corner and take my back. Evan was lucky to him. He was the most grounded character in the book. I liked that he told Maise the whole truth, which should have been Evan's job by the way.
Despite my personal issues with this book, I still would recommend this to anyone who loves edgy and gritty stories. Don't be put off when you hear the word NA because frankly, this book cannot be categorized or be put in a box, as most great books are. Definitely not for the faint of heart though as it deals with a very touchy subject matter.
I'm out.
I don't even know if I can write a review of this yet. I'm still processing this book, so I'll probably just make this short and come back later to add to it if I feel like it.
This books hooked its claws into me within the first few pages and didn't let go until the last word. Actually, I don't think it's let go yet. I have a feeling this is going to cause a serious book hangover. I'm not sure I breathed properly the entire time I was reading it. I know I held my breath a lot, and spent a lot of time rapidly muttering "oh no," "uh oh," "omg," etc. over and over while reading this book.
Unteachable is not a fluffy, sweet romance. But it isn't entirely dark, either. It exists in the hazy land between right and wrong and other clear cut opposites. It's easy to look at the subjects covered and pass a quick judgment, but the this book did a really good job (in my opinion) of showing how not everything is as simple as some people believe.
This books hooked its claws into me within the first few pages and didn't let go until the last word. Actually, I don't think it's let go yet. I have a feeling this is going to cause a serious book hangover. I'm not sure I breathed properly the entire time I was reading it. I know I held my breath a lot, and spent a lot of time rapidly muttering "oh no," "uh oh," "omg," etc. over and over while reading this book.
Unteachable is not a fluffy, sweet romance. But it isn't entirely dark, either. It exists in the hazy land between right and wrong and other clear cut opposites. It's easy to look at the subjects covered and pass a quick judgment, but the this book did a really good job (in my opinion) of showing how not everything is as simple as some people believe.
I've been wanting to read one of Elliot Wake's books for ages. I've got Unteachable, Black Iris & Cam Girl sitting on my shelf, and I've just been waiting for the perfect time to dive in. So I was looking for a new read (I can never pick a book so I just read the first pages until one really grabs my attention) and Unteachable did just that. I knew from the start that I was going to absolutely love Maise O'Malley. She's confident in herself, she knows what she wants, and she isn't afraid to get it (unless it means getting on the first car on a roller-coaster because everyone else on the coaster is a savage). She's the perfect heroine, because I love girls who are confident, because I can live my life through them, because I am so not.
Unteachable is just one of those books that drags you in, until you literally sit and read it until you're finished and that's what I did. Maise's story is fantastic, and her relationship with Evan is completely intense. It sucks you in and doesn't let you go, and because of the nature of their relationship, and the whole teacher-student thing, you're never quite sure if you should be cheering or not, which is hard considering I'm a hopeless romantic, no matter who it's between. I just love a happy ending. But watching Maise and Evan was a bit like watching a car crash, it was too intense, too much, too fast, and I was kind of wanting to read it through eyes hidden by my hands because I couldn't help wondering if it was all going to implode in their faces.
What actually sets this book apart from other books, is not only the intoxicating romance, duh, but the writing. This is one of the best written New Adult books I've ever read - in fact, it's just one of the best written books, ever. So lyrical, there were even words used that I had no idea what they meant, so I had to look them up, but it added to how amazing the book was, because Wake really has a way with words. It makes me want to go and dive into the other two books immediately, because I need that kind of book in my life, it lets me just dive away into a different world for a few hours, and forget my own life and that's hard to do. Not a lot of authors can do that.
I loved this book, and I'm not sure my words could ever do it justice. Unteachable is one of those books that doesn't let you go until the very last page, and even then there's a part of me that would absolutely love a sequel. I need more of Maise O'Malley in my life. And Wesley! I kinda liked him, I kinda feel like he has a story to be told, too. And Evan was kinda dreamy. I KNOW. You need to read this book, if you like the New Adult genre you will love this, and if you just like a well written book, this is for you. It's hard to believe this is a debut novel, but it is and it was amazing.
Unteachable is just one of those books that drags you in, until you literally sit and read it until you're finished and that's what I did. Maise's story is fantastic, and her relationship with Evan is completely intense. It sucks you in and doesn't let you go, and because of the nature of their relationship, and the whole teacher-student thing, you're never quite sure if you should be cheering or not, which is hard considering I'm a hopeless romantic, no matter who it's between. I just love a happy ending. But watching Maise and Evan was a bit like watching a car crash, it was too intense, too much, too fast, and I was kind of wanting to read it through eyes hidden by my hands because I couldn't help wondering if it was all going to implode in their faces.
What actually sets this book apart from other books, is not only the intoxicating romance, duh, but the writing. This is one of the best written New Adult books I've ever read - in fact, it's just one of the best written books, ever. So lyrical, there were even words used that I had no idea what they meant, so I had to look them up, but it added to how amazing the book was, because Wake really has a way with words. It makes me want to go and dive into the other two books immediately, because I need that kind of book in my life, it lets me just dive away into a different world for a few hours, and forget my own life and that's hard to do. Not a lot of authors can do that.
I loved this book, and I'm not sure my words could ever do it justice. Unteachable is one of those books that doesn't let you go until the very last page, and even then there's a part of me that would absolutely love a sequel. I need more of Maise O'Malley in my life. And Wesley! I kinda liked him, I kinda feel like he has a story to be told, too. And Evan was kinda dreamy. I KNOW. You need to read this book, if you like the New Adult genre you will love this, and if you just like a well written book, this is for you. It's hard to believe this is a debut novel, but it is and it was amazing.
3.5 stars - the writing was unbelievable - so, so beautiful and lyrical and it made me feel things
but I was uncomfortable at times, because I couldn't help but question what actually drove their relationship, despite all their rationalisation and logic and discussion over it
but I was uncomfortable at times, because I couldn't help but question what actually drove their relationship, despite all their rationalisation and logic and discussion over it
Wow. This book. I don’t even know where to start fangirling.
Before I do, I want to say a little disclaimer. I do enjoy New Adult very much (see my adoration for Erin McCarthy’s TRUE series), however, there are so many bad novels (aka novels that perpetuate rape culture, victim blaming, makes it seem like a stalker is ok just because he’s beautiful, the list goes on…) I curate the titles with such care you wouldn’t believe. The blurb caught my attention but when I saw how trusted reviewers loved this, I knew I had to read it.
BEST. DECISION. EVER.
Let’s start with the prose. OMG. Such gorgeous prose. All I wanted to do is squeal and sigh and hug my e-reader to my chest because almost every single sentence WAS SO DAMN BEAUTIFUL. I kept commenting on this while I read because I just couldn’t believe I was enjoying such lyrical candy. The beauty reached to such limits that I really took my time to read and absorb and just enjoy the book. This plan, however, backfired horribly after reaching the 50% mark and the tension was so overwhelming that I had to do everything in my power not to skip to the end to make sure I got a happy ending.Rest assured, the happy ending is achieved. Sure, it's at the VERY LAST MINUTE but it is achieved.
Raeder has a real talent for not only mesmerizing sentences but lovable yet flawed characters. I fell for Maise, for Evan, for Wesley, for Siobhan… even with all their flaws and their issues, I just wanted to take them home and hug them.
Evan and Maise… I really thought they would burn the e-pages off my reader, which we know isn’t possible but I SWEAR IT ALMOST HAPPENED. Their chemistry, like a match, ignites from the first page and never lets go. Their scenes are both steamy and heart wrenching because damn Evan has a way with words and Maise has her heart locked up with the key at the bottom of the ocean and I am speaking in clichés but it’s just SO GOOD to see how this relationship develops.
If you want a fantastic palate cleanser for all the veritable crap that populates the New Adult genre, you need not look far.
Before I do, I want to say a little disclaimer. I do enjoy New Adult very much (see my adoration for Erin McCarthy’s TRUE series), however, there are so many bad novels (aka novels that perpetuate rape culture, victim blaming, makes it seem like a stalker is ok just because he’s beautiful, the list goes on…) I curate the titles with such care you wouldn’t believe. The blurb caught my attention but when I saw how trusted reviewers loved this, I knew I had to read it.
BEST. DECISION. EVER.
Let’s start with the prose. OMG. Such gorgeous prose. All I wanted to do is squeal and sigh and hug my e-reader to my chest because almost every single sentence WAS SO DAMN BEAUTIFUL. I kept commenting on this while I read because I just couldn’t believe I was enjoying such lyrical candy. The beauty reached to such limits that I really took my time to read and absorb and just enjoy the book. This plan, however, backfired horribly after reaching the 50% mark and the tension was so overwhelming that I had to do everything in my power not to skip to the end to make sure I got a happy ending.
Raeder has a real talent for not only mesmerizing sentences but lovable yet flawed characters. I fell for Maise, for Evan, for Wesley, for Siobhan… even with all their flaws and their issues, I just wanted to take them home and hug them.
Evan and Maise… I really thought they would burn the e-pages off my reader, which we know isn’t possible but I SWEAR IT ALMOST HAPPENED. Their chemistry, like a match, ignites from the first page and never lets go. Their scenes are both steamy and heart wrenching because damn Evan has a way with words and Maise has her heart locked up with the key at the bottom of the ocean and I am speaking in clichés but it’s just SO GOOD to see how this relationship develops.
If you want a fantastic palate cleanser for all the veritable crap that populates the New Adult genre, you need not look far.
Ok, I'm on a total NA kick right now. And this book is probably one of the better ones I've read. Holy crap it was intense! If you've read Slammed by Colleen Hoover, Raeder just takes that to a whole other level. I really, really liked Slammed, but it was pretty tame. Raeder gives me exactly what I was looking for when I was reading Slammed.
Now with a lot of books in the NA genre, it can get pretty mature; graphic, language and subject wise. Unteacheable really doesn't hold back there. So if any of those topics are a little out of your tastes, I can definitely recommend other books. But you'd be missing out on something fantastic!
Adjectives to describe Unteachable- raw, intense, gritty, emotional, funny, honest.
The thing with these student/teacher relationship books (from what I've found) is that they only touch the issue of this taboo. They don't really get in to the darker issues.
But not Unteachable. Evan and Maise actively question if the whole student/teacher relationship is what's making them feel this desire for each other. And of course, to an extent it is (as you'll see by the sexy times in the book), but they're also both pretty screwed up people. So they may have originally been drawn to each other physically (and again, it can get pretty physical, and intensely so), but also mentally they connect.
Maise is a very truthful. She never holds back what she's feeling. She's not some whiny teenager or naive for that matter. Growing up wasn't pretty for her. No dad, and her mom does tricks and deals to get by. So whether it was dealing with her passed out, drugged up mom or trying to hide from the strange men walking into the house, she grew up strong and fast. And she's never touched drugs. She's a smart girl that wants to go to college and not end up anything like her mom.
Evan has some pretty dark secrets himself. Which he's trying to keep hidden from Maise. But I like him. He's intense but he shows Maise love and companionship. She's never had either before. And I think that even though they are 15 years apart (:S), it's what connects them.
I don't want to get to much into the relationship because everyone needs to read this book to experience it. Just know it's not some high school relationship. They both have deep issues and the intense feelings for each other helps them help each other. This definitely is not a happy book. There are a lot of tricky bits.
Also, the supporting characters are all well developed. Distinct personalities. Especially Wesley, Maise's bff. They only become friends at the start of the school year, but their relationship is fantastic on a whole different level. They're both loners and really need the companionship from each other. Especially Maise. Wesley has a strong family dynamic. It's something that I think ultimately draws Maise to try hard and keep Wesley as a friend.
Raeder is a fantastic story teller. Her writing is true and beautiful. And this book is honest. It just doesn't hold back.
Please, please check Unteachable out! It's only available as an e-book but with more readership that can change. This book deserves to be more widely known.
Read the original review here: http://thisisthestoryofmyreadinglife.blogspot.ca/2013/09/review-unteachable-by-leah-raeder.html
Now with a lot of books in the NA genre, it can get pretty mature; graphic, language and subject wise. Unteacheable really doesn't hold back there. So if any of those topics are a little out of your tastes, I can definitely recommend other books. But you'd be missing out on something fantastic!
Adjectives to describe Unteachable- raw, intense, gritty, emotional, funny, honest.
The thing with these student/teacher relationship books (from what I've found) is that they only touch the issue of this taboo. They don't really get in to the darker issues.
But not Unteachable. Evan and Maise actively question if the whole student/teacher relationship is what's making them feel this desire for each other. And of course, to an extent it is (as you'll see by the sexy times in the book), but they're also both pretty screwed up people. So they may have originally been drawn to each other physically (and again, it can get pretty physical, and intensely so), but also mentally they connect.
Maise is a very truthful. She never holds back what she's feeling. She's not some whiny teenager or naive for that matter. Growing up wasn't pretty for her. No dad, and her mom does tricks and deals to get by. So whether it was dealing with her passed out, drugged up mom or trying to hide from the strange men walking into the house, she grew up strong and fast. And she's never touched drugs. She's a smart girl that wants to go to college and not end up anything like her mom.
Evan has some pretty dark secrets himself. Which he's trying to keep hidden from Maise. But I like him. He's intense but he shows Maise love and companionship. She's never had either before. And I think that even though they are 15 years apart (:S), it's what connects them.
I don't want to get to much into the relationship because everyone needs to read this book to experience it. Just know it's not some high school relationship. They both have deep issues and the intense feelings for each other helps them help each other. This definitely is not a happy book. There are a lot of tricky bits.
Also, the supporting characters are all well developed. Distinct personalities. Especially Wesley, Maise's bff. They only become friends at the start of the school year, but their relationship is fantastic on a whole different level. They're both loners and really need the companionship from each other. Especially Maise. Wesley has a strong family dynamic. It's something that I think ultimately draws Maise to try hard and keep Wesley as a friend.
Raeder is a fantastic story teller. Her writing is true and beautiful. And this book is honest. It just doesn't hold back.
Please, please check Unteachable out! It's only available as an e-book but with more readership that can change. This book deserves to be more widely known.
Read the original review here: http://thisisthestoryofmyreadinglife.blogspot.ca/2013/09/review-unteachable-by-leah-raeder.html
Note: I read half of this on my kindle then I listened to the rest on audio.
Also note: I know that I put this on my 'New adult read' shelf and I know it's technically YA but it just feels like NA to me.
Hm...what to say about this book..
Going into this book I was very excited. I've heard such great things, it's about a forbidden romance (which is basically my thing) and one of my friends, Gabby has pretty much the same taste in books as I do so I thought I'd enjoy this since she loved it.
Well Gabby...I'm sorry but, I didn't love this. While this book isn't a Jan (refer back to my Don't Stay Up late by R.L. Stine review if this reference confuses you) it's definitely not a favorite of mine- I'll talk about why.
This book has one of my least favorite tropes in it- INSTALOVE. Within like 100 pages of meeting each other they were saying their "I love yous" and whatnot, which, under the right circumstances it would make sense for that to happen so early, but to me it just bugged the crap out of me.
Another thing is that I didn't feel the relationship of Maise (Maisie? Idk) and Evan until their relationship started going left field. I feel like I would enjoy this book a lot more than I did if this had happened for me sooner.
The last thing that really bugged me about Unteachable was that Maise/Maisie and Evan made SUCH stupid decisions. Their whole goal was to keep their relationship on the down-low but at one point in the book (this is a slight spoiler so go down to the next paragraph if you don't want to know) they were basically having sex in the classroom..like..ugh.
Believe it or not I liked a few things about this book:
I really loved how Maise/Maisie wasn't perfect. She had flaws and she knew it- unlike a lot of characters that we see in a new adult novel.
I also really loved how compulsively readable this book was. I read this whole thing in a day. I was reading at work, reading in the car (not while driving FYI) and I wouldn't stop when I got home until I had it finished.
This next thing is also a spoiler, so go to the next paragraph! The ending was just great for me. It wasn't the happy-go-lucky ending you would expect. It was sad. It was heartbreaking. It was angsty. It was realistic. Which is something that I think we need to see a lot more often.
All in all, this wasn't a horrible book, this book was just meh for me, but I'd still recommend it if you are interested, I guess.
Also note: I know that I put this on my 'New adult read' shelf and I know it's technically YA but it just feels like NA to me.
Hm...what to say about this book..
Going into this book I was very excited. I've heard such great things, it's about a forbidden romance (which is basically my thing) and one of my friends, Gabby has pretty much the same taste in books as I do so I thought I'd enjoy this since she loved it.
Well Gabby...I'm sorry but, I didn't love this. While this book isn't a Jan (refer back to my Don't Stay Up late by R.L. Stine review if this reference confuses you) it's definitely not a favorite of mine- I'll talk about why.
This book has one of my least favorite tropes in it- INSTALOVE. Within like 100 pages of meeting each other they were saying their "I love yous" and whatnot, which, under the right circumstances it would make sense for that to happen so early, but to me it just bugged the crap out of me.
Another thing is that I didn't feel the relationship of Maise (Maisie? Idk) and Evan until their relationship started going left field. I feel like I would enjoy this book a lot more than I did if this had happened for me sooner.
The last thing that really bugged me about Unteachable was that Maise/Maisie and Evan made SUCH stupid decisions. Their whole goal was to keep their relationship on the down-low but at one point in the book (this is a slight spoiler so go down to the next paragraph if you don't want to know) they were basically having sex in the classroom..like..ugh.
Believe it or not I liked a few things about this book:
I really loved how Maise/Maisie wasn't perfect. She had flaws and she knew it- unlike a lot of characters that we see in a new adult novel.
I also really loved how compulsively readable this book was. I read this whole thing in a day. I was reading at work, reading in the car (not while driving FYI) and I wouldn't stop when I got home until I had it finished.
This next thing is also a spoiler, so go to the next paragraph! The ending was just great for me. It wasn't the happy-go-lucky ending you would expect. It was sad. It was heartbreaking. It was angsty. It was realistic. Which is something that I think we need to see a lot more often.
All in all, this wasn't a horrible book, this book was just meh for me, but I'd still recommend it if you are interested, I guess.