Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Trust Exercise by Susan Choi

47 reviews

starry_ayed's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

Uncomfortable, dense, unenjoyable - not my kind of fiction. If I had to describe the characters in a word, it would be: friendless.
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jesakeita's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

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moosycakes's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I wouldn't really say I "enjoyed" reading this book, although it was very well written. I wasn't a huge fan of the writing style personally, although the layout of the book was pretty genius. There were a lot of uncomfortable scenes to read and this isn't a book I would feel comfortable recommending widely due to the topics covered. I'd suggest checking some content warnings before reading if you have anything you find particularly difficult to read about.

I think I'm glad to have read this book, it does have some important (harrowing) messages and the relationships between the different perspectives of the characters will have me thinking about this book for a long time.

You may struggle with following some of the story if you get easily confused, I found that sometimes the coherency of the plot and what was actually happening came second to the writing style and use of detailed description/imagery. While some of that issue can be explained by the writing style being chosen and changed to serve the story and the differing narrative styles, sometimes it went a bit over what would be necessary for that end, in my opinion.
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leah_alexandra's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This book was pretty rough. It's tough to talk about my reactions without spoilers, so most of my review is hidden. 

I had been told there was a big "twist" in the book, but I was honestly pretty disappointed. The first part of the book actually being a fictionalized book a student wrote was not as dramatic a twist as I thought it would be. And I don't know if the author meant for the shooting at the end of "Karen's" part of the book to be a surprise, but it was apparent from miles away. The last, very small piece of the book was vague, and not in a way that made it more intriguing. Just added to some general frustrations with the book. Sarah's story was pretty exhausting--it really leaned into the trope of special teens being somehow more mature than their years. I was less frustrated by that piece once I knew what it was, but the second half of the book didn't do enough to make up for it.
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adriennne's review against another edition

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challenging medium-paced
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I'm so fucking confused
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alyson's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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breaky's review against another edition

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emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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felix's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I hated the beginning of this book, but about halfway through it redeems itself. If I hadn't been told that ahead of time, I probably would have stopped reading about fifteen minutes in. I tend not to like literary fiction, but I did think this was well-done with masterful use of language and literary tropes. However, I still found it a little tiresome. 
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aliakolodychuk's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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gabriellejane's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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