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theawkwardbookw's review
2.0
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2.5 Stars
17 year old Bea Kim enrols in music history as her elective for her senior year of high school. Her substitute teacher, Mr. Rossi, hears her play piano one day after class and pushes her to pursue Julliard as an option for college. What starts as gentle encouragement quickly develops into more between them and a trip to New York changes everything.
I found the characters to be very one dimensional and not all that interesting. The plot did move along quickly and the writing style flowed nicely... Overall I don't know what to feel about this book.... It romanticises student-teacher relationships in a way that doesn't show the consequences that can occur when they happen. There is no ramifications to either of the characters actions and that bothered me. The book was very easy to read and I finished it in a day, but something about it was just unsettling to me.
2.5 Stars
17 year old Bea Kim enrols in music history as her elective for her senior year of high school. Her substitute teacher, Mr. Rossi, hears her play piano one day after class and pushes her to pursue Julliard as an option for college. What starts as gentle encouragement quickly develops into more between them and a trip to New York changes everything.
I found the characters to be very one dimensional and not all that interesting. The plot did move along quickly and the writing style flowed nicely... Overall I don't know what to feel about this book.... It romanticises student-teacher relationships in a way that doesn't show the consequences that can occur when they happen. There is no ramifications to either of the characters actions and that bothered me. The book was very easy to read and I finished it in a day, but something about it was just unsettling to me.
2busyreading's review against another edition
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Sexual content
toomuchnames's review against another edition
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Sexual content, Alcohol, Death of parent, Grief, and Pedophilia
rekki's review against another edition
3.0
Overall I enjoyed this book, though it's left me with mixed feelings. I read it to get more familiar with the genre/topic because my NaNoWriMo for 2017 is going to be along those lines.
One thing I can say without spoiling too much is that I really wish we had more of Dane's perspective. I get that this was from Bea's point of view but there are so many things that could be made so much better (or worse, depending) with more input from him. A lot is left up for the reader's interpretation which some may like more than others. By the end you could easily root for or turn your nose up at the relationship and neither side, in my opinion, really has ground to stand on since we know so little of one whole side. I'd also point out that things seemed to move slowly, barely at all, for almost half of the novel. To me it seemed sudden when things 'got going' so to speak. One thing I truly liked was how 'the interview' chapters were scattered about. That really had me curious and desperate to know how things ended, it was a great motivator!
I don't want to give spoilers in this review so I'm going to cut it here, apologies for the rambling nature.
One thing I can say without spoiling too much is that I really wish we had more of Dane's perspective. I get that this was from Bea's point of view but there are so many things that could be made so much better (or worse, depending) with more input from him. A lot is left up for the reader's interpretation which some may like more than others. By the end you could easily root for or turn your nose up at the relationship and neither side, in my opinion, really has ground to stand on since we know so little of one whole side. I'd also point out that things seemed to move slowly, barely at all, for almost half of the novel. To me it seemed sudden when things 'got going' so to speak. One thing I truly liked was how 'the interview' chapters were scattered about. That really had me curious and desperate to know how things ended, it was a great motivator!
I don't want to give spoilers in this review so I'm going to cut it here, apologies for the rambling nature.
kcbooks13's review
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Wouldn’t read again, the chapters are short maybe 5-7 pages each, but it was great for a quick read
abbylynn000's review
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
turkyjuice's review
lighthearted
reflective
tense
fast-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? Yes
2.0
it was an easy read but i didn’t like the ending. i feel there was not any major consequences over either characters actions. i was hoping bea would release that should not let this man walk away free,, especially with the police interview. i hate that that turned out to be unimportant
rainbowbookworm's review against another edition
2.0
This book begins with a police interrogation. This led me to believe that the plot would center around the police investigation. At the very least I expected it to be an important part of the plot. Instead I got a sophomoric, unbelievable romance novel.
Beatrice is a self-taught piano prodigy with daddy issues. Her mother, a Julliard-trained pianist, died during childbirth and neither her dad nor her brother coped well. Her brother started drinking and smoking pot, while her father checked out emotionally for a while and then became a workaholic. When we meet her she complains that other parents are supportive of their kids' endeavours while her father doesn't care about her at all. She compensates by hanging out at her friend Plum's house and eating dinner with her family every night.
When her new music history teacher realizes how talented she is, he wants to offer her a chance to go to Julliard. She misinterprets his interests and has sex with him after he takes her to check out the school. At first it is not clear why he gives in, but later we learn that he had had sex with a fifteen-year-old at his previous school. After that night they decide to wait the ten weeks until her birthday when she will be eighteen and legal. However, they have sex one more time, in his classroom, and a student sees them.
The student, who had almost had sex with Beatrice the previous summer. Tells the principal and that's when the police get involved. This is the point when her father miraculously changes and becomes involved in her life. Mr. Rossi gets suspended and ultimately leaves school to pursue a graduate degree. The book ends with Beatrice going to Julliard, with her father's full support. Once there she receives a message from Dane--Mr. Rossi--that makes it seem as if he is going to pursue her again.
Beatrice is a self-taught piano prodigy with daddy issues. Her mother, a Julliard-trained pianist, died during childbirth and neither her dad nor her brother coped well. Her brother started drinking and smoking pot, while her father checked out emotionally for a while and then became a workaholic. When we meet her she complains that other parents are supportive of their kids' endeavours while her father doesn't care about her at all. She compensates by hanging out at her friend Plum's house and eating dinner with her family every night.
When her new music history teacher realizes how talented she is, he wants to offer her a chance to go to Julliard. She misinterprets his interests and has sex with him after he takes her to check out the school. At first it is not clear why he gives in, but later we learn that he had had sex with a fifteen-year-old at his previous school. After that night they decide to wait the ten weeks until her birthday when she will be eighteen and legal. However, they have sex one more time, in his classroom, and a student sees them.
The student, who had almost had sex with Beatrice the previous summer. Tells the principal and that's when the police get involved. This is the point when her father miraculously changes and becomes involved in her life. Mr. Rossi gets suspended and ultimately leaves school to pursue a graduate degree. The book ends with Beatrice going to Julliard, with her father's full support. Once there she receives a message from Dane--Mr. Rossi--that makes it seem as if he is going to pursue her again.
missriki's review
4.0
This is an intensely passionate and deeply moving story of a student-teacher romance that is doomed from the start, yet bound to work out. Bea is an intriguing main character, a girl with many talents and just as many secrets, living a quiet life of pain. I absolutely fell in love with the way the author describes Bea's intense love affair with the pain and classical music. As a classical musician myself, I could relate immediately to the way Be a falls into the music as an escape, and also how that escape can be so intensely emotional for her. It is only fitting that music would be the intense passion that pulls Bea and her teacher, Dane together. The love affair that blossoms between them almost inevitable, and it is steamy and real.
The novel's title is really quite apt, because the book does an excellent job of opening up question of consent and what that word means to a teen like Bea who is basically living her life on her own with very little parental supervision, and yet is still technically a minor.
This book is a little on the dark side and quite atmospheric, with delicious descriptions of classical music and the emotions tied to making that music. The romance is well developed and intense, and although I think it turned out quite pat and easy in the end (which is probably pretty unrealistic...), I enjoyed the way the story wraps up. It is a novel, after all, and I can suspend disbelief for the sake of story.
Ohlin's prose is beautiful, and I'd definitely pick up other novels she has written.
The novel's title is really quite apt, because the book does an excellent job of opening up question of consent and what that word means to a teen like Bea who is basically living her life on her own with very little parental supervision, and yet is still technically a minor.
This book is a little on the dark side and quite atmospheric, with delicious descriptions of classical music and the emotions tied to making that music. The romance is well developed and intense, and although I think it turned out quite pat and easy in the end (which is probably pretty unrealistic...), I enjoyed the way the story wraps up. It is a novel, after all, and I can suspend disbelief for the sake of story.
Ohlin's prose is beautiful, and I'd definitely pick up other novels she has written.
victoriawolf's review
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This book made me realise I had a thing for teachers... Anyways now I'm mentally unstable