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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
I would probably give this book 3.5 stars if goodreads allowed half stars but alas....
This was a good book, and an interesting premise to view bullying from the bully's viewpoint... but it never hit home. I didn't feel much for any of the characters, any of the relationships, any sadness or anger... I just felt neutral throughout much of the book. The story is good- it's ripped right out of Mean Girls and a few other Hollywood classics- but told from the perspective of the bully. That would have been better if the main character was really the bully, but in my view, she was the tagalong bully, which left a cheap feeling. She did bully, and she was hateful, but the real bully was not Sara.
The writing was decent, but the slang for the students/main characters felt outdated and stilted. None of the characters really stuck with me- I didn't really hate any of them, or love any of them, or feel anything about their plight. It felt a little underdeveloped, and the ending was neither surprising nor long.
Long and short- I read it all in one day, it was a fast read, and it was enjoyable. Nothing I will probably think much about beyond today or could strongly recommend to anyone (other than those looking for a different POV on bullying or a short read).
This was a good book, and an interesting premise to view bullying from the bully's viewpoint... but it never hit home. I didn't feel much for any of the characters, any of the relationships, any sadness or anger... I just felt neutral throughout much of the book. The story is good- it's ripped right out of Mean Girls and a few other Hollywood classics- but told from the perspective of the bully. That would have been better if the main character was really the bully, but in my view, she was the tagalong bully, which left a cheap feeling. She did bully, and she was hateful, but the real bully was not Sara.
The writing was decent, but the slang for the students/main characters felt outdated and stilted. None of the characters really stuck with me- I didn't really hate any of them, or love any of them, or feel anything about their plight. It felt a little underdeveloped, and the ending was neither surprising nor long.
Long and short- I read it all in one day, it was a fast read, and it was enjoyable. Nothing I will probably think much about beyond today or could strongly recommend to anyone (other than those looking for a different POV on bullying or a short read).
A fictionalized take on the 2009 South Hadley teen bullying/suicide incident, from the POV of an accused bully . Not the strongest writing or characterization, and there was an whiff of a Sarah Dessen-type romance in there that didn't quite fit, but otherwise a fairly engaging, sensitive treatment of a MAJORLY complex issue. Maciel does a great job of leaving the reader with all sorts of ambiguous moral questions to ponder...
Honestly, I did not like this book. I read the synopsis and believed I would really enjoy it. But unfortunately it just didnt do it for me. The main character and her friends are just annoying horrible dull people. They had one goal top ruin Emmas life. Emma and the other minor characters were not any better. Took me a long time to finish. Will not be rereading again.
This was excellent. A much needed addition to the bullying canon. This book tells the story from the point of view of one of the accused bullies and really delves into how you need to be responsible for your actions. It was not an easy or comfortable read, but I don't think that it should have been. Just like life, there are parts that are messy and unfair, but I think it adds to the realistic punch of the book without resorting to sensationalism.
Any book about bullying, where a character has committed suicide, is not going to be fun to read. This even less so, as we're told it's based on a real event where a group of teenagers faced charges for bullying a new girl to their school.
What I did find interesting was that this was from the viewpoint of one of the bullies, Sara. We watch her recollect the events leading to Emma's suicide, and see the consequences this event has had on her present day. I was never sure to what extent things were being sugar-coated - Sara, for a long time, cannot see how bad her behaviour has been.
Throughout the book I found myself thinking that Emma was a character who had a lot of things going on, some of which we were not told much about, and that nobody really seemed to take any time to find out more about her. Most of the characters in this book seemed content to fall into their stereotyped role, and to not challenge it.
All in all this is a book that felt like it was trying hard to get teen readers to think more about their behaviour, but it didn't really hang together as effectively as other books I've read that aim for a similar effect.
What I did find interesting was that this was from the viewpoint of one of the bullies, Sara. We watch her recollect the events leading to Emma's suicide, and see the consequences this event has had on her present day. I was never sure to what extent things were being sugar-coated - Sara, for a long time, cannot see how bad her behaviour has been.
Throughout the book I found myself thinking that Emma was a character who had a lot of things going on, some of which we were not told much about, and that nobody really seemed to take any time to find out more about her. Most of the characters in this book seemed content to fall into their stereotyped role, and to not challenge it.
All in all this is a book that felt like it was trying hard to get teen readers to think more about their behaviour, but it didn't really hang together as effectively as other books I've read that aim for a similar effect.
While this was an excellent debut novel, it was very difficult for me to read due to the fact that it's in the POV of Sara. Yes, she too deals with some problems in life, but that didn't give her any reason to act the way she did, regardless of wanting to fit in. So, overall I liked this book. People should read this book, but you have to be in a certain mood to read it.
It was very real and down to earth; I think it was an accurate description of what bullying is really like.
this is tough to rate. i think Tease did a good job of painting an even picture of the events. no one, no one deserves to be bullied--of COURSE that's true. but the fact is that bullying happens, and our narrator sees that as just part of the pecking order that she endured too-- everyone does it to each other. and taken individually, none of the things Sara and Brielle did to Emma are really stand-out horrific (i mean, one of the "incidents" was sending her a huge amount of flowers as a joke). and Sara has valid reasons to really dislike Emma. that doesn't make what happened OKAY. but the book paints a more nuanced, realistic picture than "heartless bully vs. angel bullied for no reason."
that said, as a story, i felt it was a little lacking in character development. Sarah doesn't have a huge transformation (which is fine), but even her SLIGHT change of heart felt sudden.
that said, as a story, i felt it was a little lacking in character development. Sarah doesn't have a huge transformation (which is fine), but even her SLIGHT change of heart felt sudden.
3.5 stars | I think this an important book to read at some point, because it offers a different perspective on bullying: from the bully's. It was really a hard book to read though because the MC was so selfish throughout the whole book and offered little to no character development by the end. You bullied a girl until she killed herself, and you can't stop thinking about how messed up your life is going to be. How she ruined your life. Are people out there really that self-absorbed and not sorry for their actions?