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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
Dealing with rape, slut-shaming, cyber-bullying, and teen sex, and centering on the bully rather than the victim, Tease is inevitably going to be a controversial novel. It is ripe for discussion on a number of timely topics, and Maciel’s refusal to condemn or take sides will force readers to think deeply. read more...
This is not a book to make readers feel cozy and nice. It's meant to be shocking, thought-provoking and as neutrally observing as possible considering the very difficult and severe situation. I understand people's need for a character's redemption, but let's face it: that is not always realistic.
In this case I have to salute the author for being original and brave enough not to have a black-or-white story but so many facets to all the characters. There just isn't the classic victim and the classic perpetrator.
I guess there's not much more to say regarding the books' content. Girl is new in school. Girl gets bullied in new school. Girl kills herself. Girl's bullies are being charged and bullied themselves (I really like irony). One bully is the narrator of the book and is so not sorry. That's the beginning.
The rest of the book is a critical but not judgmental look at toxic friendships, teenager problems such as a need for acceptance and love / friendship as well as jealousy and how it can get out of hand faster than anyone might expect.
And yes, bad language can be a part of a teenager's daily life in school - anyone claiming the opposite is either in delial or living on another planet. So why not incorporate it?! Especially since it wasn't have as frequent as I thought after reading some reviews prior to buyng the book.
It is remarkable that the author chose to tell the story through the eyes of Sara (one of the bullies) and she did it wonderfully. I don't always have to like a main character or even narrator. In fact, in some books it's even an important aspect of the story that I don't. And sometimes I start out hating a character and then, gradually, I understand him / her. But anyway, it has to be done the right way (which is seldom). Amanda Maciel really achieved it though.
I mean, it might be almost unbearable to read about all the slut-shaming and name-calling in this book but it unfortuantely is a very big part of our life. You even see it on the news frequently. By simply holding up the mirror, the author is challenging every reader to critically think about how teenagers (and adults) think and act in their daily lives. High School can be hell and yes, there are a lot of teenagers killing themselves - especially after being bullied (adults too by the way, it's not a "childish" way out as many like to claim). Does our society address the topic enough and/or in the right way?! I don't think so!
In fact, I see quite often (and in different countries) that people of all genders and ages don't take the problem too seriously and I think that is one thing the author wanted to point out or even force the reader to deal with. Many negative reviews unfortunately show that not all readers were ready for just that.
Like the author said in her note at the end:
"I wish we had better tools to deal with bullying. I certainly don't know what the answer is, and I know the problem grows more complicated as our methods of communication grow vaster and more unwieldy. But it seems to me that there's always more to the story - at least two sides, if not four or seven or one hundred. And I believe that everyone deserves to be heard."
Anyway, I think the story is a wonderful social study with a lot of opportunities for the readers to reflect in their own way and maybe - just maybe - the topic of bullying will one day become big enough for it to be addressed by our politicians even.
After all, bullying is not just one person being "a pussy" and being unable to be strong. It much rather is a very real, big and dangerous issue in our society. It really should get more attention and more action. Having books and movies dealing with it is definitely a step in the right direction.
In this case I have to salute the author for being original and brave enough not to have a black-or-white story but so many facets to all the characters. There just isn't the classic victim and the classic perpetrator.
I guess there's not much more to say regarding the books' content. Girl is new in school. Girl gets bullied in new school. Girl kills herself. Girl's bullies are being charged and bullied themselves (I really like irony). One bully is the narrator of the book and is so not sorry. That's the beginning.
The rest of the book is a critical but not judgmental look at toxic friendships, teenager problems such as a need for acceptance and love / friendship as well as jealousy and how it can get out of hand faster than anyone might expect.
And yes, bad language can be a part of a teenager's daily life in school - anyone claiming the opposite is either in delial or living on another planet. So why not incorporate it?! Especially since it wasn't have as frequent as I thought after reading some reviews prior to buyng the book.
It is remarkable that the author chose to tell the story through the eyes of Sara (one of the bullies) and she did it wonderfully. I don't always have to like a main character or even narrator. In fact, in some books it's even an important aspect of the story that I don't. And sometimes I start out hating a character and then, gradually, I understand him / her. But anyway, it has to be done the right way (which is seldom). Amanda Maciel really achieved it though.
I mean, it might be almost unbearable to read about all the slut-shaming and name-calling in this book but it unfortuantely is a very big part of our life. You even see it on the news frequently. By simply holding up the mirror, the author is challenging every reader to critically think about how teenagers (and adults) think and act in their daily lives. High School can be hell and yes, there are a lot of teenagers killing themselves - especially after being bullied (adults too by the way, it's not a "childish" way out as many like to claim). Does our society address the topic enough and/or in the right way?! I don't think so!
In fact, I see quite often (and in different countries) that people of all genders and ages don't take the problem too seriously and I think that is one thing the author wanted to point out or even force the reader to deal with. Many negative reviews unfortunately show that not all readers were ready for just that.
Like the author said in her note at the end:
"I wish we had better tools to deal with bullying. I certainly don't know what the answer is, and I know the problem grows more complicated as our methods of communication grow vaster and more unwieldy. But it seems to me that there's always more to the story - at least two sides, if not four or seven or one hundred. And I believe that everyone deserves to be heard."
Anyway, I think the story is a wonderful social study with a lot of opportunities for the readers to reflect in their own way and maybe - just maybe - the topic of bullying will one day become big enough for it to be addressed by our politicians even.
After all, bullying is not just one person being "a pussy" and being unable to be strong. It much rather is a very real, big and dangerous issue in our society. It really should get more attention and more action. Having books and movies dealing with it is definitely a step in the right direction.
Title: Tease
Author: Amanda Maciel
Format: Hardback, 328 pages
Time to Read: 4 days
My Review: This book is powerful. i ate it up and loved it. the fact that this is pretty much based off a real life story gets to me even more. bullying is horrible and girls are for reals the worse ones about that stuff. i hated high school because of how certain "popular" girls acted. i connected with Sara in the way she became dependent on her best friend and went along with whatever she thought was the best thing to do to Emma. it's really hard to describe how this book made me feel. it just good!
Recommend it?: this is a must read!
Author: Amanda Maciel
Format: Hardback, 328 pages
Time to Read: 4 days
My Review: This book is powerful. i ate it up and loved it. the fact that this is pretty much based off a real life story gets to me even more. bullying is horrible and girls are for reals the worse ones about that stuff. i hated high school because of how certain "popular" girls acted. i connected with Sara in the way she became dependent on her best friend and went along with whatever she thought was the best thing to do to Emma. it's really hard to describe how this book made me feel. it just good!
Recommend it?: this is a must read!
This is one of the few books that made me never want to put it down. I have never become so in love with characters so quickly. Forms of media do not usually make me cry, but this book did. You feel for Sara when Emma cheats on her boyfriend. You feel her panic in the courtroom. The characters were very well developed and thought out. I felt like I was a peer, or the older sibling, or the daughter, or the girlfriend, or the bully, or the victim. My favorite character had to be Carmichael. He doesn't know Sara as well, but he remembers who she is and remembers her kindness. Carmichael genuinely wants to help Sara through her problems as long as she is not cruel to him. The date before the court hearing was beautiful. It shows that Carmichael is full of surprises and isn't all that we think. Many of the characters are not predictable and are fun to watch. They may be bullying, but you are unsure how they will. You want to understand why the bully was a bully and why the victim is gone. You can see both sides of the story that not as many people get to see. It makes you truly realize that hurt people, hurt people.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I want to start off by saying that this book was recommended to me during passing period. I was walking to my class when I see my friend walk and then in the middle of the walkway, we both stop and begin talking about books.
I'll give you a little synopsis, the protagonist, Sara, is being blamed for playing a role in the bullying which eventually led up to Emma Putnam committing suicide. Sara feels that she did nothing wrong because Emma was mean to her and her friends. It is now summer, two months before her trial.
It was ehh.
I'll give you a little synopsis, the protagonist, Sara, is being blamed for playing a role in the bullying which eventually led up to Emma Putnam committing suicide. Sara feels that she did nothing wrong because Emma was mean to her and her friends. It is now summer, two months before her trial.
It was ehh.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Interesting take on the bully story. In this case, the story centers around the actual bullies after the student they bullied has committed suicide. First, I want to say that the way the story jumps from scene to scene without any indication that the scene is changing is unnerving. For example we go from one scene where Sara is in the kitchen with her dad and brothers and they are heading outside and she is cleaning up straight into a tutoring session between her and Carmichael. This happens frequently, these scene jumps. Annoying.
As I continue reading this, I am finding more and more that if I was REALLY going to get down to the nitty gritty and find fault with someone, it would be with Dylan. He can't make up his mind between Sara and Emma, and while he wasn't a bully to Emma and he did encourage the girls to be nicer to her, he (in a way) instigated their behavior by his cheating on Sara with her, and then cheating on her with Sara. I mean, COME ON. The girls would have been smarter to have ditched him since he "obvs" can't figure out WHO he wants to be with and cannot control himself (Who says "obvs" anyway?).
So yeah, Dylan is now annoying me and making me more mad than Sara ever could. While I don't agree with how she acted, she had Brielle encouraging and pushing for the bad behavior. Sara was just weak. Very weak. And made bad choices in how she reacted. But I view her a victim just as much as Emma was, in a sense. Maybe she wasn't being bullied, but she was dealing with someone moving in on her boyfriend and feeling helpless over it, and then catching them in the act of cheating/making out and having it confirmed, then as soon as Emma is grounded and can't be around Dylan 24/7, Sara hooks back up with Dylan in hopes that it will mean they are back together again, which does not happen.
Still reading, but yeah, Dylan is def in the doghouse.
So I am finally done and I still think that Dylan did not help the situation any with his wishy washyness. And Sara's willingness to just go along with Brie and feed the beast by participating didn't help. I think this story really emphasizes how easy it is for kids to get on social media and wreak havoc on someone's life and emotions. We never get to know Emma, why she is so broken and beyond repair that she felt she had to commit suicide.
I'm glad that the author wrote Carmichael into the story to give Sara a break in the end, something and someone positive in her life. It wraps up all nice and neat, kind of, as nice and neat as something like that could end... I'm glad to see that in the end Sara truly did seem sorry that her actions may have contributed to Emma's suicide. For a long while it seemed like she wasn't going to admit that she did ANYTHING wrong. The takeaway, no matter how badly someone treats you, you still have a choice in how you are going to react to them. What we read about is a lot of poor reactions and choices and then we are shown the potential consequences, because let's face it, no one knows what demons someone else may be wrestling with.
Despite not liking how the book jumped mid-scene within time frames, I am going to give it 4 stars. The book was compelling, fast-paced and written in such a way that I did care and want to know what was going to happen to Sara.
As I continue reading this, I am finding more and more that if I was REALLY going to get down to the nitty gritty and find fault with someone, it would be with Dylan. He can't make up his mind between Sara and Emma, and while he wasn't a bully to Emma and he did encourage the girls to be nicer to her, he (in a way) instigated their behavior by his cheating on Sara with her, and then cheating on her with Sara. I mean, COME ON. The girls would have been smarter to have ditched him since he "obvs" can't figure out WHO he wants to be with and cannot control himself (Who says "obvs" anyway?).
So yeah, Dylan is now annoying me and making me more mad than Sara ever could. While I don't agree with how she acted, she had Brielle encouraging and pushing for the bad behavior. Sara was just weak. Very weak. And made bad choices in how she reacted. But I view her a victim just as much as Emma was, in a sense. Maybe she wasn't being bullied, but she was dealing with someone moving in on her boyfriend and feeling helpless over it, and then catching them in the act of cheating/making out and having it confirmed, then as soon as Emma is grounded and can't be around Dylan 24/7, Sara hooks back up with Dylan in hopes that it will mean they are back together again, which does not happen.
Still reading, but yeah, Dylan is def in the doghouse.
So I am finally done and I still think that Dylan did not help the situation any with his wishy washyness. And Sara's willingness to just go along with Brie and feed the beast by participating didn't help. I think this story really emphasizes how easy it is for kids to get on social media and wreak havoc on someone's life and emotions. We never get to know Emma, why she is so broken and beyond repair that she felt she had to commit suicide.
I'm glad that the author wrote Carmichael into the story to give Sara a break in the end, something and someone positive in her life. It wraps up all nice and neat, kind of, as nice and neat as something like that could end... I'm glad to see that in the end Sara truly did seem sorry that her actions may have contributed to Emma's suicide. For a long while it seemed like she wasn't going to admit that she did ANYTHING wrong. The takeaway, no matter how badly someone treats you, you still have a choice in how you are going to react to them. What we read about is a lot of poor reactions and choices and then we are shown the potential consequences, because let's face it, no one knows what demons someone else may be wrestling with.
Despite not liking how the book jumped mid-scene within time frames, I am going to give it 4 stars. The book was compelling, fast-paced and written in such a way that I did care and want to know what was going to happen to Sara.
i always love an unloveable narrator like sara because it shows that the author isn't afraid to be risky or bold, but brielle's character was so over the top and evil that it kind of ruined it for me. she was a carbon copy of regina george from mean girls so the character diluted the rest of the story because the bullying was so cookie cutter and cliche that it didn't really have meaning in the text. i loved that emma was kept largely a mystery who we never really meet because that's essentially who she is to the main characters too. overall definitely really provocative and a quick read.
I liked this book more than I thought I would. For a "problem" book it wasn't too preachy. Sara does eventually grow up but it is very slow and painful.
There were no epiphanies or huge revelations. Everyone behaved as you would expect, which I found somewhat depressing. Overall a good book on the topic.
There were no epiphanies or huge revelations. Everyone behaved as you would expect, which I found somewhat depressing. Overall a good book on the topic.