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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
There are two sides to every story. I admit, after finishing this book I didn't feel sad. I think everyone was at fault. Sara and Brielle were bullies long before Emma Putnam came to their school. What they did was wrong and hateful. Unfortunately, they were goaded into the situation.
For Emma, I just think that a person shouldn't do things to make people actively dislike them. She was already suffering from emotional problems and seemed like a very insecure girl. But flirting with a lot of guys doesn't make you a better person. Then, she persued Dylan. That was pretty low. How could she expect not to get bullied for that? And there were rare occasions in the book when Emma fought back. If she just confronted the girls in a nonviolent way with adults around things could have been different.
This isn't like 13 Reasons Why. There were so many things left unexplained. But in the end I enjoyed the book. It sent me into a rage.
For Emma, I just think that a person shouldn't do things to make people actively dislike them. She was already suffering from emotional problems and seemed like a very insecure girl. But flirting with a lot of guys doesn't make you a better person. Then, she persued Dylan. That was pretty low. How could she expect not to get bullied for that? And there were rare occasions in the book when Emma fought back. If she just confronted the girls in a nonviolent way with adults around things could have been different.
This isn't like 13 Reasons Why. There were so many things left unexplained. But in the end I enjoyed the book. It sent me into a rage.
3,5 stars
Such a difficult book to rate. I don't know entirely how I feel about it.
Such a difficult book to rate. I don't know entirely how I feel about it.
4 out of 5 stars
Trigger warnings: bullying, suicide
This is probably a “you love it or you hate it” book.
Tease is about bullying and suicide, but it’s different from any others I’ve read on the topic. It’s from the perspective of one of the bullies, Sara, after the girl she bullies commits suicide and Sara is now fighting a legal battle. The victim, Emma, transfers to Sara’s high school a few weeks into the school year, and she’s a perpetual flirt who allegedly hooks up with a lot of people, so all of the boys like her and none of the girls do. Cue: girls talking behind her back, ignoring her, calling her a slut, etc. Emma doesn’t just sleep around with unattached guys, though; she’s known around the school for “stealing boyfriends,” including Sara and Brielle’s boyfriends, which paints a target on her back.
Emma clearly struggles with depression and other mental health problems, in addition to being bullied: everyone knows she sees a therapist, has transferred schools multiple times, and one of the characters thinks her stepdad is mean to her (but never expounds upon that). So, obviously, Emma is the most sympathetic character, but I was surprised that it was so easy for me to sympathize with Sara and even Brielle, too. The entire nation knows about the court case and sides with Emma, and Sara still sees Emma as “the jerk who stole my boyfriend” and doesn’t feel at first like she bullied her. Plus, now that the girls are being sued in separate cases, Sara and Brielle can’t interact anymore, so Sara’s kind of lost her best friend.
Nothing in the book made me despise Sara or Brielle, and I appreciated that the book wasn’t after-school-special black and white, with a clear line being drawn between angelic victim and evil, bullying villains. The most “villain” like character would be Brielle, but I found her character fascinating; she’s obviously one of those ringleader types, the ones that others want to follow around, but I sympathized with her, too. She reminds me of a couple of good friends of mine, and that might be why I’m drawn towards her. There’s something about unapologetic characters that grabs me, probably because I’m so the opposite.
The story of the bullying slowly unfolds through flashbacks, and I thought Sara’s journey throughout the book was built up nicely. It’s slow and believable. And I really didn’t hate any of the characters, which again, I was surprised by. (Although maybe Sara’s boyfriend, to be honest.) I also adored the character of Carmichael, whom Sara befriends during summer school.
I liked the writing, the book was a page-turner, and I’m looking forward to seeing what this author puts out in the future. But, as a caveat, there are definitely people who hate this book, because it sympathizes so much with the bullies. Also, there’s a sense of “I’m so innocent, I was peer pressured into all this by other people” lurking about (but I would say that Sara owns up to everything by the end). So, while I recommend this book, just keep in mind what you’re in for. You might love it, you might hate it.
(Review cross-posted on Youth Book Review)
Trigger warnings: bullying, suicide
This is probably a “you love it or you hate it” book.
Tease is about bullying and suicide, but it’s different from any others I’ve read on the topic. It’s from the perspective of one of the bullies, Sara, after the girl she bullies commits suicide and Sara is now fighting a legal battle. The victim, Emma, transfers to Sara’s high school a few weeks into the school year, and she’s a perpetual flirt who allegedly hooks up with a lot of people, so all of the boys like her and none of the girls do. Cue: girls talking behind her back, ignoring her, calling her a slut, etc. Emma doesn’t just sleep around with unattached guys, though; she’s known around the school for “stealing boyfriends,” including Sara and Brielle’s boyfriends, which paints a target on her back.
Emma clearly struggles with depression and other mental health problems, in addition to being bullied: everyone knows she sees a therapist, has transferred schools multiple times, and one of the characters thinks her stepdad is mean to her (but never expounds upon that). So, obviously, Emma is the most sympathetic character, but I was surprised that it was so easy for me to sympathize with Sara and even Brielle, too. The entire nation knows about the court case and sides with Emma, and Sara still sees Emma as “the jerk who stole my boyfriend” and doesn’t feel at first like she bullied her. Plus, now that the girls are being sued in separate cases, Sara and Brielle can’t interact anymore, so Sara’s kind of lost her best friend.
Nothing in the book made me despise Sara or Brielle, and I appreciated that the book wasn’t after-school-special black and white, with a clear line being drawn between angelic victim and evil, bullying villains. The most “villain” like character would be Brielle, but I found her character fascinating; she’s obviously one of those ringleader types, the ones that others want to follow around, but I sympathized with her, too. She reminds me of a couple of good friends of mine, and that might be why I’m drawn towards her. There’s something about unapologetic characters that grabs me, probably because I’m so the opposite.
The story of the bullying slowly unfolds through flashbacks, and I thought Sara’s journey throughout the book was built up nicely. It’s slow and believable. And I really didn’t hate any of the characters, which again, I was surprised by. (Although maybe Sara’s boyfriend, to be honest.) I also adored the character of Carmichael, whom Sara befriends during summer school.
I liked the writing, the book was a page-turner, and I’m looking forward to seeing what this author puts out in the future. But, as a caveat, there are definitely people who hate this book, because it sympathizes so much with the bullies. Also, there’s a sense of “I’m so innocent, I was peer pressured into all this by other people” lurking about (but I would say that Sara owns up to everything by the end). So, while I recommend this book, just keep in mind what you’re in for. You might love it, you might hate it.
(Review cross-posted on Youth Book Review)
Having had a bullied student commit suicide before, I was completely entranced by Maciel's work. Thing are not always what they seem in life, and there is always another side to the story. Maciel does a fantastic job exploring the truth behind being bullied.
I highly recommend this novel to anyone who works with today's youth.
I highly recommend this novel to anyone who works with today's youth.
The author addresses an important topic from an alternative viewpoint. Two people are involved in bullying and although society focuses the victim, the root of the problem is rarely addressed. The author also does a fantastic job capturing the vernacular and behavior of a "typical" teen. It was startlingly realistic, almost haunting. I would want to recommend it to teens, however I'm not sure how invested they would be. The character spends most of her time reflecting, telling about the past, and moping. Which is important, but I see many teens getting bored and putting it down. If anything, I would want adults to read it. To understand the severity of bullying, the need to address the bully and why they feel the need to act out so negatively, and the ways kids bully today. It's no longer just fights on the playground. Like much of this world, bullying is just a click away.
Suicide is a popular topic for YA fiction. You know what else is a popular topic? A pretty girl's fall from grace. Tease tells the story of Sara Wharton, a typical high-school bitch who may have accidentally bullied a girl called Emma to death and now must deal with the consequences. Sadly, this sounds far more interesting in principle than its execution.
Okay, so really Tease is split into two stories-the present where Sara is dealing with the consequences and the flashbacks to the past when the bullying was actually occurring. I have to say, the chapters set in the past are far more interesting than the other half of the book. The present-day chapters deal primarily with Sara's lack of guilt (which I'll come to later), the potential lawsuit she faces and her falling for the outcast boy. None of these are particularly engaging or indeed, interesting. The popular girl falling for the outcast boy once she herself becomes an outcast is way overdone and frankly, Some Girls Are already did it much better. In this book it just sort of happens, with little resistance or development. The chapters set in the past however are the real story and I found myself skimming the present chapters to get back to the far more varied past.
My other main issue was with Sara's character. As I mentioned before, present day Sara has almost no remorse for what she's done. In fact, she doesn't even think she's responsible in any way. This doesn't really change by the end of the book and, while I can see the reasons behind the depiction, it does have the unfortunate side effect of not making her particularly likable. I hate to refer to Some Girls Are again but that book has a perfect example of how a character can be an unlikable person and yet still be sympathetic and ultimately good beneath it all. Sara...not so much. Her breakdown at the end doesn't feel genuine and it doesn't really excuse 200 odd pages of bitter denial.
Those two factors aside, Tease is an okay book. It isn't groundbreaking and doesn't really bring anything new to the table but it's told decently and the other characters are somewhat interesting. I can't help feel that there are many other books which have done this better though and if I'm honest, you should probably read one of them instead
Overall Score: 3
What Everyone Else is Reading
Okay, so really Tease is split into two stories-the present where Sara is dealing with the consequences and the flashbacks to the past when the bullying was actually occurring. I have to say, the chapters set in the past are far more interesting than the other half of the book. The present-day chapters deal primarily with Sara's lack of guilt (which I'll come to later), the potential lawsuit she faces and her falling for the outcast boy. None of these are particularly engaging or indeed, interesting. The popular girl falling for the outcast boy once she herself becomes an outcast is way overdone and frankly, Some Girls Are already did it much better. In this book it just sort of happens, with little resistance or development. The chapters set in the past however are the real story and I found myself skimming the present chapters to get back to the far more varied past.
My other main issue was with Sara's character. As I mentioned before, present day Sara has almost no remorse for what she's done. In fact, she doesn't even think she's responsible in any way. This doesn't really change by the end of the book and, while I can see the reasons behind the depiction, it does have the unfortunate side effect of not making her particularly likable. I hate to refer to Some Girls Are again but that book has a perfect example of how a character can be an unlikable person and yet still be sympathetic and ultimately good beneath it all. Sara...not so much. Her breakdown at the end doesn't feel genuine and it doesn't really excuse 200 odd pages of bitter denial.
Those two factors aside, Tease is an okay book. It isn't groundbreaking and doesn't really bring anything new to the table but it's told decently and the other characters are somewhat interesting. I can't help feel that there are many other books which have done this better though and if I'm honest, you should probably read one of them instead
Overall Score: 3
What Everyone Else is Reading
Unique book about the other side of bullying. Sara and her best friend Brielle started teasing Emma because the new girl thought she could date all the senior boys. When Emma makes her way through the girls’ boyfriends, Sara and Brielle turn vicious. When Emma kills herself, the girls don’t feel sorry - after all, THEY didn’t kill Emma. Told through flashbacks as Sara is prepped for trial, the book explores why girls bully each other and makes you think about what should be the consequence. Really want to read more from Maciel.
I started reading this book the night after I met up with an old high school friend for dinner, drinks & catching up so I think that I had a lot more patience with the main character than if I hadn't just rehashed all of the terribly juvenile things I'd done when I was Sara's age. Sara is not evil just like most high school kids aren't evil. She's immature, bitter about her parent's divorce, easily influenced due to her low self-esteem and overwhelmed by her relationships. She's in over her head. Not to excuse her completely, she's a terribly mean bitch to Emma. But reading the book, I can honestly say that I probably would have done some of the same crap as her. I was in high school long before the internet became an issue but I remember hating the girls who were prettier, who were better liked, who had an easier time attracting men. Without a doubt I called girls sluts. Rather than creating terrible facebook pages, we TP'ed houses or prank called people. So while I didn't really like her all that much, I understood that she was not an evil kid - just a kid who doesn't fully realize the consequences of her actions.
Most books on bullying are written from the perspective of the bullied where they wonder why on earth they're being targeted and you can see in this book . . . it doesn't have as much to do with Emma as it does with Sara & Brie. Both Sara & Brie are bored and dealing with their own stuff and they take it out on Emma. And even Emma isn't painted as a saint. I can remember girls like her in high school too - always hanging out with boys, being the "other woman" in a number of relationships. There are many times in the book I want to shake everyone - shake Sara & Brie and tell them to stop being such jerks and then shake Emma and say "Stop showing up at their parties and leave that Dylan guy alone!"
It's all very honest and very typical of the high school experience. I can't say I enjoyed it but I think it's a well-written book. I wish high schools could read it and use it for discussion.
Most books on bullying are written from the perspective of the bullied where they wonder why on earth they're being targeted and you can see in this book . . . it doesn't have as much to do with Emma as it does with Sara & Brie. Both Sara & Brie are bored and dealing with their own stuff and they take it out on Emma. And even Emma isn't painted as a saint. I can remember girls like her in high school too - always hanging out with boys, being the "other woman" in a number of relationships. There are many times in the book I want to shake everyone - shake Sara & Brie and tell them to stop being such jerks and then shake Emma and say "Stop showing up at their parties and leave that Dylan guy alone!"
It's all very honest and very typical of the high school experience. I can't say I enjoyed it but I think it's a well-written book. I wish high schools could read it and use it for discussion.
Incredible. Stunning novel about bullying...told from the bully's perspective. Brought me to tears at the end (that doesn't happen often!). Must read YA.