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3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
Its hard to find a book where I don't like any of the main characters. This was that book for me. It felt like I was listening to a bunch of cheerleaders talk. On a good note the cover is really pretty.
Tease is one of those books that has an extremely intriguing and provocative plot. Every time I hear about another incident in which bullying (cyber or otherwise) results in the victim committing suicide, I am plagued by both pity for the victim of the bullying and their families and by rage for those who committed the bullying. I always think "How can they possibly live with themselves? Do they even feel remorse?" Well, Tease explores that.
My guess is that once more and more people read Tease, the ratings are going to start being all over the place seeing as how you're dealing with an unsympathetic narrator. Unsympathetic narrators are usually a nail in the coffin for me, book-wise. I guess Tease was different for me because I went into it already knowing that I wasn't going to like Sara...and I didn't. I found her behavior deplorable. So, how do you rate a book that has a selfish, self-involved narrator?
While reading, I started thinking that maybe Tease deserved four stars. My personal feelings towards Sara aside, I thought that Tease was unique for showing the side of the bully as opposed to the bullied. I'm all for new ideas. I also felt a lot of emotions while reading Tease. Sure, most of those emotions were rage and disgust, but I prefer that to a book I feel sort of "meh" about. Plus, it made me cry a bit, so obviously the circumstances resonated with me. However, regardless of the good above, Sara's arc...or rather her lack thereof is what really knocked it down to three stars for me.
------------MINOR SPOILERS BELOW---------------
I know that Sara's supposed to be an unsympathetic character...I get that. But for 99 percent of the novel, Sara did not feel bad about the pain she inflicted on Emma. Well, that's not entirely true. She did feel bad...about how all this was going to affect her life and her future. She didn't give a crap about what Emma had gone through or what Emma's parents were going through. She pretty much spends the entire novel blaming Emma for killing herself and therefore ruining her (Sara's) life...Again, regardless of all this, Tease maybe would have still gotten four stars had it not been for that 1% where Sara then feels sorry for what she put Emma through. I'm sorry, but all of her previous actions contradict her statement as to how sorry she feels. And had she fully acknowledged that she was just BSing her feelings on the matter, I wouldn't have been as upset. But she spends that 1% of the novel mentally berating her equally shitty friends for not really being sorry, while saying that she's the only one who's truly sorry, yet none of her thoughts or actions show this beforehand. So, it basically came out of the blue...and was false.
----------------END OF MINOR SPOILERS----------------
In the end, I found Tease to be an okay novel. I like that its one of those books that just invites discussion and I liked that it was told from the perspective of the bully. I didn't like the bully, but it was refreshing to read a book that pretty much owns the fact that it has an unsympathetic narrator.
My guess is that once more and more people read Tease, the ratings are going to start being all over the place seeing as how you're dealing with an unsympathetic narrator. Unsympathetic narrators are usually a nail in the coffin for me, book-wise. I guess Tease was different for me because I went into it already knowing that I wasn't going to like Sara...and I didn't. I found her behavior deplorable. So, how do you rate a book that has a selfish, self-involved narrator?
While reading, I started thinking that maybe Tease deserved four stars. My personal feelings towards Sara aside, I thought that Tease was unique for showing the side of the bully as opposed to the bullied. I'm all for new ideas. I also felt a lot of emotions while reading Tease. Sure, most of those emotions were rage and disgust, but I prefer that to a book I feel sort of "meh" about. Plus, it made me cry a bit, so obviously the circumstances resonated with me. However, regardless of the good above, Sara's arc...or rather her lack thereof is what really knocked it down to three stars for me.
------------MINOR SPOILERS BELOW---------------
I know that Sara's supposed to be an unsympathetic character...I get that. But for 99 percent of the novel, Sara did not feel bad about the pain she inflicted on Emma. Well, that's not entirely true. She did feel bad...about how all this was going to affect her life and her future. She didn't give a crap about what Emma had gone through or what Emma's parents were going through. She pretty much spends the entire novel blaming Emma for killing herself and therefore ruining her (Sara's) life...Again, regardless of all this, Tease maybe would have still gotten four stars had it not been for that 1% where Sara then feels sorry for what she put Emma through. I'm sorry, but all of her previous actions contradict her statement as to how sorry she feels. And had she fully acknowledged that she was just BSing her feelings on the matter, I wouldn't have been as upset. But she spends that 1% of the novel mentally berating her equally shitty friends for not really being sorry, while saying that she's the only one who's truly sorry, yet none of her thoughts or actions show this beforehand. So, it basically came out of the blue...and was false.
----------------END OF MINOR SPOILERS----------------
In the end, I found Tease to be an okay novel. I like that its one of those books that just invites discussion and I liked that it was told from the perspective of the bully. I didn't like the bully, but it was refreshing to read a book that pretty much owns the fact that it has an unsympathetic narrator.
Originally posted on: http://lauraslittlebookblog.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/tease-by-amanda-maciel.html
When I first started reading this, I already had some assumptions of how I was going to feel towards the main character Sara and I already hated her for driving a girl, Emma to suicide. But Tease tells Sara's side of the story; the story that no one else is listening to because they have already made up their minds about her as a girl is dead so Sara's completely in the wrong, isn't she?
I thought the premise for this novel was really good and was extremely thought provoking. Sadly Tease is based on the true event of six teenagers in America being charged as the result of another student's suicide, but Amanda has given the accused's side of the story from main character Sara.
Sara really doesn't believe that she did anything wrong. In Sara's eyes, Emma stole her boyfriend so she is in the wrong, and she can't understand why no one apart from her understands this. As the narrative flits back and forth between the events leading up to Emma's suicide and the aftermath, we really get to know Sara's character and her friends in detail.
I actually started to see Sara's point of view and I didn't want her to end up in prison because I started to see the good in her. Although, I hasten to add that she was not the innocent party that she kept thinking she was as she had made a girl feel so bad about herself that she drove her to suicide. A lot of the time I hated Sara and hated that she felt so desperate to fit in with her BFF Brielle, that she would do practically anything, especially when it concerned being mean to Emma as that was when Brielle showed the most interest in Emma. She needed a wake up call and act on her own instincts that what she was doing to Emma was wrong. I know she was hurt by her boyfriend going off with Emma, but why couldn't she that it was her boyfriend that was in the wrong, not Emma.
Amanda's narrative was incredibly powerful and she really gets across teenage school life and dialogue really well. Even though this was hard to read at times, I had to keep picking it up. We already know what happened but I wanted to know what led up to this tragedy and what would happen to Sara.
I think the message that the author is trying to get across in this is that as we all know, school is a tough place to grow up. We are trying to fit in and it's a time when we make mistakes and there's no one to guide you through it. I was bullied at school and I still have bad dreams about it sometimes, but I wasn't completely innocent either. I said and did some hurtful things that I massively regret when I was 16. Bullies are horrible, of course they are, otherwise they wouldn't be bullies, but maybe they are trying to reach out too? We just can't see it because of all the hate they project. This is why Tease is so great as it really gets you thinking about both sides of the story.
When I first started reading this, I already had some assumptions of how I was going to feel towards the main character Sara and I already hated her for driving a girl, Emma to suicide. But Tease tells Sara's side of the story; the story that no one else is listening to because they have already made up their minds about her as a girl is dead so Sara's completely in the wrong, isn't she?
I thought the premise for this novel was really good and was extremely thought provoking. Sadly Tease is based on the true event of six teenagers in America being charged as the result of another student's suicide, but Amanda has given the accused's side of the story from main character Sara.
Sara really doesn't believe that she did anything wrong. In Sara's eyes, Emma stole her boyfriend so she is in the wrong, and she can't understand why no one apart from her understands this. As the narrative flits back and forth between the events leading up to Emma's suicide and the aftermath, we really get to know Sara's character and her friends in detail.
I actually started to see Sara's point of view and I didn't want her to end up in prison because I started to see the good in her. Although, I hasten to add that she was not the innocent party that she kept thinking she was as she had made a girl feel so bad about herself that she drove her to suicide. A lot of the time I hated Sara and hated that she felt so desperate to fit in with her BFF Brielle, that she would do practically anything, especially when it concerned being mean to Emma as that was when Brielle showed the most interest in Emma. She needed a wake up call and act on her own instincts that what she was doing to Emma was wrong. I know she was hurt by her boyfriend going off with Emma, but why couldn't she that it was her boyfriend that was in the wrong, not Emma.
Amanda's narrative was incredibly powerful and she really gets across teenage school life and dialogue really well. Even though this was hard to read at times, I had to keep picking it up. We already know what happened but I wanted to know what led up to this tragedy and what would happen to Sara.
I think the message that the author is trying to get across in this is that as we all know, school is a tough place to grow up. We are trying to fit in and it's a time when we make mistakes and there's no one to guide you through it. I was bullied at school and I still have bad dreams about it sometimes, but I wasn't completely innocent either. I said and did some hurtful things that I massively regret when I was 16. Bullies are horrible, of course they are, otherwise they wouldn't be bullies, but maybe they are trying to reach out too? We just can't see it because of all the hate they project. This is why Tease is so great as it really gets you thinking about both sides of the story.
The book Tease was about the main character Sara and some of her classmates being accused (and charged) with the bullying that led to the suicide of a classmate, Emma.
This book was only okay for me. I enjoyed that the reader was in the head of the bully, but it got to the point where I kept having to put the book down because I was tired of the excuses that Sara kept making for herself. At first, I was confused about the time periods changing from what led to the incident and what happened after it, but eventually I came to love this writing style. I love the plot, and there were many valuable lessons to be learned in this novel, but the characters left something to be desired. None of the characters were very fleshed out. They left something to be desired.
I will remember this novel for a while, but only because of how realistic it seems. I will recommend this book to others, because the insight that this book gave, although fiction, really resonated with me. I hope that others will enjoy this book.
This book was only okay for me. I enjoyed that the reader was in the head of the bully, but it got to the point where I kept having to put the book down because I was tired of the excuses that Sara kept making for herself. At first, I was confused about the time periods changing from what led to the incident and what happened after it, but eventually I came to love this writing style. I love the plot, and there were many valuable lessons to be learned in this novel, but the characters left something to be desired. None of the characters were very fleshed out. They left something to be desired.
I will remember this novel for a while, but only because of how realistic it seems. I will recommend this book to others, because the insight that this book gave, although fiction, really resonated with me. I hope that others will enjoy this book.
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)
Torn between 3 and 4 stars for this one. Important topic for sure. Couldn't stand the narrator or her friends (but that doesn't make a book bad.) It did keep me wanting to know more, which is always what I want in a book. Kind of torn about something said/written at the very end... which is definitely hanging over me as I consider my review... Definitely a solid 3.5- Not sure if I would round up or down, though.
Loved this. Such a great message. Hard to read a points because of the topic but was well worth it. I listened the audio for this and I think it was really well done, both the writing & the narration. This definitely a rereadable book. I give this more of a 4.5 due to some minor details.
It had the potential to be an amazing story, but the execution fell a little short. I felt that the emotions of the characters were forced and the dialogue was trying too hard be a "hip" teenager.
This a solid 4 maybe 4.5 star book for me. Writing a bullying book from the POV of the bully and having the reader feel compassion towards the bully is pretty amazing. Obviously I want to knock some sense into the main character (Sara) on several occassions, but I could understand her, and my main take away was man it sucks to be a high school girl.