Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Trust Exercise by Susan Choi

8 reviews

travisppe's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

The format of this book is going to stick with me for a long time. Very cool. 

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mia_merrill's review

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emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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jesakeita's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75


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leah_alexandra's review

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dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This book was pretty rough. It's tough to talk about my reactions without spoilers, so most of my review is hidden. 

I had been told there was a big "twist" in the book, but I was honestly pretty disappointed. The first part of the book actually being a fictionalized book a student wrote was not as dramatic a twist as I thought it would be. And I don't know if the author meant for the shooting at the end of "Karen's" part of the book to be a surprise, but it was apparent from miles away. The last, very small piece of the book was vague, and not in a way that made it more intriguing. Just added to some general frustrations with the book. Sarah's story was pretty exhausting--it really leaned into the trope of special teens being somehow more mature than their years. I was less frustrated by that piece once I knew what it was, but the second half of the book didn't do enough to make up for it.

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dylanlouise's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Unlike other readers, I LOVED the first section-thought it was such an honest, perfect portrayal of our teenage years and the theatre training experience. Was super into the creative writing choices and the narration changes but the second and third parts didn't hold my attention. Overall, it was hard to follow and there was just so much graphic sexual assault that I didn't want to keep going but it had some redeeming factors so..

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literaryliaisons's review

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3.0

What a bleak novel, but I can see why it won the National Book Award. Choi's prose is arresting. Overall, I'm glad I read it and will probably be tempted to pick up another novel by Choi in the future for her prose alone, and the boldness of her stylistic decisions. 

All in all, I would certainly recommend this novel to others if they enjoy contemporary literary fiction and are comfortable with the content. The three instances of explicit sexual assault in this novel, as well as the child grooming, make it a difficult sell and I would probably lead with this content warning before giving the recommendation. Nevertheless, this novel was compelling, especially the second section and the "complication" of the established narrative that Karen presents. I also very much appreciated the spot-on theatrical details and the unfortunately accurate portrayal of the (few but prevalent) predatory figures that lurk in performing arts spaces.

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breaky's review against another edition

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emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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parablesarah's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny sad medium-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5


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