Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Trust Exercise by Susan Choi

2 reviews

melchong's review

dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

i wanted to dnf this book so badly, but it was short enough that i saw it through. i didn’t love the long, meandering sentences, but that’s just personal preference. i think the concept of this book is interesting and compelling. it very well captures

the self-absorbed perspectives of high schoolers, an unreliable narrator, how we draw the lines between fact and fiction, and the exploitation of young generations, especially women and across generations.

in fact if it was approached differently i might have actually loved it. 

my biggest issue is that there is just far too much gratuitous underage sexual content that feels so icky!! i understand that’s part of the point -

these kids have been exploited and abused while coming into their own

, but i just don’t think it needed to be this explicit, detailed, or frequent. because of that, it doesn’t matter how interesting the overall concept was, i would never recommend this book to anyone. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, and Physical abuse

leah_alexandra's review

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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, and Vomit