Reviews with content warning for Rape - Trust Exercise

reading this book felt like susan choi shaped my brain into a boomerang and flung it across the room

this book is nothing like I expected and it just snowballs constantly into something else. I loved it and hated it and was horrified and surprised and enthralled, and I’m going to be thinking about it for a while.

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sugarbowl's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-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

5.0

i absolutely loved this book, and skimming through reviews, i’m genuinely surprised that i seem to be in the minority.

the writing is stunning, intricate, and plays it’s own role in each part of the story. it perfectly captures the anguish, resoluteness, and cautious hope through pacing and intensity and characterisation. the twists were chefs kiss phenomenal. it took me a moment each time to wrap my head around what changes in perception each twist demanded, but never enough to throw me off entirely. for most of the story i found it nearly impossible to predict how the story would continue, which could have been off-putting and stalled momentum, though it did nothing like that here for me. i loved it but it is incredibly hard to describe, categorise, or recommend. 5 star.

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littleseven's review against another edition

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reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

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bettydraper's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense medium-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? It's complicated

3.0

i don't know what to think but i do know that i'm feeling very sad/hopeless with that ending

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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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sbooksbowm's review

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challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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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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