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rachelholdham's review against another edition
2.5
The idea of the book was interesting to me, but the execution didn't do it for me. I didn't enjoy reading it but might enjoy talking about it with someone who has also read it.
anniecheng04's review
1.0
This is the first book in years that I have not finished, and this is also my first negative written review. I got twenty pages in and there are already racialized, lazy attempts of character descriptions: "lips like a simian", "clownfro", "token Hispanic with no discernible talent". There are also intensely cringeworthy, gratuitous descriptions of these unbelievable shallow underage characters having sex. I just finished A Little Life, so I'm not shy about intense work—but I could not justify spending any more time on Trust Exercise.
nichetea's review against another edition
I think audiobooks just aren’t my thing ;-; but if you like audiobooks it seems like a good time
kc_alex's review
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
lybarron's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-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
2.0
emtheworld's review against another edition
1.0
This is not at all thought provoking like it makes itself out to be. Of course, with any book you can make out something meaningful from it, but that doesn't mean it's executed well. This book, at the very least, brings up interesting topics like the power dynamics between students/teachers and the crossing of boundaries of said relationship. That's the only thing going for it. And even then, that fell flat at the end.
I have a lot of issues with this book—the main issues being the characters and the writing. None of the characters are even remotely likable or interesting. It was a pain getting through Sarah's POV and the same can be said about the remaining two sections. Not to mention, each POV, despite being all different characters, all sounded the same. None of the characters had distinct voices or personalities to latch onto. Absolutely nothing. Sarah and Karen are interchangeable. The characters felt so void of anything, even when they would show some emotion, they were still so stale. Not really understanding the hype with the author's writing either, this is really not as insightful as you think it is.
Save yourself the time, energy, and headache and skip this. If I had a choice, I would have DNF 10 pages in. The barely 3 average star rating for this is very accurate, if not, generous.
I have a lot of issues with this book—the main issues being the characters and the writing. None of the characters are even remotely likable or interesting. It was a pain getting through Sarah's POV and the same can be said about the remaining two sections. Not to mention, each POV, despite being all different characters, all sounded the same. None of the characters had distinct voices or personalities to latch onto. Absolutely nothing. Sarah and Karen are interchangeable. The characters felt so void of anything, even when they would show some emotion, they were still so stale. Not really understanding the hype with the author's writing either, this is really not as insightful as you think it is.
Save yourself the time, energy, and headache and skip this. If I had a choice, I would have DNF 10 pages in. The barely 3 average star rating for this is very accurate, if not, generous.
rani's review
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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, and Sexual harassment
wheelofparm's review
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
cafardesque's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
- Especially in the first chapter, the characters were, in my opinion, rather unlikable, uninteresting, unrelatable and annoying, albeit multi-dimensional. And as the chapters are very long/continuous, 1/3 of the book felt unbearably long/excruciating to me. BUT the book picked up drastically from the second chapter and on...
- The second chapter carries the whole book on its shoulders. It's really phenomenal.
- The book does give an insightful and meaningful account of the "young girl taken advantage by older men" issue in our societies.
- The author makes some questionable choices that flirt with breaking some kind of [perhaps third?] wall with the reader. Unfortunately, it's more awkward than impressive.
- I found it unpleasant how being gay was at time utilised to distance male characters from committing sexual assault on others. If the author was critiquing this concept, I don't think it was as clear as it should be.
- As someone with a concerning amount of trust issues in every aspect of life, I felt like the centrality of 'trust' wasn't necessarily clear or strong enough. The repetitive naming of the chapters as 'Trust exercise' was a nice touch, a good reminder.
Here's my detailed review with some very light to heavy spoilers :
The first chapter was troubling - I was certain that this book was not for me, or that I wasn't getting the hype around it. The first chapter is very "Euphoria-like" that it felt way too off from the reality I am familiar with. It seemed disturbing and unrealistic (or maybe I live in a different reality). I had a hard time relating to any of the characters and I was either just annoyed by all of them or felt pity/sorry for them.
However, the second chapter picked up very surprisingly.Who would have known that I would be relating to/liking Karen!? She felt like the most complex of all the characters and definitely had some interesting evolution. Especially during the conversation/meeting between Karen and Sarah was phenomenal. Might have redeemed the whole book in my opinion. I almost wanted to highlight the whole section.
I was almost angry/upset about the appareance of Claire at the end. I could not bare another character being introduced at the end. I guess it was necessary to add the confusion/'wow' moment of realisation about the fiction parallels/mystery in the book but thankfully it was relating to Karen's storyline which made this part slightly more interesting.
Sorry if I sound bitter, but I kind of am, that this book has an incredibly valuable gem in the second chapter and sandwiches it between two very passable chapters.
If you think I didn't get the book, or that I sound foolish for reading it the way I did, I want you to know that I tried my VERY best to see it in the complex way that all the professional reviews had explained it (Sarah and Karen are the same person, or at least have the same experience of trust, etc.), but I really think you're giving too much credit at this point. It feels pretentious to blow the writing out of proportion like that...
- The second chapter carries the whole book on its shoulders. It's really phenomenal.
- The book does give an insightful and meaningful account of the "young girl taken advantage by older men" issue in our societies.
- The author makes some questionable choices that flirt with breaking some kind of [perhaps third?] wall with the reader. Unfortunately, it's more awkward than impressive.
- I found it unpleasant how being gay was at time utilised to distance male characters from committing sexual assault on others. If the author was critiquing this concept, I don't think it was as clear as it should be.
- As someone with a concerning amount of trust issues in every aspect of life, I felt like the centrality of 'trust' wasn't necessarily clear or strong enough. The repetitive naming of the chapters as 'Trust exercise' was a nice touch, a good reminder.
Here's my detailed review with some very light to heavy spoilers :
The first chapter was troubling - I was certain that this book was not for me, or that I wasn't getting the hype around it. The first chapter is very "Euphoria-like" that it felt way too off from the reality I am familiar with. It seemed disturbing and unrealistic (or maybe I live in a different reality). I had a hard time relating to any of the characters and I was either just annoyed by all of them or felt pity/sorry for them.
However, the second chapter picked up very surprisingly.
I was almost angry/upset about the appareance of Claire at the end. I could not bare another character being introduced at the end. I guess it was necessary to add the confusion/'wow' moment of realisation about the fiction parallels/mystery in the book but thankfully it was relating to Karen's storyline which made this part slightly more interesting.
Sorry if I sound bitter, but I kind of am, that this book has an incredibly valuable gem in the second chapter and sandwiches it between two very passable chapters.
If you think I didn't get the book, or that I sound foolish for reading it the way I did, I want you to know that I tried my VERY best to see it in the complex way that all the professional reviews had explained it (Sarah and Karen are the same person, or at least have the same experience of trust, etc.), but I really think you're giving too much credit at this point. It feels pretentious to blow the writing out of proportion like that...