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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
"You can call me a prude and you can call me a whore, but really you’re just calling me a girl. I am a girl. But those other things are yours. They’re in your minds, not mine."
Alright so this book is complicated. I liked it even if not everything works. It’s the story of Anna, a teenage girl who just moved to Scotland with her mother to start over after a nude of her was posted online without her consent. Things are going well at first, nobody knows, she starts to make friends… but of course, it’s impossible to outrun your past, the pictures reappears and the bullying starts again.
I think the book does a great job at showing how brutal revenge porn and bullying can be. Seeing all of this from the perspective of Anna makes it all the more horrible to read, especially since it’s obvious she is still really affected by what happened at her old school.
I also liked that the most important relationship in the story are the ones she has with other women, namely her mother and her two new friends Cat and Lish. She does have a love interest in Robin but that relationship is far less important. In a story about sexism, focusing on female friendship seems like the right choice.
And then, there is the whole Maggie thing. I understand why it’s there, the parallel between the witch hunt of the past and the witch hunt Anna is experiencing, very different and yet born out of the same mindset, different experiences and consequences but all about misogyny and punishing women for daring to not be the perfect women, for daring to have sex, to use their body in ways men don’t like, to speak up against the men who abuse them. Burned at the literal and metaphorical stake for their perceived wrongdoing while the men get away with abusing their power. That being said, I don’t think the way it was done was the best. The supernatural aspect didn’t feel at home with the story. Especially since she is doing tradition research about it anyway, I feel there was a way to do it that would have fit better with the story.
But overall, I liked it. I think it handles the subject really well. I would really recommend it.
Alright so this book is complicated. I liked it even if not everything works. It’s the story of Anna, a teenage girl who just moved to Scotland with her mother to start over after a nude of her was posted online without her consent. Things are going well at first, nobody knows, she starts to make friends… but of course, it’s impossible to outrun your past, the pictures reappears and the bullying starts again.
I think the book does a great job at showing how brutal revenge porn and bullying can be. Seeing all of this from the perspective of Anna makes it all the more horrible to read, especially since it’s obvious she is still really affected by what happened at her old school.
I also liked that the most important relationship in the story are the ones she has with other women, namely her mother and her two new friends Cat and Lish. She does have a love interest in Robin but that relationship is far less important. In a story about sexism, focusing on female friendship seems like the right choice.
And then, there is the whole Maggie thing. I understand why it’s there, the parallel between the witch hunt of the past and the witch hunt Anna is experiencing, very different and yet born out of the same mindset, different experiences and consequences but all about misogyny and punishing women for daring to not be the perfect women, for daring to have sex, to use their body in ways men don’t like, to speak up against the men who abuse them. Burned at the literal and metaphorical stake for their perceived wrongdoing while the men get away with abusing their power. That being said, I don’t think the way it was done was the best. The supernatural aspect didn’t feel at home with the story. Especially since she is doing tradition research about it anyway, I feel there was a way to do it that would have fit better with the story.
But overall, I liked it. I think it handles the subject really well. I would really recommend it.
I am not the target audience for this book but it had me in tears and so angry for the impact social media has on bullying in schools
My first two years at secondary school were horrible but if social media had existed it would have been so much worse.
How little has changed since the witch trials in the way women are policed and judged for every action and yet men (before anyone chimes in I know not all fu**ing men) do not seem to be held to the same standards.
My first two years at secondary school were horrible but if social media had existed it would have been so much worse.
How little has changed since the witch trials in the way women are policed and judged for every action and yet men (before anyone chimes in I know not all fu**ing men) do not seem to be held to the same standards.
This book was powerful - I just wish it was less messy. The supernatural aspect threw me, especially when Anna would become almost possessed (when she almost drowned). Also some stuff just needed to be elaborated on - why was Lish being in love with Cat casually mentioned once and never again? We didn’t get much background or closure on the situation with her dad either despite that being brought up again and again. Also, what happened to the kids at her old school who made the fb page?! A powerful message, just needed some tidying.
*I was provided with an ARC of this book by the publisher, in exchange for my honest opinion.
3.5 stars
I'm not entirely sure what I expected this book to be, but I was quite surprised with what I got. I think I just expected it to be more of a thriller, with more lyrical writing, based on the synopsis. And sadly it wasn't a thriller, nor did it have particularly noteworthy writing, sometimes the descriptions were extensive, but not in a beautiful way. These extensive descriptions also made the story drag a bit.
The story was mainly focused on Anna and her starting a new school/life in Scotland. Anna tries to be invisible at first, but things start to look up for a while, until her past catches up to her. What happened in her past was kept a mystery until much later on in the book and honestly, I thought that Anna had done something much worse, probably because I thought it was a thriller. The reveal was a bit disappointing to be honest, I think that the topic itself is an important one to shed light on, but it just didn't work that well for me here.
Nothing was sugar coated by the author and things got quite vicious and vulgar, when Anna's past came knocking. I was actually quite shocked at some of the things said, but I guess it's just realistic. Teenage life can be brutal and I think that this was captured well here for the most part, and this is why one of the later scenes, where there's a speech, was rather unrealistic. The speech in itself was very thought provoking though and was definitely a culmination of everything the author had been weaving throughout, the reactions to it were what was not very believable.
Although the story mainly followed Anna, there were parts where there were flashbacks to the past, as a result of Anna's history project. I did like these parts, the writing seemed stronger here and there was a real atmosphere created, that transported you to the time of witch-hunts. These sections did seem too long at times though and I think that they could have been even more effective if they'd been shorter.
In conclusion, I like the message that this novel offers, challenging how society views women, the double standards, the pressures that exist and how women can never truly satisfy everyone's expectations. I do think that these messages weren't filtered in that naturally at times though. It was a great idea to show the parallels between Anna and Maggie's situations, but the execution could of been a bit better. For example, I still don't really understand what was going on with the necklace and it was quite an important part of linking their lives. Despite my issues with The Burning, I would still recommend this as it has valuable subject matter, it just wasn't really what I was expecting.
3.5 stars
I'm not entirely sure what I expected this book to be, but I was quite surprised with what I got. I think I just expected it to be more of a thriller, with more lyrical writing, based on the synopsis. And sadly it wasn't a thriller, nor did it have particularly noteworthy writing, sometimes the descriptions were extensive, but not in a beautiful way. These extensive descriptions also made the story drag a bit.
The story was mainly focused on Anna and her starting a new school/life in Scotland. Anna tries to be invisible at first, but things start to look up for a while, until her past catches up to her. What happened in her past was kept a mystery until much later on in the book and honestly, I thought that Anna had done something much worse, probably because I thought it was a thriller. The reveal was a bit disappointing to be honest, I think that the topic itself is an important one to shed light on, but it just didn't work that well for me here.
Nothing was sugar coated by the author and things got quite vicious and vulgar, when Anna's past came knocking. I was actually quite shocked at some of the things said, but I guess it's just realistic. Teenage life can be brutal and I think that this was captured well here for the most part, and this is why one of the later scenes, where there's a speech, was rather unrealistic. The speech in itself was very thought provoking though and was definitely a culmination of everything the author had been weaving throughout, the reactions to it were what was not very believable.
Although the story mainly followed Anna, there were parts where there were flashbacks to the past, as a result of Anna's history project. I did like these parts, the writing seemed stronger here and there was a real atmosphere created, that transported you to the time of witch-hunts. These sections did seem too long at times though and I think that they could have been even more effective if they'd been shorter.
In conclusion, I like the message that this novel offers, challenging how society views women, the double standards, the pressures that exist and how women can never truly satisfy everyone's expectations. I do think that these messages weren't filtered in that naturally at times though. It was a great idea to show the parallels between Anna and Maggie's situations, but the execution could of been a bit better. For example, I still don't really understand what was going on with the necklace and it was quite an important part of linking their lives. Despite my issues with The Burning, I would still recommend this as it has valuable subject matter, it just wasn't really what I was expecting.
I’m not going to lie I had a lot of hope going into this book. I read her other book Men Who Hate Woman and this book was published along the same time. I thought it would follow along the same lessons. Which it does try to do. However this book was so bad plot wise I skimmed the end just to put myself out of my misery.
The first part of the book is good and easy to follow along with. I can see this happening. Then the main character starts to get visions from the witch trial era because of a necklace. Yeah no. That’s where the book took a dive. She could have had it set up where the Emily character stood with her and they work together. The teachers were awful including that damn picture incident. Overall the book had promise but the minute she starts to add time travel it just falls apart and takes over the story.
I’m giving this book 2 stars as I can see a younger kid reading it and absorbing the lessons of the book. However I simply can’t do it. It’s just too much cringe.
The first part of the book is good and easy to follow along with. I can see this happening. Then the main character starts to get visions from the witch trial era because of a necklace. Yeah no. That’s where the book took a dive. She could have had it set up where the Emily character stood with her and they work together. The teachers were awful including that damn picture incident. Overall the book had promise but the minute she starts to add time travel it just falls apart and takes over the story.
I’m giving this book 2 stars as I can see a younger kid reading it and absorbing the lessons of the book. However I simply can’t do it. It’s just too much cringe.
dark
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated