Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

Tampa by Alissa Nutting

1 review

evdark's review against another edition

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challenging dark fast-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

3.5

The writing was gripping, and the reason the book was written was important, but the author absolutely failed to deliver the message she set out to achieve. It is based on a true story of a teacher that had sex with her 14-year-old pupil in 2005. Nutting wants to make a point that young men are never seen as victims of sexual assault, and it is too easy to forgive the woman in the situation. Which is exactly how I felt after reading the book. Having just read Lolita, the standard might be set a little high. Psychologically, I can tell this author wanted to be provocative and maybe even erotic but did not truly understand the mindset she was trying to convey in the female pedophile and ended up taking a very male stance to this. Stalking. Obsession with semen. Souvenirs and pornography. It didn't feel authentic to a female pedaphile and this author was just winging it. It was well-written but poorly crafted, and it made me feel icky after reading it even though I have no problem with any of the graphic sex, I had a problem with almost everything else. It did the worst thing a book can do. It wasted my time. The ending was downright awful.

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