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bookishcaro 's review for:
Unteachable
by Elliot Wake
I see the lights every night. It seems like the whole world has figured out how to be happy, but no one's letting me in on the secret."
Maise has no known father. Her mother is absent emotionally and lacks the most basic skills as a parent, using the sale of crack and prostitution to support herself and her daughter. Maise has essentially raised herself and this has made her cynical and wise beyond her years. She yearns to be free of the cards life has dealt her, while simultaneously searching for something to fill the emptiness in her heart. She finds that person in Evan Wilke- a man with damage equal to hers who is as enthralled by her as she is by him. There's only one problem: he's her teacher.
""It was the messiness and hurt in our pasts that drove us, and that same hurt connected us at a subdermal level, the kind of scars written so deeply in your cells that you can't even see them anymore, only recognize them in someone else.""
I barely have the words to describe how much I enjoyed this book. It's so much more than a cliche romance between teacher and student. It's a coming-of-age story revolving around two hurt souls who seek solace in each other, fueled by the lust and rage and sweetness found in life. Their relationship was painful, and through every trial I felt myself hurting with them. Maise was in many ways like an injured animal who refused to let anyone see her wounds, angry and passionate but still crawling off by herself at night to try and find some comfort in her world. The age difference between her and Evan wasn't so misplaced- they seemed more like two souls beyond age, floating in between new and old and falling somewhere midway, rather than the corporeal reality.
"Everything was flame shades of tangerine and pomegranate, ripeness on the brink of decay, and when the wind rippled the leaves looked like a mosaic of fire, like the walls of Cathedral Basilica."
The writing of this novel stunned me- written poetically, full of almost ethereal in descriptions. It combined both the dirt and innocence within the main characters and I soaked up every word. The book instantly throws you into a near magical world and doesn't let you go. Maise's sarcasm and wit, combined with the powerful electricity between her and Evan made for an unforgettable read.
Maise has no known father. Her mother is absent emotionally and lacks the most basic skills as a parent, using the sale of crack and prostitution to support herself and her daughter. Maise has essentially raised herself and this has made her cynical and wise beyond her years. She yearns to be free of the cards life has dealt her, while simultaneously searching for something to fill the emptiness in her heart. She finds that person in Evan Wilke- a man with damage equal to hers who is as enthralled by her as she is by him. There's only one problem: he's her teacher.
""It was the messiness and hurt in our pasts that drove us, and that same hurt connected us at a subdermal level, the kind of scars written so deeply in your cells that you can't even see them anymore, only recognize them in someone else.""
I barely have the words to describe how much I enjoyed this book. It's so much more than a cliche romance between teacher and student. It's a coming-of-age story revolving around two hurt souls who seek solace in each other, fueled by the lust and rage and sweetness found in life. Their relationship was painful, and through every trial I felt myself hurting with them. Maise was in many ways like an injured animal who refused to let anyone see her wounds, angry and passionate but still crawling off by herself at night to try and find some comfort in her world. The age difference between her and Evan wasn't so misplaced- they seemed more like two souls beyond age, floating in between new and old and falling somewhere midway, rather than the corporeal reality.
"Everything was flame shades of tangerine and pomegranate, ripeness on the brink of decay, and when the wind rippled the leaves looked like a mosaic of fire, like the walls of Cathedral Basilica."
The writing of this novel stunned me- written poetically, full of almost ethereal in descriptions. It combined both the dirt and innocence within the main characters and I soaked up every word. The book instantly throws you into a near magical world and doesn't let you go. Maise's sarcasm and wit, combined with the powerful electricity between her and Evan made for an unforgettable read.