sharifox06 's review for:

Trust Exercise by Susan Choi

3.0

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I struggled with the decision of 3 stars versus 4 for Trust Exercise. The writing is brilliant, and I always respect that. The premise and setting are interesting, and depth of character is also terrific. But I felt that the book relied too much on the extremes of the story line and that, in many ways, the characters weren’t that believable. (Of course, I have no experience in a performing arts high school, so I may well be the naive one here.). Also, some of her technique — particularly the continual move from first person to third in the second part of the book, while skillfully drawn, seemed forced and unnecessary and was ultimately distracting. I’m truly glad I read this book as it has kept me thinking about both the story and the writing, and that in and of itself is likely worth at least half a star.