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gabbyreads 's review for:
Unteachable
by Elliot Wake
So I just finished my reread of this book, and while I still loved some of this book, I disliked some of it unfortunately. I first read this book five years ago, and I think my reading tastes have changed a little since I last read this. This book has absolutely gorgeous writing, as you can see from some quotes below from the first time I read it. It has some of my favorite book quotes of all time, but unfortunately I didn't really connect with the characters as much this time around. I love the fact that these two charters are obsessed with movies and that he is her film teacher and she's going to school for film. But other than that I thought Maise was kind of a bratty, obnoxious teenager most of the time. And I feel like this couple just gets together right away and then it's just sex scene after sex scene with no real plot happening. Of course there's the looming threat and forbidden aspect of the student/teacher romance, but besides that there's not much else happening. It makes me sad that I didn't enjoy this as much the second time because this was a five-star all time favorite book of mine when I first read it, and now I think this book is okay. I think the main reason why I loved it so much the first time I read it is because of the writing and the movie obsessed characters, but now that I went into it already knowing that and expecting it to be great I found the characters and story to be kind of boring.
ORIGINAL REVIEW:
"We have no age. We exist outside of time. We're timeless."
Oh my gosh aslkjalksda. This book was amazing. This is the 2nd student/teacher relationship novel I've ever read and I am so impressed. Maise is extremely likeable and surprisingly mature, strong headed, smart, funny and witty and I loved reading from her point of view. There's something really genuine about the way she handles things. I knew I would love this story from this quote in the very first chapter:
"I'm not going to do the whole roller coaster/falling in love metaphor. I didn't fall in love with him up there. Maybe I fell in love with the idea of love, but I'm a teenage girl. This morning I fell in love with raspberry jam and a puppy in a tiny raincoat. I'm not exactly Earth's top authority on the subject. But when we crested the first peak and the world sprawled beneath us like a tangled-up string of Christmas lights and then we plunged toward it at lightspeed, the guy and I reached for each other's hands spontaneously and simultaneously. And I felt something I've never felt before. You can call it love, or you can call it freefall. They're pretty much the same thing."
This book is written so lyrically and beautifully, I fell in love with it immediately. I like the fact that she met Evan at a carnival before the school year started so it didn't seem completely forbidden. I enjoyed their relationship so much and I really think they're adorable together. The age difference didn't phase me one bit. I also like that their relationship seemed realistic and that they were extremely careful (for the most part). I liked Wesley and thought he made a perfect best friend character to Maise. I liked reading about the scenes between Maise and her awful druggie mother, and I couldn't believe the shit her Mom put her through. Maise was forced to be the parent with her Mother, which is really sad, but it also made her character really deep and mature for her age, which is probably the reason why Evan liked her so much. I love how Evan would say things like "I can't hold on to you. You're like that shooting star. Just a trail of fire in my hands." I also love the fact that he is her film teacher, and it's ironic cause I'm actually taking a film studies class at my college right now so it couldn't have been better timing for me to read it. I understood every single movie reference thanks to that class. Maise also mentions Donnie Darko and I got so excited because that's one of my favorite movies of all time!
"It seems like the whole world has figured out how to be happy, but no one's letting me in on the secret."
Hiyam was the perfect "mean girl" that I loved to hate. The ending of this book was hard to predict and I was genuinely surprised several times throughout the last few chapters. Not only is this book funny, but it's also sexy, and charming, and intense, and dramatic, which are all qualities that I love in books. I also like how she wrote some scenes using "fast forward" and then she'd describe what happened that day very briefly, then she'd say "press play" and it would start her scenes with Evan again. Then she would say "faster" and it would briefly describe the last few weeks in motel rooms with him, then it would "press play" again. I just thought that was a cute and creative style of writing.
"That's all life is. Breathing in, breathing out. The space between two breaths.."
I could go on and on with quotes that I highlighted as I was reading. I loved the writing style so much. I love that it was written in past tense, like for example when she said "and we lived happily ever after... until the next morning." It's all written as if she is telling you this story years after it took place which I really loved. Also, Evan's character was just really adorable and sweet and caring, and also very sexy all at the same time. He's the ideal male love interest and even though he has a dark past of his own, he doesn't let it affect him in the present, which I really admire. I especially love when Evan says:
"For a long time before I met you, I felt my life was this kind of test. I was in deep,cold water, swimming for shore, and my arms were getting tired, my skin numb. On the shore was everything I thought I wanted: a better job, a house, a family. But I could barely keep my head above water. Eventually I stopped seeing the shore, Only cold dark blue, in all directions. I know it's cliche, but when I met you, my eyes opened. I looked around, and realized that I could stand up whenever I wanted. There was firm ground underneath my feet. That shore in the distance was an illusion. I was already somewhere beautiful."
The ending might seem cheesy to other people but I thought it was absolutely perfect.I love the way it ending like a movie. It's so creative and unique and I fucking love it. It says: "The camera zooms in on the shine of an eye, the tremulous quiver of a lip. He's smiling but his eyes are wet. She's crying but her heart is infinitely light. Background noise recedes. Music fades in, swelling. Spontaneously and simultaneously, they reach for each other's hands." I'm a lover of movies and I personally think this was the best possible way to end this story. I absolutely adore this ending. I really, really loved this one. Way more than I was expecting to. I'm adding it to my all time favorites. I will read anything this author writes.
ORIGINAL REVIEW:
"We have no age. We exist outside of time. We're timeless."
Oh my gosh aslkjalksda. This book was amazing. This is the 2nd student/teacher relationship novel I've ever read and I am so impressed. Maise is extremely likeable and surprisingly mature, strong headed, smart, funny and witty and I loved reading from her point of view. There's something really genuine about the way she handles things. I knew I would love this story from this quote in the very first chapter:
"I'm not going to do the whole roller coaster/falling in love metaphor. I didn't fall in love with him up there. Maybe I fell in love with the idea of love, but I'm a teenage girl. This morning I fell in love with raspberry jam and a puppy in a tiny raincoat. I'm not exactly Earth's top authority on the subject. But when we crested the first peak and the world sprawled beneath us like a tangled-up string of Christmas lights and then we plunged toward it at lightspeed, the guy and I reached for each other's hands spontaneously and simultaneously. And I felt something I've never felt before. You can call it love, or you can call it freefall. They're pretty much the same thing."
This book is written so lyrically and beautifully, I fell in love with it immediately. I like the fact that she met Evan at a carnival before the school year started so it didn't seem completely forbidden. I enjoyed their relationship so much and I really think they're adorable together. The age difference didn't phase me one bit. I also like that their relationship seemed realistic and that they were extremely careful (for the most part). I liked Wesley and thought he made a perfect best friend character to Maise. I liked reading about the scenes between Maise and her awful druggie mother, and I couldn't believe the shit her Mom put her through. Maise was forced to be the parent with her Mother, which is really sad, but it also made her character really deep and mature for her age, which is probably the reason why Evan liked her so much. I love how Evan would say things like "I can't hold on to you. You're like that shooting star. Just a trail of fire in my hands." I also love the fact that he is her film teacher, and it's ironic cause I'm actually taking a film studies class at my college right now so it couldn't have been better timing for me to read it. I understood every single movie reference thanks to that class. Maise also mentions Donnie Darko and I got so excited because that's one of my favorite movies of all time!
"It seems like the whole world has figured out how to be happy, but no one's letting me in on the secret."
Hiyam was the perfect "mean girl" that I loved to hate. The ending of this book was hard to predict and I was genuinely surprised several times throughout the last few chapters. Not only is this book funny, but it's also sexy, and charming, and intense, and dramatic, which are all qualities that I love in books. I also like how she wrote some scenes using "fast forward" and then she'd describe what happened that day very briefly, then she'd say "press play" and it would start her scenes with Evan again. Then she would say "faster" and it would briefly describe the last few weeks in motel rooms with him, then it would "press play" again. I just thought that was a cute and creative style of writing.
"That's all life is. Breathing in, breathing out. The space between two breaths.."
I could go on and on with quotes that I highlighted as I was reading. I loved the writing style so much. I love that it was written in past tense, like for example when she said "and we lived happily ever after... until the next morning." It's all written as if she is telling you this story years after it took place which I really loved. Also, Evan's character was just really adorable and sweet and caring, and also very sexy all at the same time. He's the ideal male love interest and even though he has a dark past of his own, he doesn't let it affect him in the present, which I really admire. I especially love when Evan says:
"For a long time before I met you, I felt my life was this kind of test. I was in deep,cold water, swimming for shore, and my arms were getting tired, my skin numb. On the shore was everything I thought I wanted: a better job, a house, a family. But I could barely keep my head above water. Eventually I stopped seeing the shore, Only cold dark blue, in all directions. I know it's cliche, but when I met you, my eyes opened. I looked around, and realized that I could stand up whenever I wanted. There was firm ground underneath my feet. That shore in the distance was an illusion. I was already somewhere beautiful."
The ending might seem cheesy to other people but I thought it was absolutely perfect.