There are good things, and bad things, about this book.The main good thing: it kept me entertained. There is nothing I enjoy more than a book that I can't put down. That in itself is enough for me to say that I liked this book.
However, it kept me entertained for all the wrong reasons. It started out well enough: a girl, at the top of the food chain, falls to the bottom when rumors fly about what happened one night with her best friend's boyfriend. Sadly, I've read about this before in at least one different location: Just Listen by Sarah Dessen.
Then comes the loner with a bad reputation, who becomes this girl's friend (more or less.) Once again, Just Listen anyone? And all of her ex-best friends are torturing her.
Things would have been okay if it would have been left at the rumors and cattiness. That's what teenage girls do. However, it was taken one step further. This girl was pushed down flights of stairs. All of her books were thrown into a pool. She was blackmailed. She was locked in a closet. There was a hate page posted about her. And there was even some rancid meat thrown into her locker when things got really bad.
And then, the grand ending: she was ditched on the side of the road miles away from the school, right after taking a beating from one of her abusers.
This does not sound like high school to me. For one thing, wouldn't there be teachers around? Is there nobody patrolling the halls like in my high school? It seems kind of far-fetched to me that the girls could abuse her so badly and never get caught.
It also doesn't seem that realistic that any girls from any high school would be willing to go to such lengths to make one person miserable. It happens, I know, but to quite this extent? I'm not sure.
This book held great potential. I absolutely adored Courtney Summers' first novel, Cracked Up to Be. However, this one fell short of expectations. It was... eh, okay. I'd bet there are tons of girls who enjoyed it more than I did. But it definitely didn't strike a chord with me.
Sorry you didn't quite enjoy this one. :( I really loved it.
ReplyDeleteI can really understand why it's a book that someone would love... and I tried sooo hard. It just wasn't for me.
ReplyDeleteJane
I have Cracked Up To Be but still need to read it. I do want to read this one. It seems crazy to read about some of these things at times b/c it's so different from school too...but it does happen on certain levels. I've heard a lot about girls beating up other girls and filming it to put on youtube and whatnot. And girls do bully online a LOT more these days. So maybe it just seems crazy for it to be sooo intense in the book, but I suppose it does happen. Crazy, huh?
ReplyDeleteNice review, thanks for sharing your thoughts.
-Lauren
Thanks for the honest review. Sounds a bit...dramatic. I'm planning on checking this one out before I decide whether or not to buy it (yay for libaries!)
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting take on this book. Before you brought it up, I never would've thought about the Just Listen connections. But I can see them now.
ReplyDeleteI personally loved the book. Yes, I will agree that I thought it was a letdown after the amazing Cracked Up To Be, but I still enjoyed this one a lot.
Thanks for an honest review, and I look forward to seeing more. :)