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Tease
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If you gulped through reading or streaming 13 Reasons Why, Tease is the book for you.
Provocative, unforgettable, and inspired by real-life incidents, Amanda Maciel's highly acclaimed debut novel Tease is the story of a teenage girl who faces criminal charges for bullying after a classmate commits suicide. With its powerful narrative, unconventional point of view, and strong anti-bullying theme, this coming-of-age story offers smart, insightful, and nuanced views on high school society, toxic friendships, and family relationships.
Emma Putnam is dead, and it's all Sara Wharton's fault. At least, that's what everyone seems to think. Sara, along with her best friend and three other classmates, has been criminally charged for the bullying and harassment that led to Emma's shocking suicide. Now Sara is the one who's ostracized, already guilty according to her peers, the community, and the media. In the summer before her senior year, in between meetings with lawyers and a court-recommended therapist, Sara is forced to reflect on the events that brought her to this moment—and ultimately consider her own role in an undeniable tragedy.
And she'll have to find a way to move forward, even when it feels like her own life is over.
Azioni libro
Inizia a leggereInformazioni sul libro
Tease
Descrizione
If you gulped through reading or streaming 13 Reasons Why, Tease is the book for you.
Provocative, unforgettable, and inspired by real-life incidents, Amanda Maciel's highly acclaimed debut novel Tease is the story of a teenage girl who faces criminal charges for bullying after a classmate commits suicide. With its powerful narrative, unconventional point of view, and strong anti-bullying theme, this coming-of-age story offers smart, insightful, and nuanced views on high school society, toxic friendships, and family relationships.
Emma Putnam is dead, and it's all Sara Wharton's fault. At least, that's what everyone seems to think. Sara, along with her best friend and three other classmates, has been criminally charged for the bullying and harassment that led to Emma's shocking suicide. Now Sara is the one who's ostracized, already guilty according to her peers, the community, and the media. In the summer before her senior year, in between meetings with lawyers and a court-recommended therapist, Sara is forced to reflect on the events that brought her to this moment—and ultimately consider her own role in an undeniable tragedy.
And she'll have to find a way to move forward, even when it feels like her own life is over.
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Recensioni
This is a very topical book dealing with bullying in a school setting. The plot flows from the point of view of one of the bullies, Sara. Emma, a new girl that just moved into the school district is the object of the taunting. She reaches her limit and eventually commits suicide. The plot is told in a series of flashbacks that lead up to her suicide but also is in present time dealing with the lead up to and eventual verdict in the trial. This book will reinforce the anti bullying message that is so prominent in schools today. Geared for a teen audience.
Rating: 4An idea that has a whole lot of potential but could have used a bit more editing. The message is important but perhaps a mix of views could have helped this main character.
Rating: 2The author did a marvelous job of showing us two sides of the issue and leading us to identify with Sara - not the ringleader of the bullying circle but someone just as guilty. Amanda Maciel showed us how easy it is to get caught up with friends and not realize the effect of actions.
Rating: 4This is one of those books that will enter your heart and never leave. It takes you to a point of view that you never see, the bully. Sara and her friends bully the new girl Emma for being a slut up until Emma kills herself, and then they all face criminal charges after her death.Amanda Maciel has some serious guts to write from the point of view of the bully. It takes some incredible writing for you to actually see the other side of things, when typically all we feel for bullies is hatred. That's not to say you will love the main character Sara all the time, actually most of the time I hated her. I don't think I can say I've ever hated a main character in the story, but Sara and her friends are downright cruel to Emma. What makes this book so amazing is that you might hate the main character, yet love the book. This story broke my heart in so many ways, first and foremost is that it was inspired by a true story. High school is a difficult time for everyone and I don't think most people think about the detrimental effects that bullying can have on a person. But I do know that we don't think about why someone is being bullied, or what the bully is going through themselves. Tease puts you in the shoes that most of us never thought we'd walk in.
Rating: 4Brutally honest and thought-provoking, teens should read this.I liked the want that Tease was so brutally and unashamed to be honest. It took advantage of modern bullying techniques, such as Facebook and it shows what can happen if bullying isn’t stopped. Girls (and boys) can be horribly cruel.Sara, the main character, wasn’t for me. Yes, she was kind of necessary for the story, so it’s a little bit unfair to say this but she was nasty at the core. She took jealously way to far and I hated the way that she took no responsibility and showed no remorse for the majority of the book.I also disliked the way that she was so clingy and kept running to the even more nasty Brielle. Eurgh. She seriously needs to get a better friend.But then of course there was lovely ol’ Carmichael to soften the edges. I would read a book with him in it any day. He was smart and he looked past what Sara had taken part in doing. I also liked the way that he made no effort to join in with any of the terrible business the other students were. He was so cute.Tease sucked me in straight away. I was deciding whether to read this book or another book and there ended up being no competition. Guess which book won? I finished it without meaning to. It’s not one of those books where the Kindle can be distracting as you watch the progress bar…slowly…raise. Instead I got a little shock every time I looked to see where I was at. A GOOD feeling.Another thing I really liked was the font on the cover and used as chapter headings. Pretty and totally right for this book and it’s story. The title was also perfect. I like the cover edition I’ve got, with the girl on it, best.I really do think teenagers should read this. In all honesty, I had no idea what to rate this book. But yes, I think that they should read it because it may provide insight into how bullying effects others around you and how stupid you look to other people (I thought Sara was acting ridiculously on a number of occasions). 4/5 cometsMeteor shower. A great show.
Rating: 4"My knees are still pale after this long, long summer spent inside, talking about my feelings, talking about a girl I barely knew who didn't want to live. Didn't want to live in the world that had me in it. And I'm still here, in this crappy world. Fighting her ghost."
The story started when Sara, Brielle, and other guys were sued because Emma Putnam killed herself. It's because of the grounds that they somehow affected her to came up with a decision like that. But what really happened that made Emma give up her own life? What was really the roles that these teens played?
/ /Everybody in the story is not entirely blameless. I think everyone did their fair share of mistakes and wrong decisions. You know what really happened to them? LIFE happened.
I did not really know how to write a review of this one. To make this review more comprehensible, I'll talk about the things that I didn't like first.
**THERE'S A LOT OF SLUT-SHAMING. Do not read this book of you can't stand that and see past it because I'm totally sure that you would hate the book. There's so much hate in every page.
**I didn't like Brielle. Yeah maybe she helped Sara stood up for her own, made her brave in her own way but honestly, she was never a good friend. So is Sara. She shouldn't have let Brielle influenced her like that. People should really know that when a person is bad for you, he/she will not carry or cheer you up. Instead, when they fall, they will bring you down with them.
**There's a lot of pathetic-ness happening. Like trying to win a cheating boyfriend back. Like coming up with new ways to shame someone. Like feeling powerful while you bullied other people. Like being not, even a little bit, sorry about the things the you, even though not intentionally, did wrong.
**It also feels wrong that I didn't get to see Emma's side of the story. I would really like to know what she felt and what she was thinking in those moments.
Things I liked about this book:
**I liked Sara's relationship with her siblings. She took great care of them and I actually felt sorry for her for acting as a co-parent with her mother.
**I liked Carmichael. I realized that I'm reading his name on my mind like "Carmi-Michael". Lol. I liked how he, at some point, was able to make Sara feel that she's not alone in what she's going through.
**I liked how this book talked about this topic. Bullying is such a great issue right now. It made me more aware actually.
---
I was also bullied in high school but not up to this extent. This was so extreme compared to my experience. But certainly, that doesn't mean I don't know how being bullied feels like. It made you lose your confidence in yourself. You start doubting everything you do, always thinking that you're not doing any good. And the worst effect of bullying there is? It makes you a bully, too.
Everybody is a victim of this cruel society and it's standards. EVERYBODY. No one is exempted. But everybody could also choose not to make others feel like shit. Not everybody is strong. We don't know what people are going through, if they are in pain or in a great amount of sadness. We just have to assume that people always, always need your care. We all want to feel loved, feel like we belong somewhere.
This was actually the first book (or not, I don't know) I've read about committing suicide and dealing with the consequences after. At the middle of the book, I actually decided to give this book only 1 star because everything is so bad. There's just so much hate. But at the end, I figured out that I will totally recommend this book to anyone.
Final Rating: 4/5 stars
*ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange of a honest review.
Rating: 4The story started when Sara, Brielle, and other guys were sued because Emma Putnam killed herself. It's because of the grounds that they somehow affected her to came up with a decision like that. But what really happened that made Emma give up her own life? What was really the roles that these teens played?
/ /Everybody in the story is not entirely blameless. I think everyone did their fair share of mistakes and wrong decisions. You know what really happened to them? LIFE happened.
I did not really know how to write a review of this one. To make this review more comprehensible, I'll talk about the things that I didn't like first.
**THERE'S A LOT OF SLUT-SHAMING. Do not read this book of you can't stand that and see past it because I'm totally sure that you would hate the book. There's so much hate in every page.
**I didn't like Brielle. Yeah maybe she helped Sara stood up for her own, made her brave in her own way but honestly, she was never a good friend. So is Sara. She shouldn't have let Brielle influenced her like that. People should really know that when a person is bad for you, he/she will not carry or cheer you up. Instead, when they fall, they will bring you down with them.
**There's a lot of pathetic-ness happening. Like trying to win a cheating boyfriend back. Like coming up with new ways to shame someone. Like feeling powerful while you bullied other people. Like being not, even a little bit, sorry about the things the you, even though not intentionally, did wrong.
**It also feels wrong that I didn't get to see Emma's side of the story. I would really like to know what she felt and what she was thinking in those moments.
Things I liked about this book:
**I liked Sara's relationship with her siblings. She took great care of them and I actually felt sorry for her for acting as a co-parent with her mother.
**I liked Carmichael. I realized that I'm reading his name on my mind like "Carmi-Michael". Lol. I liked how he, at some point, was able to make Sara feel that she's not alone in what she's going through.
**I liked how this book talked about this topic. Bullying is such a great issue right now. It made me more aware actually.
---
I was also bullied in high school but not up to this extent. This was so extreme compared to my experience. But certainly, that doesn't mean I don't know how being bullied feels like. It made you lose your confidence in yourself. You start doubting everything you do, always thinking that you're not doing any good. And the worst effect of bullying there is? It makes you a bully, too.
Everybody is a victim of this cruel society and it's standards. EVERYBODY. No one is exempted. But everybody could also choose not to make others feel like shit. Not everybody is strong. We don't know what people are going through, if they are in pain or in a great amount of sadness. We just have to assume that people always, always need your care. We all want to feel loved, feel like we belong somewhere.
This was actually the first book (or not, I don't know) I've read about committing suicide and dealing with the consequences after. At the middle of the book, I actually decided to give this book only 1 star because everything is so bad. There's just so much hate. But at the end, I figured out that I will totally recommend this book to anyone.
Final Rating: 4/5 stars
*ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange of a honest review.
Review courtesy of Dark Faerie TalesQuick & Dirty: Tease is a heartbreaking novel that explores friendship, regret, and forgiveness through a teenager’s point of view. This book is perfect for any fans of The Perks of Being a Wallflower!Opening Sentence: “Did you ever have a physical confrontation with Miss Putnam?”The Review:Sara doesn’t really regret what happened that year- when a depressed teenager took an extension cord and hung herself because of harsh words from her classmates. Sara and her friends have been accused with criminal charges, but in Sara’s eyes it wasn’t her fault. After all, Brielle, her best friend, made up all the scenes that allegedly led to Emma’s suicide: Sara simply followed them through. Emma was selfish to leave such a mess for everyone over just a few jokes, and she deserved all the rumors, after stealing Sara’s boyfriend. But as this novel continues, Sara must learn to accept and appreciate Emma’s struggle and to forgive herself and others.The chapters switch between the times before and during the incident and after, when Sara is dealing with the lawyers and the stares. I really enjoyed this. It gave me a chance to not only understand what had happened, but why and how. Sara’s feelings were vividly described in a way that all teenagers could understand. Honestly, her whole point of view was comfortable and I could relate to the way she talked and thought. Plus, I got to see how she changed in mentality as the story progressed.I not only loved the main characters, but also the secondary ones as well. They all had distinct personalities. Brielle was very sharp and rude, Carmichael was insightful, and Dylan was kind and slightly naive. Ah, Carmichael. I absolutely adored his character, so strange and outcast, and yet so lovable and understanding. He was Sara’s love interest and I only wish I had got more time to spend with him.I still don’t know whether I liked Emma or not. After all, Sara’s early perspective had given her a somewhat less appealing version of Emma than the one you grow to know. The first Emma, the boyfriend stealer, sort of spoiled the kind, insecure Emma that killed herself. Because of that, I have mixed feelings about this character, though by the end I was leaning towards liking her.Definitely check out this book if you liked The Perks of Being a Wallflower (and honestly, who didn’t?). You won’t regret it. It is also about a troubled teenager, and there are also other similarities that you can’t overlook — try it out! I don’t know about you but I really love the cover, even though it isn’t that fancy. It’s so simple and yet conveys a lot of meaning: it has the “we didn’t mean to hurt anyone” that is bolded, the red girlish “Tease”, and other details. And the content is just as amazing as I believe the cover to be! This is truly a masterpiece that requires your immediate attention… buy it as soon as it is released!Notable Scene: But Emma’s the one who got the last word. She’ll always be that face, that pretty school photo in the newspaper. And we’ll always be the monsters who pushed her over the edge.I can talk to Teresa or Natalie or my mom – well, I can try- but no one really gets it, no one hears me. No one understands how, when Emma went over the edge, she pulled all of us down with her.FTC Advisory: Balzar + Bray/Harper Collins provided me with a copy of Tease. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.
Rating: 4There are very few likeable characters in this book. Which isn’t all that surprising. TEASE by Amanda Maciel is from the point of view of a bully — a girl who doesn’t realize and can’t come to admit that she not only is a bully, but that she contributed to the harassment that lead to the suicide of a classmate. Somehow, despite the lack of sympathetic characters, though, TEASE is a compelling read. Like, a can’t-put-this-book-down read. The writing is that good.Skipping back and forth in time between the events leading to the suicide of Emma Putnam and the protagonist, Sara’s, trial following Emma’s death, TEASE is the story of two mean girls who push “teasing” to a whole new level after Sara suspects that Emma is out to steal her hot senior boyfriend Dylan. Encouraged by her bestie, Brielle, Sara gets a serious hate-on for Emma, accusing her of everything from stealing boyfriends to spreading STDs, sending mean gifts, and turning friends and would-be boyfriends against her.The thing is, Sara might be a mean girl, but underneath her shell of social superiority, she’s insecure, leaning on her friendship with popular Brielle and cool Dylan. She is terrified of losing either of them, and taking down Emma becomes a mission for her and a game for her bully of a BFF. Sara constantly claims at her therapy sessions that Emma was no angel– and this is true. But she also doesn’t note that Brielle isn’t exactly a nice girl and Dylan is the typical crappy boyfriend from every teen movie ever.Sara is going to have to find her voice, and her own truth. Which is hard to do when every news outlet in America is focusing on the suicide of sweet Emma Putnam and the group of mean teens who may as well have murdered her. Perhaps, with the help of the supposed “bomb threat guy” in her summer school classes — sexy and mysterious Carmichael — she can figure a few things out. And perhaps even find some forgiveness. But it’s hard to shed her old self, especially when everyone around her has already decided who she is.An important book, TEASE is timely, terrifying, and all too true. I hope readers will find their own truths and their own voices in this book. And I hope they find it as scarily compelling as I did, even if it’s hard to like the characters. Because, really, there’s more than meets the eye with everyone. That’s kind of the whole point. Bravo to Amanda Maciel for tackling this tough topic without sugar coating a single thing.
Rating: 4I thought about writing an 'what happens' section of the review but didn't think it was needed, everything you need to know is pretty much stated in the summary. This book could have been really good, instead I found my self frustrated with the main characters.Sara swears blind she didn't do anything, and will openly admit that Emma is selfish for now wrecking her life. Through out the whole book, until the end, she doesn't seem sorry at all and doesn't think that the way she treated Emma while she was alive constituted her killing herself, that having not done it her self, its down right ridiculous that she's being held accountable for her actions. Her and her best friend, Brielle were relentlessly horrible to Emma for no reason other than she was friends with Sara's boyfriend. Through out we are lead to believe that Emma gave as good as she got, and that she wasn't really as innocent as everyone was making out. Apart from having one too many boyfriends and an incident at a party, no where do you read about Emma fighting back, in fact on more than one occasion you see a scared and lonely girl who just wants to make it through the day.Sara was not only a self centred character but a completely selfish one too. Not thinking about the effect she had on Emma and had complete disregard for her family's feelings and those of Emma's after the accident. For me, she was not a likeable character at all.My biggest issue with this book was the lack of remorse Sara had for her actions, it wasn't until the end where she seems at all sorry and owned up to being a bully. I think I would have liked this book a lot better if she at least knew that what she did was wrong, instead of just thinking of herself. Every action was in some way just to get her boyfriend away or in the end him to notice her. I really wanted to like this book, like honestly. But I've read so many books about bullying and the character are in no way as selfish as Sara. Also I personally would have loved to see something from Emma's point of view. I know it was a book about how Sara was dealing with but it wouldn't have hurt to have a few flash backs from her side of the story.It just wasn't the book I was hoping for and for that I was disappointed
Rating: 3After months of harassment, 16 year old Emma goes into her parent’s garage and, with a thick extension cord, hangs herself. But Tease is not about Emma; - Tease is the story of Sara.Written in the first person narrative of Sara, one of the girls charged with the bullying and cyber stalking that contributed to Emma’s death, the story is presented in chapters that alternate between the present and the two months leading up to the suicide of a high school girl.High school life often revolves around ‘he said/ she said’ and, much like the old game of ‘telephone’, snippets of knowledge and conversations get passed down the line, rarely accurate and often distorted . A hotbed of low self-esteem, raging hormones, confusion and angst, rumors run rampant and people get categorized and pigeon holed. For many, high school is not remembered fondly. Author Amanda Maciel illustrates this world shaped by people trying to figure who they are and where they fit very, very well.Over all I thought this story was very good. It is definitely thought provoking. It’s is a book that needed to be written and for the most part was written well. The subject is important and I appreciate the author writing from the point of view of the bully and trying to write in the voice of a sixteen year old girl. I think she captured the major aspects of this age exceedingly well: Maciel manages to convey the convoluted perceptions of a sixteen year old girl dealing with home and school; her insecurities, priorities and struggles in a way that shows understanding and I definitely think it should be utilized in YA book clubs and schools to generate discussion on both the subject of bullying as well as the perceptions and actions of it characters. I did find a couple of things troubling. I didn’t like Sara at all – and that’s okay I don’t have to - I think the author illustrated her confusion, her conflicting emotions and her heart ache and the fact that her actions were predicated on them very well. I don’t think, however, she meant for Sara to come across as quite so dumb and wanted us to feel she was somehow redeemable in the end- I didn’t. There have been many times when people have blithely gone along with everything their mean friend did while knowing it was wrong, who mistook a boys need for sex as a relationship even as it left them feeling empty inside. We’ve all misread situations, have had very limited insight into our own and other’s motivations, said and done things we’ve regretted and on that level Sara is sympathetic However, throughout the book Sara presents inconsistently – and I don’t mean in the way people are inconsistent or teenagers vacillate between maturity and childishness- its more the way some of things she says are incongruent with others – I’m not sure if I can articulate it, but I actually looked back through the pages to see if there was any mention of Sara having a blow average IQ. There was no such reference so I have to assume Sara is meant to be seen as a ‘normal’ if sheep like character and in that regard I feel the character was a bit short changed.Another place I had a problem with was the incongruence of Sara realizing the things they were doing were wrong as they were doing them, her steadfast refusal to admit it later and all of a sudden feeling remorseful in the end. I didn’t see the transition from a jealous girl bent on revenge to a thoughtful penitent.Sara knew what she was doing- the author makes it clear that she does; she may have gotten caught up in the drama, but she knew: “Brielle and I are on a mission to make Emma’s life a living hell” (165). “Suddenly I’m scared again – terrified really of getting into serious trouble. Technically Elmwood has this big anti- bullying policy” (118). And many of Sara’s thought strengthen her limited views and skewed thinking: “Dylan is going to think it was me, or at least that I knew about it. And Brielle might think it funny but maybe it not anymore. Maybe it’s just making everything worse”(251). Her steadfastly averring “I just don’t see why I’m apologizing!” I blurt. “I’m not the one who ruined everything, Emma did that and she did it all by herself” (211) does well to support her irresponsibility and egocentricity. “But how do you apologize for this? I know what I did was bad, some of it was really bad. But how am I supposed to fix anything now?’’ shows she still thinks it’s all about her. And that, too would be fine, if the author intended a character study, but I see nowhere to explain how she became remorseful.Where is the realization that her actions had horrifying consequences and taking responsibility for them? There was no ‘aha moment’ but I also didn’t see any slow dawning of realization either. This wouldn’t matter if it were not presented as having happened - but it was. I couldn’t find the transition from knowing it was wrong but justifying it to realizing that justification doesn’t alleviate responsibility and writing the supposedly heartfelt apologies written at the end. I needed more than a short conversation with a new friend and seeing tears in the eyes of the victim’s parents to make me believe she was at all sorry for what she’d done. If Sara were portrayed being a little brighter and gaining a little more insight if we saw her starting to feel badly for what he had one prior to the last page of the book I would have given it five stars.
Rating: 4Sara Wharton is a bully. She and her friends are at the top social tier of the school with football players and they tormented Emma Putnam every single day. They called her names, set up fake social media accounts, and stalked her, among other numerous things. The abuse escalated until Emma committed suicide. Now Sara and four of her classmates are being charged criminally for the bullying and harassment that led to Emma's death. The public has already judged them and treat them similar to how they treated Emma. They are ostracized, called names, and seen as the lowest of the low. Sara maintains that she has done nothing wrong because she didn't commit murder and remains unconvinced that Emma didn't deserve to be treated that way. Sara has plenty of time to reflect on the time between meeting with her lawyers, her therapist, and going to summer school. Not only does she have to come to terms with her actions, but she also has to figure out how to move forward with her life.Cases like Emma's are unfortunately not uncommon. I can remember numerous cases where young people were tormented by bullies and decided to take their lives. It's easy to empathize and sympathize with the victims of these bullies, but it's hard for me to feel anything but anger and disgust for unrepentant bullies. A recent case comes to mind where two girls aged 12 and 14 stalked and bullied a girl who then committed suicide. Their response was IDGAF (I don't give a fuck). I had no idea how someone could be so callous and cruel or what kind of thought process goes into that. Now I have some idea. Sara is not an easy narrator to relate to or even like. Much of her narrative made me enraged because of how clueless she was to what her actions caused. She maintains that she did nothing wrong and justifies her incredibly hurtful actions by saying everyone else does it and Emma deserved it. Throughout most of the book, she shows no remorse and only laments how her life is ruined. However, no bully is completely evil and they don't deserve to in turn be bullied. We should be trying to work to educate people so things like this don't happen instead of justifying and perpetuating bullying behavior. In an article about the girls I mentioned earlier, the comments section is full of people calling them names and saying they deserve to die or be incarcerated for life. How is this any different than what those girls did?The themes in the novel are relevant to teens today. Peer pressure is a major reason why so many people bullied Emma and the situation got so out of hand. Teens want to appear cool and do what they popular kids are doing. Sara had a toxic relationship with her best friend Brielle queen bee of the school, who put down everyone including her friends. She manipulated those around her and masterminded a lot of the abuse. Sara went along with it for a while and then went to extremes with it because of Brielle's support. Their relationship skewed what is right and wrong because they acted like an echo chamber where dissent is grounds for social suicide. Another strong theme is sexuality and how its perceived by others. If girls are sexual in any way, including simply initiating conversations with boys, they are labeled sluts. If they withhold sex, they are labeled prudes and teases. Boys are rarely looked down upon for their sexuality, even if they cheat on their girlfriends or have multiple partners. The girl they cheated with (in this case Emma) bears all the consequences of an action that takes two people. Society's skewed view of female sexuality hurts these girls: Emma is a slut for "sleeping around" (which may not even be true) and this label is the main reason why she is so tormented by her classmates; Sara has sex with her boyfriend not because she wants to, but because it's what's expected of her or her boyfriend will go elsewhere if she doesn't; and Brielle blames herself for being raped and dismisses her own negative feelings about it. These issues still affect women in adulthood and it's a major societal problem that needs to be addressed.Tease is an important novel because it touches on a lot of issues teens have to face and makes us see another side of bullying. No one in the story is perfect. Even Emma makes mistakes and says hurtful things, but she doesn't deserve to be stalked and humiliated at every turn. Neither does Sara, even though much of what she did was horrible. This is the best book I've seen about bullying. I only have one complaint. I would like to have seen Emma's perspective. I don't think Sara ever really understood her or thought to see the situation from her perspective.
Rating: 3The subject matter of this book is a very serious one. One that most teens are facing today. One that I am glad that I don't have to face myself. I was teased some myself back in 2nd grade but nothing like the kids are doing now to each other. I only went to school until the 2nd grade. I was then home schooled with my sister until I finished high school. However when I read the sad stories of kids killing themselves or even getting plastic surgery to change their apperances, it makes me sad. However what did not make me as sad was Emma's death. Don't get me wrong ad it is sad. It is just that I did not really feel like I got to know Emma that well, so her death did not impact me as much as I had hoped. Also, the other kids were just plain mean and I did not feel any remore for what they were expericing in regards to the after effects of Emma's death. In fact, I did not care for the ending. This book would have been better if the characters had more personalities versus being stuck up bullies and then trying to gain symphony.
Rating: 3The main character rarely showed any growth. It became almost impossible to finish this novel.
Rating: 1
A view into the world of mean girls, and some understanding of why they act that way. teens should read this, but so should adults, to remind themselves and maybe know how to help.
Rating: 4Unique book about the other side of bullying. Sara and her best friend Brielle started teasing Emma because the new girl thought she could date all the senior boys. When Emma makes her way through the girls’ boyfriends, Sara and Brielle turn vicious. When Emma kills herself, the girls don’t feel sorry - after all, THEY didn’t kill Emma. Told through flashbacks as Sara is prepped for trial, the book explores why girls bully each other and makes you think about what should be the consequence. Really want to read more from Maciel.
Rating: 4I had high hopes for this book, but it didn't deliver. From the start, I hated Sara, the protagonist. She is a bully and never seems to realise how her actions played a pivotal role in Emma's death, nor does she show any real remorse. Instead she whines about how people are now treating her and sees herself as the victim. I found Sara totally obnoxious and I lost interest about halfway through.
Rating: 1everyone should read this
Rating: 5