Enter Jensen Willard. At fifteen she’s already a gifted writer but also self-destructive and eerily reminiscent of Vera’s younger self. As the two outcasts forge a tentative bond, a sense of menace enfolds their small New England town. When another student, new to the country, is imperiled by her beliefs, Vera finds herself in the vortex of danger—and suspicion.
With the threat of a killer at large, the disappearance of her increasingly worrisome pupil, and her own professional reputation at stake, Vera must thread her way among what is right by the law, by her students, and by herself. In this poignant page-turner, populated with beguiling characters and sharp social insights, coming-of-age can happen no matter how old you are. (Summary and Pic from goodreads.com)
I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
My Review: So. I’ve been trying to decide what it is that I didn’t like about this book. It’s not the writing—the writing was fine. It’s easy to get into, easy to read, and moves along at a fairly quick pace. It wasn’t the way the book looked (and yes, this matters). It’s actually a really nice, well-made book that feels good in your hand and has a nice weight to it. So I think what it was the main character. I really, really didn’t like the main character.
The problem is, I think I was supposed to like the main character. At least I was supposed to
relate to her or understand where she was coming from or something? Or maybe
feel sorry for her? I don’t know. All I
could think of was how creepy she was, actually. One thing I do know for sure
is that I was supposed to think that the high school girl stalking down the
teacher was creepy. And yeah, she was. I mean, I could totally see her as one
of those troubled, manipulative girls that is obviously trying to find someone
to rope into her dysfunctional (and in this, case, lethal) ways, but I don’t
know. I guess I could buy that easily enough. Yeah, she was a bad girl. She should
have been in juvey and I’m surprised that she made it as far as she did in this
bookland because in the real world, she would have been with all of her other
sociopathic comrades. She totally had everyone hoodwinked (because her parents
were obviously stupid) but the teacher? Why, oh why was she so weak and
obviously ridiculous?
It’s hard not to give away what happens. Sure, this book
does have some action, but the apex can’t be revealed because then there’s
really nothing left if I do—but the teacher just totally
bugged me. She violated not only every ethical teacher protocol out there, but
left me with a bad taste in my mouth thinking she was just kind of a loser who
had made stupid decisions her whole life and this was just one of about a
bajillion. Give or take. I’m sure if one of my teacher friends read this they
would have been totally bugged by her and her ridiculous shenanigans. I sincerely hope my children never have a
teacher like this. I am going to be more vigilant about that from now on.
And I don’t know. Maybe I just really didn’t like being
in such a weak character’s head. Not that the writing of the character was
weak. No, that was strong. I guess that’s why I’m so bugged by her weakness. It made me uncomfortable to see how she
thought and acted, and I couldn’t help but think that either this was someone
that really wouldn’t exist or someone I really didn’t want to know. And maybe
this was the point? I’m not sure.
My Rating: 2
Stars. I hate weak characters I don’t like.
For the Sensitive
Reader: This book has some minor language and violence (though it is not really
graphic) and minor teenage sexual exploits. It is pretty standard for adult
fiction fare.
1 comment:
Sorry it was a disappointment. Sometimes it's difficult to feel empathy for a character who doesn't react the way you think they should. Good review.
Ann
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