joliendelandsheer's review against another edition
1.0
Review on my blog The Fictional Reader
Listen, I don’t like writing negative reviews on books that haven’t been released yet/review copies. It always makes me feel guilty. But I just couldn’t not write a review for this book. I don’t give 1 star to books often. In fact, I almost never do it. But this book made me so angry I had to stop reading every 2 to 5 pages. It actually managed to give me heartburn, because the anger was riling up my weak stomach.
I want to preface this review by saying I am clearly an outlier on this book. That’s why I was left wondering whether I had read the same book as everyone else had. The early reviews on this are as following: 37 ratings. 12 of those are 5-star ratings and 16 of them 4-star ratings. Clearly, the majority of early readers really enjoyed this book. I hated it. Let’s talk about my reasons as to why.
THE PLOT
This book revolves around three students, one of which leaked nude photos of their law teacher. It’s split up into several parts: the ‘today’ when the photos were leaked on Twitter, and then a few other timelines each spanning a week which all take place before said point (like ‘three weeks before’, ‘two weeks before’, etc.).
You’re trying to find out who leaked the photos, as well as how the three students actually got their hands on naked pictures of their teacher. First of all, can I just say EW??
I was hoping this was going to be an empowering read on privacy, how women are mistreated and the double standard of nudes. And I can’t lie, there were a lot of parts in this book where the author highlighted how messed up the double standard is, and where the characters really called people out on their bullshit. It was going to be the ONE saving grace of this book. Until the ending came. I won’t spoil it for you, but I will say that the ending completely erased the one positive message this book had -at least, in my opinion.
I was so happy to see some things being called out! One of the three students, Jenna, had her own nudes leaked on Twitter as well. This is a conversation she has with the school director (or counselor, I can’t remember):
Jenna really calls him out on his bullshit, and I was so happy to read this. The stereotype of the ‘golden’ and ‘good boy’ makes me sick every single time. That’s how they escape all the consequences, while the victims are the only ones who are left punished.
Yet all the positive messages regarding victim blaming, double standards, and more were completely ruined by the ending of this book. It still makes me angry.
THE CHARACTERS
This. This is what made me so angry I wanted to gouge my own eyeballs out with a spoon. I hate EVERY SINGLE PERSON in this book, aside from Jenna’s mom and little brother who aren’t even that present. Let’s look at them one by one.
Mouse
Mouse, you make me want to punch you in the nuts. Mouse is the ‘nerd’ of the group, the stereotypical smart and unpopular guy. The quiet and shy one with big dreams of going to MIT. He also has feelings for Jenna, who has been his friend for years. And guess what, he is friendzoned. Surprise, surprise.
He constantly complains that Jenna doesn’t see him, and that she should be with a nice guy like him instead of the jocks like Troy and Drew. Barf. First of all, just because you are nice to a woman doesn’t mean that she owes you anything at all. It’s called basic human decency. Second of all, you are NOT a nice guy, Mouse. In fact, you are so far removed from nice that you might as well be another shitstain on the floor. Don’t even get me started on the way he kissed her without her consent at a party, after which she pushed him away, and he tried again because if he only tried again she would see that they were perfect for each other. Great, sexual assault. Wonderful.
The things he does to Jenna… I can’t even comprehend. And how after all that he still thinks he is a nice guy??? Are you delusional, mate???
And once again, I will say that an abusive home does not excuse your horrid behavior. Yes, his situation is horrible. But that doesn’t excuse your actions at all!
I can’t talk about him anymore, because I will pop a blood vessel if I keep going.
Drew
Another person I want to strangle, for multiple reasons. Another shitstain on the surface of humanity. Let me tell you why.
First, he thinks it’s a game to collect as many nudes from girls from his high school as possible. It makes him feel accomplished. So he has nudes of more than 30 girls from his high school (probably underage, even though I think he is underage as well). THAT IS SO DISGUSTING, I CAN’T EVEN DEAL. And he doesn’t even learn anything throughout this book. He’s like, “Oh, it’s awful for Jenna that her nudes got leaked. I’ll delete hers from my phone, but I’ll keep the others’ because I just like to know they’re there.” What the actual flying fuck.
Then his little sister talks to him about it. About how other girls have told her that her brother is someone they have to be careful of, that he asks for inappropriate pictures. His little sister asks him about it. Then he says that she should be careful of men because they don’t have good intentions. That men don’t respect girls who send pictures like that. That he never asked for them. Are you fucking serious??? Yes, you did! You manipulated those girls until they sent you a picture, and now you’re blaming them?
Drew also plays on the basketball team of the school. At some point, Troy (the captain, I think) doesn’t pass to him but to another guy because Drew had been missing shots the past few weeks. Afterwards in the locker room, he confronts Troy and tells him that he needs Troy to believe in him, and he says the following:
What. The. Fuck.
And of course, Drew also comes from a rich family. At some point, he comes to Jenna’s place of work to talk to her. He then says that ‘it must be nice to have a job and all that responsibility’ and that he wishes he could experience it too. Are you shitting me? She doesn’t work there because she loves it. She works there because some people actually need the money!
Jenna
Marginally less of a shitstain than the other two, but still a shitstain. Listen, I liked the way she called people out on their bullshit. The way she didn’t let anyone walk over her, or treat her in this horrible manner because of her leaked photos. But guess what? She is still a bad person! As is pretty much everyone else in this book.
I just… I can’t deal anymore.
Miss Bailey
Miss Bailey is the teacher whose nudes were leaked through Twitter. In general, I just felt bad for her. I also think she’s not a good teacher, and that she treated people terribly. Still, that doesn’t mean she deserves to have something so private put out there.
I just can’t deal with this book. I don’t understand how this book’s average rating on Goodreads is so high. Did I read the same book as everyone else did? Anyway, go check out their reviews on Goodreads if you want to see a different perspective on this book! For some fun, read my Goodreads updates while reading. There are far more of them than usual because I just needed to vent while reading.
Listen, I don’t like writing negative reviews on books that haven’t been released yet/review copies. It always makes me feel guilty. But I just couldn’t not write a review for this book. I don’t give 1 star to books often. In fact, I almost never do it. But this book made me so angry I had to stop reading every 2 to 5 pages. It actually managed to give me heartburn, because the anger was riling up my weak stomach.
I want to preface this review by saying I am clearly an outlier on this book. That’s why I was left wondering whether I had read the same book as everyone else had. The early reviews on this are as following: 37 ratings. 12 of those are 5-star ratings and 16 of them 4-star ratings. Clearly, the majority of early readers really enjoyed this book. I hated it. Let’s talk about my reasons as to why.
THE PLOT
This book revolves around three students, one of which leaked nude photos of their law teacher. It’s split up into several parts: the ‘today’ when the photos were leaked on Twitter, and then a few other timelines each spanning a week which all take place before said point (like ‘three weeks before’, ‘two weeks before’, etc.).
You’re trying to find out who leaked the photos, as well as how the three students actually got their hands on naked pictures of their teacher. First of all, can I just say EW??
I was hoping this was going to be an empowering read on privacy, how women are mistreated and the double standard of nudes. And I can’t lie, there were a lot of parts in this book where the author highlighted how messed up the double standard is, and where the characters really called people out on their bullshit. It was going to be the ONE saving grace of this book. Until the ending came. I won’t spoil it for you, but I will say that the ending completely erased the one positive message this book had -at least, in my opinion.
I was so happy to see some things being called out! One of the three students, Jenna, had her own nudes leaked on Twitter as well. This is a conversation she has with the school director (or counselor, I can’t remember):
“No. You chose to ignore the evidence because without Troy and his friends, our basketball team would never have made it to championships.”
“You’re simplifying what happened. You have to understand that those were very serious allegations that could have ruined a boy’s life and destroyed a very promising career before it even got started.”
Jenna really calls him out on his bullshit, and I was so happy to read this. The stereotype of the ‘golden’ and ‘good boy’ makes me sick every single time. That’s how they escape all the consequences, while the victims are the only ones who are left punished.
Yet all the positive messages regarding victim blaming, double standards, and more were completely ruined by the ending of this book. It still makes me angry.
THE CHARACTERS
This. This is what made me so angry I wanted to gouge my own eyeballs out with a spoon. I hate EVERY SINGLE PERSON in this book, aside from Jenna’s mom and little brother who aren’t even that present. Let’s look at them one by one.
Mouse
Mouse, you make me want to punch you in the nuts. Mouse is the ‘nerd’ of the group, the stereotypical smart and unpopular guy. The quiet and shy one with big dreams of going to MIT. He also has feelings for Jenna, who has been his friend for years. And guess what, he is friendzoned. Surprise, surprise.
He constantly complains that Jenna doesn’t see him, and that she should be with a nice guy like him instead of the jocks like Troy and Drew. Barf. First of all, just because you are nice to a woman doesn’t mean that she owes you anything at all. It’s called basic human decency. Second of all, you are NOT a nice guy, Mouse. In fact, you are so far removed from nice that you might as well be another shitstain on the floor. Don’t even get me started on the way he kissed her without her consent at a party, after which she pushed him away, and he tried again because if he only tried again she would see that they were perfect for each other. Great, sexual assault. Wonderful.
The things he does to Jenna… I can’t even comprehend. And how after all that he still thinks he is a nice guy??? Are you delusional, mate???
And once again, I will say that an abusive home does not excuse your horrid behavior. Yes, his situation is horrible. But that doesn’t excuse your actions at all!
I can’t talk about him anymore, because I will pop a blood vessel if I keep going.
Drew
Another person I want to strangle, for multiple reasons. Another shitstain on the surface of humanity. Let me tell you why.
First, he thinks it’s a game to collect as many nudes from girls from his high school as possible. It makes him feel accomplished. So he has nudes of more than 30 girls from his high school (probably underage, even though I think he is underage as well). THAT IS SO DISGUSTING, I CAN’T EVEN DEAL. And he doesn’t even learn anything throughout this book. He’s like, “Oh, it’s awful for Jenna that her nudes got leaked. I’ll delete hers from my phone, but I’ll keep the others’ because I just like to know they’re there.” What the actual flying fuck.
Then his little sister talks to him about it. About how other girls have told her that her brother is someone they have to be careful of, that he asks for inappropriate pictures. His little sister asks him about it. Then he says that she should be careful of men because they don’t have good intentions. That men don’t respect girls who send pictures like that. That he never asked for them. Are you fucking serious??? Yes, you did! You manipulated those girls until they sent you a picture, and now you’re blaming them?
Drew also plays on the basketball team of the school. At some point, Troy (the captain, I think) doesn’t pass to him but to another guy because Drew had been missing shots the past few weeks. Afterwards in the locker room, he confronts Troy and tells him that he needs Troy to believe in him, and he says the following:
“Do you have any idea how hard it is to be the only white guy on the team, constantly battling for respect?”
What. The. Fuck.
And of course, Drew also comes from a rich family. At some point, he comes to Jenna’s place of work to talk to her. He then says that ‘it must be nice to have a job and all that responsibility’ and that he wishes he could experience it too. Are you shitting me? She doesn’t work there because she loves it. She works there because some people actually need the money!
“You’ve never had a job, have you?”
He shakes his head, looking sheepish. “Nah. My parents want me to focus on school and sports.”
“Must be nice,” I mutter.
“Not really,” he says, clueless. “I’d love to have a job like this.”
Jenna
Marginally less of a shitstain than the other two, but still a shitstain. Listen, I liked the way she called people out on their bullshit. The way she didn’t let anyone walk over her, or treat her in this horrible manner because of her leaked photos. But guess what? She is still a bad person! As is pretty much everyone else in this book.
I just… I can’t deal anymore.
Miss Bailey
Miss Bailey is the teacher whose nudes were leaked through Twitter. In general, I just felt bad for her. I also think she’s not a good teacher, and that she treated people terribly. Still, that doesn’t mean she deserves to have something so private put out there.
I just can’t deal with this book. I don’t understand how this book’s average rating on Goodreads is so high. Did I read the same book as everyone else did? Anyway, go check out their reviews on Goodreads if you want to see a different perspective on this book! For some fun, read my Goodreads updates while reading. There are far more of them than usual because I just needed to vent while reading.
ramblingsreads02's review against another edition
3.0
Major, major spoilers for a great ya thriller!
I've read a fair amount of ya in my time, and I know the tropes. I know that, if these characters were real, most of the couples would be broken up two years after the book ends, not even remembering the crazy story that I spent an afternoon reading about. I have made my peace with this.
But I know for a fact that Jenna and Troy will be together for the rest of time. Troy really said "set fire to my car baby girl, you do what you have to do" and I love that for them. L'chaim you crazy kids!
I've read a fair amount of ya in my time, and I know the tropes. I know that, if these characters were real, most of the couples would be broken up two years after the book ends, not even remembering the crazy story that I spent an afternoon reading about. I have made my peace with this.
But I know for a fact that Jenna and Troy will be together for the rest of time. Troy really said "set fire to my car baby girl, you do what you have to do" and I love that for them. L'chaim you crazy kids!
phi_cai's review against another edition
1.0
Unintentionally good (and by good, I mean not zero stars) - it’s a pretty poorly written YA novel full of one dimensional stereotypes, however it makes for a brilliant satire if you don’t take it seriously. Spoiler alert but the ending is so predictable that it doesn’t even matter! If you really try to think of it in this way, the book makes an ingenious social commentary, a Black Mirror-esque dark comedy satire drama, about drug usage and peer pressure more than anything. Mouse was pressured into doing it, which lead to a snowball effect that ended with him ruining his future. I felt really bad for him, the character that’s supposed to be the second LEAST sympathetic one, and no one else so at least the book made me feel *something*.
melindagallagher's review against another edition
4.0
A good mystery that sheds light on sexting, gossip, internet security, and what kids will do to fit in or reach their goals. Lots to discuss in this book, including privacy issues, revenge, and online bullying.
sngick's review against another edition
4.0
Great audiobook... kept me guessing every chapter. Well written and timely.
pagesplotsandpints's review against another edition
2.0
Initial Impressions 6/2/20: EASY PREY is a complicated book and there are a lot of good talking points in here, but I didn't love some of its messages. The story deals with three teens who end up involved in a scandal of nude photos leaked on the internet from a teacher but the way things unfolded... I just hated a lot of it.
Part of the story is that Jenna, the lead female, had similar photos leaked of her the year prior and was scolded instead of defended. She had a lot of really great things to say about people sticking up for women, especially women for women since her advisors and teachers at school were pretty much the worst, and I really liked that she was trying to eradicate the double standard that exists in the world. There were a lot of ways, though, that I didn't like how she went about it, especially in the end because that was some total BS and counterproductive. There was a little twist in the end, but I kind of hated it instead what I thought it was going to be.
The characters were pretty blah. I think Jenna was the most well-rounded out of the three MCs but they were all kind of stereotypical. Jenna definitely had more depth and she was probably the best-written character in the book (along with Jenna's mom because she was awesome). Mouse and Drew were dubbed the nerdy genius and the jock with a troubled family life and parents they didn't get along with due to grades/athletics/appearances. Blah blah. Give them more depth than just their stereotypes!
The book overall was interesting but in some terrible ways. There's also a thing going around where the guys are keeping track of nude photos from the girls in their class and a game to see who can get the most, and guess what -- both MCs have their hand in this. Gross. They try to act blameless and they're obviously not, and they both think they're good or at least not that bad. The more you find out about them, the worse it gets and I wish this book had been from Jenna's POV only because we didn't need to spend time in these boys' heads and doing so only made me hate them more.
There are a lot of things wrong in this book, and it's not just the book -- it's things that are wrong with double standards, abuse, and technically child pornography considering Jenna was a minor when her photos were leaked. EASY PREY brought light to some of these tough issues and did make some good statements and had the characters bring to light some of the more terrible parts of these things that do happen on a daily basis. What turned me off in the end was how ALL of the characters handled things, including Jenna because she went against everything she preached in this book. My feelings are conflicted, but overall I'm basing it on the lingering feelings which were set by how everything came to a close. There was a good twist but I just can't get over the hypocrisy.
Part of the story is that Jenna, the lead female, had similar photos leaked of her the year prior and was scolded instead of defended. She had a lot of really great things to say about people sticking up for women, especially women for women since her advisors and teachers at school were pretty much the worst, and I really liked that she was trying to eradicate the double standard that exists in the world. There were a lot of ways, though, that I didn't like how she went about it, especially in the end because that was some total BS and counterproductive. There was a little twist in the end, but I kind of hated it instead what I thought it was going to be.
The characters were pretty blah. I think Jenna was the most well-rounded out of the three MCs but they were all kind of stereotypical. Jenna definitely had more depth and she was probably the best-written character in the book (along with Jenna's mom because she was awesome). Mouse and Drew were dubbed the nerdy genius and the jock with a troubled family life and parents they didn't get along with due to grades/athletics/appearances. Blah blah. Give them more depth than just their stereotypes!
The book overall was interesting but in some terrible ways. There's also a thing going around where the guys are keeping track of nude photos from the girls in their class and a game to see who can get the most, and guess what -- both MCs have their hand in this. Gross. They try to act blameless and they're obviously not, and they both think they're good or at least not that bad. The more you find out about them, the worse it gets and I wish this book had been from Jenna's POV only because we didn't need to spend time in these boys' heads and doing so only made me hate them more.
There are a lot of things wrong in this book, and it's not just the book -- it's things that are wrong with double standards, abuse, and technically child pornography considering Jenna was a minor when her photos were leaked. EASY PREY brought light to some of these tough issues and did make some good statements and had the characters bring to light some of the more terrible parts of these things that do happen on a daily basis. What turned me off in the end was how ALL of the characters handled things, including Jenna because she went against everything she preached in this book. My feelings are conflicted, but overall I'm basing it on the lingering feelings which were set by how everything came to a close. There was a good twist but I just can't get over the hypocrisy.
pagesplotsandpints's review
2.0
Initial Impressions 6/2/20: EASY PREY is a complicated book and there are a lot of good talking points in here, but I didn't love some of its messages. The story deals with three teens who end up involved in a scandal of nude photos leaked on the internet from a teacher but the way things unfolded... I just hated a lot of it.
Part of the story is that Jenna, the lead female, had similar photos leaked of her the year prior and was scolded instead of defended. She had a lot of really great things to say about people sticking up for women, especially women for women since her advisors and teachers at school were pretty much the worst, and I really liked that she was trying to eradicate the double standard that exists in the world. There were a lot of ways, though, that I didn't like how she went about it, especially in the end because that was some total BS and counterproductive. There was a little twist in the end, but I kind of hated it instead what I thought it was going to be.
The characters were pretty blah. I think Jenna was the most well-rounded out of the three MCs but they were all kind of stereotypical. Jenna definitely had more depth and she was probably the best-written character in the book (along with Jenna's mom because she was awesome). Mouse and Drew were dubbed the nerdy genius and the jock with a troubled family life and parents they didn't get along with due to grades/athletics/appearances. Blah blah. Give them more depth than just their stereotypes!
The book overall was interesting but in some terrible ways. There's also a thing going around where the guys are keeping track of nude photos from the girls in their class and a game to see who can get the most, and guess what -- both MCs have their hand in this. Gross. They try to act blameless and they're obviously not, and they both think they're good or at least not that bad. The more you find out about them, the worse it gets and I wish this book had been from Jenna's POV only because we didn't need to spend time in these boys' heads and doing so only made me hate them more.
There are a lot of things wrong in this book, and it's not just the book -- it's things that are wrong with double standards, abuse, and technically child pornography considering Jenna was a minor when her photos were leaked. EASY PREY brought light to some of these tough issues and did make some good statements and had the characters bring to light some of the more terrible parts of these things that do happen on a daily basis. What turned me off in the end was how ALL of the characters handled things, including Jenna because she went against everything she preached in this book. My feelings are conflicted, but overall I'm basing it on the lingering feelings which were set by how everything came to a close. There was a good twist but I just can't get over the hypocrisy.
Part of the story is that Jenna, the lead female, had similar photos leaked of her the year prior and was scolded instead of defended. She had a lot of really great things to say about people sticking up for women, especially women for women since her advisors and teachers at school were pretty much the worst, and I really liked that she was trying to eradicate the double standard that exists in the world. There were a lot of ways, though, that I didn't like how she went about it, especially in the end because that was some total BS and counterproductive. There was a little twist in the end, but I kind of hated it instead what I thought it was going to be.
The characters were pretty blah. I think Jenna was the most well-rounded out of the three MCs but they were all kind of stereotypical. Jenna definitely had more depth and she was probably the best-written character in the book (along with Jenna's mom because she was awesome). Mouse and Drew were dubbed the nerdy genius and the jock with a troubled family life and parents they didn't get along with due to grades/athletics/appearances. Blah blah. Give them more depth than just their stereotypes!
The book overall was interesting but in some terrible ways. There's also a thing going around where the guys are keeping track of nude photos from the girls in their class and a game to see who can get the most, and guess what -- both MCs have their hand in this. Gross. They try to act blameless and they're obviously not, and they both think they're good or at least not that bad. The more you find out about them, the worse it gets and I wish this book had been from Jenna's POV only because we didn't need to spend time in these boys' heads and doing so only made me hate them more.
There are a lot of things wrong in this book, and it's not just the book -- it's things that are wrong with double standards, abuse, and technically child pornography considering Jenna was a minor when her photos were leaked. EASY PREY brought light to some of these tough issues and did make some good statements and had the characters bring to light some of the more terrible parts of these things that do happen on a daily basis. What turned me off in the end was how ALL of the characters handled things, including Jenna because she went against everything she preached in this book. My feelings are conflicted, but overall I'm basing it on the lingering feelings which were set by how everything came to a close. There was a good twist but I just can't get over the hypocrisy.
jenniefallis's review
3.0
SPOILERS
I really enjoyed listening to this book. BUT SO MANY THOUGHTS. First of all: the characters felt very true to high school so good job. Too many YA books pander to 20-30 y/os - all the references were a decade out of date and the social media use was hilarious (TikTok, Snapchat, Reddit and Instagram not just Twitter), a simple conversation with a teen would have corrected this issue. Also a basic computer science person would know to use a VPN to change IP addresses constantly, so that is a flaw, but I digress.
Mouse’s character was the worst one of all. His clear lack of ethics when it came to technology was appalling. His actions reflected real world tech giants who typically have little regard for the dissemination of crude photos on their platforms. If he had not been stopped in high school I can only imagine his antics continuing with the excuse that he was just wanting to appease others. He represents many “nice guys” with the “friend zone” sob story. His dad may have been hard on him or abusive, but that is never an excuse for his actions. Nor is getting drunk or high. I have no sympathy for Mouse for drinking to excess: he is responsible for posting the photos and assaulting Jenna at a party. I am surprised he did not confess and apologize.
Drew is garbage.
As a woman in her early 30s, Miss Bailey was awfully out of touch with every other woman in the book, it seemed unrealistic. I understand for the plot things had to happen, but adding some connection with another girl or woman earlier in the book would have made this story feel more full.
In my opinion this book glorified girl on girl bashing. I was surprised by Jenna’s motivations at the end - posting the teacher’s photos on Twitter. Miss Bailey was wrong in asking Jenna to speak about trauma in front of her class mates, especially when they inflicted it, but even so I cannot imagine Jenna putting her through the same trauma. Yet she made her decisions and I felt despite her being a victim, she should have been held responsible.
At the end of the day Drew and Mouse got their comeuppance. However, I cannot help feeling that the book promoted a “boys will be boys” attitude, and a “girls will be girls” attitude which felt even more degrading. All the girls were so mean to each other, wore makeup and uncomfortable shoes, AND were described as conventionally attractive so it was okay they were treated overtly sexually. I wish there had been one healthy male female friendship that did not involve any sexual elements. And positive arena of support for Jenna - a proper therapy session or a friend who stuck by her.
I think this book should be read and thoroughly discussed to bring up both the good elements and problematic themes throughout.
I really enjoyed listening to this book. BUT SO MANY THOUGHTS. First of all: the characters felt very true to high school so good job. Too many YA books pander to 20-30 y/os - all the references were a decade out of date and the social media use was hilarious (TikTok, Snapchat, Reddit and Instagram not just Twitter), a simple conversation with a teen would have corrected this issue. Also a basic computer science person would know to use a VPN to change IP addresses constantly, so that is a flaw, but I digress.
Mouse’s character was the worst one of all. His clear lack of ethics when it came to technology was appalling. His actions reflected real world tech giants who typically have little regard for the dissemination of crude photos on their platforms. If he had not been stopped in high school I can only imagine his antics continuing with the excuse that he was just wanting to appease others. He represents many “nice guys” with the “friend zone” sob story. His dad may have been hard on him or abusive, but that is never an excuse for his actions. Nor is getting drunk or high. I have no sympathy for Mouse for drinking to excess: he is responsible for posting the photos and assaulting Jenna at a party. I am surprised he did not confess and apologize.
Drew is garbage.
As a woman in her early 30s, Miss Bailey was awfully out of touch with every other woman in the book, it seemed unrealistic. I understand for the plot things had to happen, but adding some connection with another girl or woman earlier in the book would have made this story feel more full.
In my opinion this book glorified girl on girl bashing. I was surprised by Jenna’s motivations at the end - posting the teacher’s photos on Twitter. Miss Bailey was wrong in asking Jenna to speak about trauma in front of her class mates, especially when they inflicted it, but even so I cannot imagine Jenna putting her through the same trauma. Yet she made her decisions and I felt despite her being a victim, she should have been held responsible.
At the end of the day Drew and Mouse got their comeuppance. However, I cannot help feeling that the book promoted a “boys will be boys” attitude, and a “girls will be girls” attitude which felt even more degrading. All the girls were so mean to each other, wore makeup and uncomfortable shoes, AND were described as conventionally attractive so it was okay they were treated overtly sexually. I wish there had been one healthy male female friendship that did not involve any sexual elements. And positive arena of support for Jenna - a proper therapy session or a friend who stuck by her.
I think this book should be read and thoroughly discussed to bring up both the good elements and problematic themes throughout.
kayelletea's review against another edition
3.0
Would have been a 2 stars but I liked the ending. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯