linneahedvig's review
1.0
I was excited to read about girls from a small private school trying to integrate into public school. The blurb made reference to their familiarity with Gilbert and Sullivan. I thought it would be fun and whimsical, but it was just a typical teen romance with a side of gossip mystery. There was almost no reference to the difficulty of trying to fit in with your peer group when you're accustomed to a well-tailored curriculum made of nineteenth-century operettas and Latin.
bookishb1tch's review
4.0
Best book with a lesson at the end that I've read. Loved Mrs. Leacock and how everything worked out in the end for every character besides Theo who will always be the ugliest character because of his personality and the way he treats others. This book deserves more recognition, please read it.
chaotic_abi's review
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
lashaundaloves's review
2.0
Crushed was a very fast, easy read, but ultimately it fell flat and it didn't leave me feeling much of anything at all.
I felt the characters were one-dimensional and uninteresting, which is automatically a negative in a contemporary where the main requisite is that I need to care about these characters. The main character, Audrey, was very unlikeable and I couldn't quite feel any sympathy for her regarding the situation with her father or the woes in her relationship with Wickham. And Wickham? He is clearly supposed to be one of those "swoony" characters, but he screamed "slimmy" from his first introduction. Like Audrey, I felt no sympathy for him or his mother. (Speaking of his mother, what's with all the women in this book being defined by and/or obsessed with the men in their lives?) I'm completely at a loss for Theo's purpose except to present a very clear and present antagonist. The only reason I could connect on a tiny level emotionally with Clyde is because I recently experienced losing a parent slowly, but without that first-hand experience, it probably wouldn't have resonated either.
The fact that is most disheartening is that I felt this book had a lot of potential, but somehow, it glosses over all the issues and rushes itself.
I felt the characters were one-dimensional and uninteresting, which is automatically a negative in a contemporary where the main requisite is that I need to care about these characters. The main character, Audrey, was very unlikeable and I couldn't quite feel any sympathy for her regarding the situation with her father or the woes in her relationship with Wickham. And Wickham? He is clearly supposed to be one of those "swoony" characters, but he screamed "slimmy" from his first introduction. Like Audrey, I felt no sympathy for him or his mother. (Speaking of his mother, what's with all the women in this book being defined by and/or obsessed with the men in their lives?) I'm completely at a loss for Theo's purpose except to present a very clear and present antagonist. The only reason I could connect on a tiny level emotionally with Clyde is because I recently experienced losing a parent slowly, but without that first-hand experience, it probably wouldn't have resonated either.
The fact that is most disheartening is that I felt this book had a lot of potential, but somehow, it glosses over all the issues and rushes itself.
debbiewakefield10's review
4.0
I thought i would give this book five stars until I reached the end. I found myself really absorbed in the beginning and middle but at the end I was angry. I wanted to see her save herself and not wait for a boy to save her. The book starts out with Audrey falling in love way too quickly with a new boy named Wickham. Then once his secrets come out, things change. I'd recommend this book for those looking for an easy read and a page turner. It was entertaining but wasn't earth shattering.
wanderlustmyfriend's review
3.0
It was SO GOOD up until around the middle/the end of the middle...then it gets unbelievable and it falls apart. Lame ending.
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