peyton_'s review
3.0
This books deals with very dark topics, which is important and these topics need to be discussed. I did find that there wasn’t a good balance with lightness, so I felt really uncomfortable the entire time I was reading this book. The end seemed to come to a resolution really quickly and I felt that Katie’s switch was sudden and unrealistic. I did feel that the romance was realistic because teens survive on hormones and always think every relationship is the one and will last forever. I also got sick of the constant comparison between the play and the story. I’m glad it’s a short book because I still feel icky.
e_d_ivey's review
1.0
As a rebelling of The Taming of the Shrew, Toten and Walters ask readers to consider the disturbing and abusive reality at the base of a well-loved story. For that, it gains respectability. For just about everything else, it gains a cringe.
Readability: 2 stars. Books that switch POV already set themselves up for suspicion because that ploy often marks a lazy writer, one who would rather reveal character through each persona rather than face the difficulty of doing it through one voice. While this book maneuvered fairly well through this trap, it failed to mark whether Katie or Evan spoke. It wasn't until several chapters in that I noticed a change in don't between the two voices. Before that, I had to figure what other characters were mentioned to get some context. Poorly played. Not only that, but also the voices themselves suggest that neither author tried to empathize with the thought process of a teenager. Admittedly, I'm 20 and a couple years off the mark of the intended audience, but even when I was 16, I would have easily marked the immaturity lacing Katie's voice. With tags like "I joked" cluttering dialogue, the writing feels shallow, missing the complexity that this subject matter and audience deserve.
Characters: 3 stars. I give them that many not because of the main characters, but because of some of the supporting ones. Katie's mom's boyfriend, Joey, provided a much needed redeem-ability factor. Evan's mom, too, was refreshingly kind. However, many of the other characters, including the two stars, had an extremity of behavior without an adequate explanation.
Story: 4 stars. The plot line itself has interesting aspects, especially as a cautionary tale, which I appreciated.
Readability: 2 stars. Books that switch POV already set themselves up for suspicion because that ploy often marks a lazy writer, one who would rather reveal character through each persona rather than face the difficulty of doing it through one voice. While this book maneuvered fairly well through this trap, it failed to mark whether Katie or Evan spoke. It wasn't until several chapters in that I noticed a change in don't between the two voices. Before that, I had to figure what other characters were mentioned to get some context. Poorly played. Not only that, but also the voices themselves suggest that neither author tried to empathize with the thought process of a teenager. Admittedly, I'm 20 and a couple years off the mark of the intended audience, but even when I was 16, I would have easily marked the immaturity lacing Katie's voice. With tags like "I joked" cluttering dialogue, the writing feels shallow, missing the complexity that this subject matter and audience deserve.
Characters: 3 stars. I give them that many not because of the main characters, but because of some of the supporting ones. Katie's mom's boyfriend, Joey, provided a much needed redeem-ability factor. Evan's mom, too, was refreshingly kind. However, many of the other characters, including the two stars, had an extremity of behavior without an adequate explanation.
Story: 4 stars. The plot line itself has interesting aspects, especially as a cautionary tale, which I appreciated.
chloeandbooks's review
1.0
Absolutely horrible. The characters were the worst, Evan was a total jerk and Katie is just so dumb. The dialogues were bad, just like the writing and the whole book made me cringe. I was furious throughout the whole book and it was a pain to continue reading it.
If you wanna read a good, heartbreaking story about abuse, go read It Ends With Us. It deals with it in a much better way.
If you wanna read a good, heartbreaking story about abuse, go read It Ends With Us. It deals with it in a much better way.
eviebookish's review
5.0
***Originally posted to: Bookish Book Blog |YA and Adult Book Reviews, Author Interviews, Guest Posts, Giveaways and news! ^___^
This is a powerful read. And by powerful, I mean, DEVASTATINGLY SO. I really loved this book, from the first page to last. I loved how readable it was, how captivating and intensely emotional. I absolutely loved the darker undertones of it, and how every chapter, every passage, every sentence of it pulls you deeper into its dark and sticky web of emotional abuse and toxic jealousy. It's a poignant, multilayered, and gripping tale that takes what seems to be a dominant theme in contemporary novels - a love story - and darkens it. At the same time, though, it has its lighter moments, humorous tension-breakers that perfectly balance it out. In other words, it's a truly phenomenal book. I was extremely glad to have discovered it and thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
Built around the school production of Shakespear's The Taming Of The Shrew, the plot of Teresa Toten's and Eric Walter's collaborative novel deals with some heavy (but very meaningful) subjects. This whole story - complete with the extremely well-drawn, believable characters - is just brilliant. I mean it. The main protagonists, Katie and Evan, are not only real and convincing, but also very complex. They're not some flat, black-and-white characters, they both have beating hearts, filled with emotions, dreams, fears and hopes. They're not perfect - they're perfectly imperfect, flawed, scared, overwhelmed by their personal problems. They both need love and acceptance, but they go looking for it in all the wrong places. They make mistakes, they get tangled up in each other, messy.. lost. Toten and Walters did a fantastic job capturing their complicated relationship (with all its intensity). I loved it! I thought the character building was masterful, and I just loved it. I especially loved the character growth in Katie. When we meet her, she's nothing but a shy, invisible grey mouse, she doesn't know how to assert herself, prefers to lay low and not attract any attention. And then she gets picked to play the part of Katherine in the school interpretation of The Taming Of The Shrew, and her world begins to change. When Evan asks her out, her heart practically bursts with happiness. At first, she can't even believe it. Evan? The most handsome, fabulous, and disgustingly rich guy in town wants to date her? How could she say no to that? How could she say no to anything that Evan wants from her?
Yes, you will probably feel very uncomfortable and anxious once you realize where the authors are going with the story, but you will also stop and think about the massage this book carries and how well the brilliantly weaved plot gets it across. This is not a happy first-love story and it shouldn't be approached as such. It's an eye-opening, thought-provoking, unsettling story that will stay with you long after you turn the last page.
What I loved the most about this book, though, is that although it's a dark tale, it's also one that ends with hope. I loved seeing the transformation that Katie's character underwent towards the end of The Taming. I liked that she became this strong-willed, assertive girl who could stand up for herself. I absolutely loved that she didn't let Evan break her, overpower her, tame her. And she didn't need saving, she found the power and will to save herself.
I also loved that the authors didn't make Evan to be this one-dimensional bad-guy. Instead, they provided enough background story and insight into his past for the reader to better understand his motives. That, of course, didn't make him a good guy, but it definitely made it harder to hate him. I came out of reading this book disturbed, with my head spinning, and very satisfied with its conclusion. I also felt a great deal of sympathy, and not only for Katie, but for both of them - for totally different reasons. If all that doesn't make a great read, than I don't know what does.
Teresa Toten and Eric Walter make a magnificent writing duo. They do awful and dark so well, and they get under your skin so deep, that you feel like taking a shower after reading some of the chapters of this book. It's draining and disturbing. Most of all, though, their writing is just absolutely fascinating. At least it was to me, I'm sure not everyone feeds on sad and scary as much as I do, but what can I say? I like my books to be dark, creepy and powerful. And the reason for this book being so sad and scary is simple: it's just all too real. It's disquietingly authentic, and that kind of authenticity is bound to resonate deep within.
This is a powerful read. And by powerful, I mean, DEVASTATINGLY SO. I really loved this book, from the first page to last. I loved how readable it was, how captivating and intensely emotional. I absolutely loved the darker undertones of it, and how every chapter, every passage, every sentence of it pulls you deeper into its dark and sticky web of emotional abuse and toxic jealousy. It's a poignant, multilayered, and gripping tale that takes what seems to be a dominant theme in contemporary novels - a love story - and darkens it. At the same time, though, it has its lighter moments, humorous tension-breakers that perfectly balance it out. In other words, it's a truly phenomenal book. I was extremely glad to have discovered it and thoroughly enjoyed reading it.
Built around the school production of Shakespear's The Taming Of The Shrew, the plot of Teresa Toten's and Eric Walter's collaborative novel deals with some heavy (but very meaningful) subjects. This whole story - complete with the extremely well-drawn, believable characters - is just brilliant. I mean it. The main protagonists, Katie and Evan, are not only real and convincing, but also very complex. They're not some flat, black-and-white characters, they both have beating hearts, filled with emotions, dreams, fears and hopes. They're not perfect - they're perfectly imperfect, flawed, scared, overwhelmed by their personal problems. They both need love and acceptance, but they go looking for it in all the wrong places. They make mistakes, they get tangled up in each other, messy.. lost. Toten and Walters did a fantastic job capturing their complicated relationship (with all its intensity). I loved it! I thought the character building was masterful, and I just loved it. I especially loved the character growth in Katie. When we meet her, she's nothing but a shy, invisible grey mouse, she doesn't know how to assert herself, prefers to lay low and not attract any attention. And then she gets picked to play the part of Katherine in the school interpretation of The Taming Of The Shrew, and her world begins to change. When Evan asks her out, her heart practically bursts with happiness. At first, she can't even believe it. Evan? The most handsome, fabulous, and disgustingly rich guy in town wants to date her? How could she say no to that? How could she say no to anything that Evan wants from her?
Yes, you will probably feel very uncomfortable and anxious once you realize where the authors are going with the story, but you will also stop and think about the massage this book carries and how well the brilliantly weaved plot gets it across. This is not a happy first-love story and it shouldn't be approached as such. It's an eye-opening, thought-provoking, unsettling story that will stay with you long after you turn the last page.
What I loved the most about this book, though, is that although it's a dark tale, it's also one that ends with hope. I loved seeing the transformation that Katie's character underwent towards the end of The Taming. I liked that she became this strong-willed, assertive girl who could stand up for herself. I absolutely loved that she didn't let Evan break her, overpower her, tame her. And she didn't need saving, she found the power and will to save herself.
I also loved that the authors didn't make Evan to be this one-dimensional bad-guy. Instead, they provided enough background story and insight into his past for the reader to better understand his motives. That, of course, didn't make him a good guy, but it definitely made it harder to hate him. I came out of reading this book disturbed, with my head spinning, and very satisfied with its conclusion. I also felt a great deal of sympathy, and not only for Katie, but for both of them - for totally different reasons. If all that doesn't make a great read, than I don't know what does.
Teresa Toten and Eric Walter make a magnificent writing duo. They do awful and dark so well, and they get under your skin so deep, that you feel like taking a shower after reading some of the chapters of this book. It's draining and disturbing. Most of all, though, their writing is just absolutely fascinating. At least it was to me, I'm sure not everyone feeds on sad and scary as much as I do, but what can I say? I like my books to be dark, creepy and powerful. And the reason for this book being so sad and scary is simple: it's just all too real. It's disquietingly authentic, and that kind of authenticity is bound to resonate deep within.
amandab27's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Child abuse and Drug abuse
angelcwrites's review
4.0
You can find this review and many more at Mermaid Vision Books!
Release Date: January 24, 2012
Publisher: Doubleday Canada (Random House)
Pages: 256
Format: Paperback
Source: ARC received from publisher
Tell Me More: In recent years, The Taming of the Shrew has become one of Shakespeare's highly contested plays. Readers are split over whether Petruchio was horribly sexist or if Katherine was bullied into submission. Of course, it's easy for those of us who grew up with 10 Things I Hate About You to believe that love has the power to change one's attitude, but what happens when we can't tell the difference between love and abuse?
Plot-wise, I was extremely impressed with The Taming. It introduces the idea of infatuation so subtly that you can get through half of the book without realizing that Evan has suddenly become a creepy presence. In fact, he's quite easy to fall in love with as a character. He is charming and smart and realistically, he'd be at the top of the social ladder. His charisma is so strong that even the reader's head is turned, and who could blame them? Was Katie wrong to fall for him? Just as the reader starts to realize that something is terribly wrong about Evan, he turns into someone we don't recognize, someone who might actually be a victim himself.
It's that kind of topsy-turvy perspective that many victims of abuse develop toward their partners, and it is portrayed so starkly in this novel. Love needs trust to grow, and Evan doesn't even trust himself. I have heard negative feedback about that aspect of his personality, and I don't blame readers for being angry with Evan. But I do think that to simply dismiss him as a messed-up boy is wrong too. He is, whether we like it or not, mentally ill, and deserves our compassion, if not our respect. The ending was spot-on in that regard.
However, I do think that Toten & Walters could have done a little more with Katie. Her transformation from shy wallflower to instant center of attention was too fast for my taste, and I would have liked to see her grow into that confidence. As Katharine is one of my favourite Shakespeare heroines, I wanted to see more of that unconquerable spirit in Katie. Because, yes, I am firmly in Camp True-Love-Can-Overcome-Obstacles when it comes to this story. To me, Katharine and Petruchio are a great example of realistic love: they fight, they argue, they even hate each other sometimes, but in the end, they would sacrifice their former reputations for the joy of being able to love one another. That's something that Katie and Evan will (I think) have learned to value after meeting each other.
That's Not All:
> SERIOUS geekery over reciting Taming of the Shrew lines as I read the book.
> Hilarious supporting characters!
The Final Say: Teresa Toten & Eric Walters take on the tough subject of relationship abuse through the eyes of Shakespeare, and it truly is a poignant and powerful combination.
Release Date: January 24, 2012
Publisher: Doubleday Canada (Random House)
Pages: 256
Format: Paperback
Source: ARC received from publisher
Tell Me More: In recent years, The Taming of the Shrew has become one of Shakespeare's highly contested plays. Readers are split over whether Petruchio was horribly sexist or if Katherine was bullied into submission. Of course, it's easy for those of us who grew up with 10 Things I Hate About You to believe that love has the power to change one's attitude, but what happens when we can't tell the difference between love and abuse?
Plot-wise, I was extremely impressed with The Taming. It introduces the idea of infatuation so subtly that you can get through half of the book without realizing that Evan has suddenly become a creepy presence. In fact, he's quite easy to fall in love with as a character. He is charming and smart and realistically, he'd be at the top of the social ladder. His charisma is so strong that even the reader's head is turned, and who could blame them? Was Katie wrong to fall for him? Just as the reader starts to realize that something is terribly wrong about Evan, he turns into someone we don't recognize, someone who might actually be a victim himself.
It's that kind of topsy-turvy perspective that many victims of abuse develop toward their partners, and it is portrayed so starkly in this novel. Love needs trust to grow, and Evan doesn't even trust himself. I have heard negative feedback about that aspect of his personality, and I don't blame readers for being angry with Evan. But I do think that to simply dismiss him as a messed-up boy is wrong too. He is, whether we like it or not, mentally ill, and deserves our compassion, if not our respect. The ending was spot-on in that regard.
However, I do think that Toten & Walters could have done a little more with Katie. Her transformation from shy wallflower to instant center of attention was too fast for my taste, and I would have liked to see her grow into that confidence. As Katharine is one of my favourite Shakespeare heroines, I wanted to see more of that unconquerable spirit in Katie. Because, yes, I am firmly in Camp True-Love-Can-Overcome-Obstacles when it comes to this story. To me, Katharine and Petruchio are a great example of realistic love: they fight, they argue, they even hate each other sometimes, but in the end, they would sacrifice their former reputations for the joy of being able to love one another. That's something that Katie and Evan will (I think) have learned to value after meeting each other.
That's Not All:
> SERIOUS geekery over reciting Taming of the Shrew lines as I read the book.
> Hilarious supporting characters!
The Final Say: Teresa Toten & Eric Walters take on the tough subject of relationship abuse through the eyes of Shakespeare, and it truly is a poignant and powerful combination.
jessreads137's review
4.0
This is an amazing book that deals with issues that are hard to face, it reminds us that no matter what situation we are in our friends will always be there for us. Sometimes the people closest to us are not who they seem and this book faces those situations head on. Eric Walters and Teresa Toten gave this book a poetic feel and made it easier to swallow the pill that is this plotline. Definatley sujest this book to anyone who likes a book that makes you feel for the characters.
clarehitchens's review
4.0
Seriously? My heart was racing through this whole book. I was so anxious about how the story was going to resolve. The two voices worked very well together and both were believable. Some heavy issues handled with finesse.
katiburd's review
I was thinking about books that I had to skip to the ending because I was missing the point of what was happening when this book came into my mind. I began reading this and was halfway through when I said to myself "what is the point of this story and do I want to complete this book?" and that is when I skipped to the last chapter. I then proceeded to skim read from the last chapter to where I ended (skipping chapters here and there).
Anyways, I didn't like this book when I read it in junior high, but I appreciate that it is Canadian!
Anyways, I didn't like this book when I read it in junior high, but I appreciate that it is Canadian!