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A review by minimicropup
The Truants by Kate Weinberg
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The Energy: Facetious. Fretful. Precarious.
The Scene: 🇬🇧 University in Norfolk England. 🇮🇹 Remote Italian island village.
The POV: We follow a lonely University freshman hoping to reinvent themselves, find their people, and impress the professor they were stanning in their senior year of high school.
🎬 Tale-Telling: This book threw me into Jess's world with chunky chapters; I felt like I was snooping through her life with no clear direction—I love that style. It's an immersive character-driven story with an underlying plot. There’s no holding back on all the ‘ick’ moments from the present and past and I was grimacing as I read.
👥 Characters: Jess is... a lot. She's got this unhinged, obsessive vibe, mixed with social awkwardness and "I'm not like other girls" energy. Her journey from a sheltered life to seeking friends that are also A Lot, while trying to gain the attention of the prof she’s fangirling over was a dumpster fire I couldn’t look away from. The inclusion of consequences and consistent personality traits + gradual self-discovery had me enjoying the story even when I didn’t enjoy Jess or the people she chose to surround herself with.
🤓 Reader Role: Jess's confidant, listening in as she tells us about her freshman year with the wisdom of hindsight. It's intimate, revealing, from a front-row seat.
🗺️ Ambiance: The setting is secondary to the juicy drama, but it's there, and sometimes felt cinematic. The author lets your imagination run wild without clobbering you with unnecessary details.
🔥 Fuel: Mainly psychological suspense, both toxic and transformative. How will the friend group handle scandals and betrayals? What’s the deal with Lorna, the love-her-or-hate-her professor who seems too invested in her students’ lives? Was a mysterious death for a noble cause or from keeping secrets? How will the decisions Jess makes affect her and her future?
🚙 Journey: Slow and suspenseful but the ending was unconcluded, idealistic in a disappointing way, and the fate of a character is left unknown. The plot is based on the vulnerabilities that draw some people together and push others apart. Sometimes the plot should have taken centre stage as it got interesting, but it felt like we were missing out because we're stuck listening to Jess overthinking.
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🐕 Howls: The reflective commentary of Jess becomes distracting when it carries on for too long sometimes (like it's used to prolong plot suspense). The ending leaves you hanging with more questions than answers in an unsatisfying way.
🐩 Tail Wags: The 'off' vibes and character dynamics. The small mysteries and vulnerabilities among the characters. The handling of over-the-top situations with realism.
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Mood Reading Match-Up:
The Scene: 🇬🇧 University in Norfolk England. 🇮🇹 Remote Italian island village.
The POV: We follow a lonely University freshman hoping to reinvent themselves, find their people, and impress the professor they were stanning in their senior year of high school.
🎬 Tale-Telling: This book threw me into Jess's world with chunky chapters; I felt like I was snooping through her life with no clear direction—I love that style. It's an immersive character-driven story with an underlying plot. There’s no holding back on all the ‘ick’ moments from the present and past and I was grimacing as I read.
👥 Characters: Jess is... a lot. She's got this unhinged, obsessive vibe, mixed with social awkwardness and "I'm not like other girls" energy. Her journey from a sheltered life to seeking friends that are also A Lot, while trying to gain the attention of the prof she’s fangirling over was a dumpster fire I couldn’t look away from. The inclusion of consequences and consistent personality traits + gradual self-discovery had me enjoying the story even when I didn’t enjoy Jess or the people she chose to surround herself with.
🤓 Reader Role: Jess's confidant, listening in as she tells us about her freshman year with the wisdom of hindsight. It's intimate, revealing, from a front-row seat.
🗺️ Ambiance: The setting is secondary to the juicy drama, but it's there, and sometimes felt cinematic. The author lets your imagination run wild without clobbering you with unnecessary details.
🔥 Fuel: Mainly psychological suspense, both toxic and transformative. How will the friend group handle scandals and betrayals? What’s the deal with Lorna, the love-her-or-hate-her professor who seems too invested in her students’ lives? Was a mysterious death for a noble cause or from keeping secrets? How will the decisions Jess makes affect her and her future?
🚙 Journey: Slow and suspenseful but the ending was unconcluded, idealistic in a disappointing way, and the fate of a character is left unknown. The plot is based on the vulnerabilities that draw some people together and push others apart. Sometimes the plot should have taken centre stage as it got interesting, but it felt like we were missing out because we're stuck listening to Jess overthinking.
----
🐕 Howls: The reflective commentary of Jess becomes distracting when it carries on for too long sometimes (like it's used to prolong plot suspense). The ending leaves you hanging with more questions than answers in an unsatisfying way.
🐩 Tail Wags: The 'off' vibes and character dynamics. The small mysteries and vulnerabilities among the characters. The handling of over-the-top situations with realism.
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Mood Reading Match-Up:
- Insular friendship drama and toxic dynamics
- Contemporary psychological character and ‘ship study using hyperbole and stark realism
- Academia off the rails, new adult stories with critiques of mentorship and influence
- Exploring themes and commentary on self-discovery, vulnerability, attachment, childhood, responsibility, charm, difference and pressures to merge motherhood with womanhood, unwanted children and families, identity, betrayal, and generational trauma
Content Heads-Up: Infidelity (graphic, on page). Sexual content (consenting; descriptive on page). Alcohol use. Substance abuse. Intoxication (partying, parenting, self-medicating). Suicide, suicide attempts (discussion, happening of page). Abortion (graphic; experience during and after on page, descriptive). Incest (brief recall; off page).
Rep: Diverse skin colours. Indian and White British, White South African. Heterosexual. Questioning.
👀 Format: Paperback
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Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion
Moderate: Infidelity, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol
Minor: Incest