A review by unacalle
Beware That Girl by Teresa Toten
3.0
Rating: 3/5
This is one of those rare books that I knew absolutely nothing about before checking it out from my library's Overdrive selection and taking on vacation with me, and I don't know if the lack of information helped my opinion of the book or not. Because I was very mixed in my opinions on this book.
Let's Break it Down:
What I Liked
•The Plot. This is what this book REALLY had going for it. The plot kept me interested. I could never figure out what was going to happen next. And while I had a hard time connecting with the characters, I really needed to find out what was going to happen and to find out who was who at the beginning. The larger plot, once it unfolds, is easy to get drawn into. I also personally, found it relevant to local school scandal that was breaking at the time I read it.
•The Ending. I found it very fitting and extremely suitable to the book as a whole. It open-ended in some respects, but it leaves you on a satisfying' – if somewhat unexpected – note.
What I Didn't Like:
•The Characters. I found every last one of them extremely unlikable. I think of all of them I like Kate the most because we saw a great deal of the story from her POV, and I was able to empathize with her – hell, I was rooting for her to succeed - but I can't say that I liked her. The way that she seeks out Olivia solely because she's the most vulnerable person at her and the easiest to con. She's an extremely well-done morally gray character, I don't know that I like her. I couldn't stand Olivia, I thought she was annoying and made extremely questionable decisions when the right and wrong choice was utterly clear. The supporting characters were either not meant to be sympathetic or utterly annoying. I had a really hard time with the fact that teenage girls were throwing themselves at a man in his 30s or the fact that he was encouraging it and the rampant and flippant use of prescription drugs. I know that people actually do all of these things in real life and I think its wrong. I can deal with characters that I find morally objectionable but it's hard to connect with an entire cast of such characters.
•POV Switching. I found it extremely jarring at first – I'm not always a fan of changing tense with POV – but I got used to it. I did prefer Kate's to Olivia's, not surprising with how I feel about the characters, but I did feel that Kate's voice was stronger and more memorable and Olivia's did drag a bit.
•A Pointless Romantic Subplot. There's a romantic subplot that adds nothing to the story. I actually enjoyed it until I realized that it wasn't really going anywhere, and compounded with the fact there is no resolution to this thread, I couldn't understand why it was included at all.
All in all, Beware That Girl is a decent YA thriller with an intriguing, morally gray main character and addictive plot, but with an extremely unlikable supporting cast.
This review and others can be found at my blog The Fangirl Reads
This is one of those rare books that I knew absolutely nothing about before checking it out from my library's Overdrive selection and taking on vacation with me, and I don't know if the lack of information helped my opinion of the book or not. Because I was very mixed in my opinions on this book.
Let's Break it Down:
What I Liked
•The Plot. This is what this book REALLY had going for it. The plot kept me interested. I could never figure out what was going to happen next. And while I had a hard time connecting with the characters, I really needed to find out what was going to happen and to find out who was who at the beginning. The larger plot, once it unfolds, is easy to get drawn into. I also personally, found it relevant to local school scandal that was breaking at the time I read it.
•The Ending. I found it very fitting and extremely suitable to the book as a whole. It open-ended in some respects, but it leaves you on a satisfying' – if somewhat unexpected – note.
What I Didn't Like:
•The Characters. I found every last one of them extremely unlikable. I think of all of them I like Kate the most because we saw a great deal of the story from her POV, and I was able to empathize with her – hell, I was rooting for her to succeed - but I can't say that I liked her. The way that she seeks out Olivia solely because she's the most vulnerable person at her and the easiest to con. She's an extremely well-done morally gray character, I don't know that I like her. I couldn't stand Olivia, I thought she was annoying and made extremely questionable decisions when the right and wrong choice was utterly clear. The supporting characters were either not meant to be sympathetic or utterly annoying. I had a really hard time with the fact that teenage girls were throwing themselves at a man in his 30s or the fact that he was encouraging it and the rampant and flippant use of prescription drugs. I know that people actually do all of these things in real life and I think its wrong. I can deal with characters that I find morally objectionable but it's hard to connect with an entire cast of such characters.
•POV Switching. I found it extremely jarring at first – I'm not always a fan of changing tense with POV – but I got used to it. I did prefer Kate's to Olivia's, not surprising with how I feel about the characters, but I did feel that Kate's voice was stronger and more memorable and Olivia's did drag a bit.
•A Pointless Romantic Subplot. There's a romantic subplot that adds nothing to the story. I actually enjoyed it until I realized that it wasn't really going anywhere, and compounded with the fact there is no resolution to this thread, I couldn't understand why it was included at all.
All in all, Beware That Girl is a decent YA thriller with an intriguing, morally gray main character and addictive plot, but with an extremely unlikable supporting cast.
This review and others can be found at my blog The Fangirl Reads