Title:
Author:
Standalone
Number of Pages:
Date Read:
Genre:
Synopsis (Found on
Goodreads.com)
Fourteen-year-old
Jennie's life is turning upside down. Her father has walked out, and her
anguished mother seeks solace in pills. Her best friend practically abandons
her to be with a boyfriend. It seems like Jennie's real best friend is her
diary. Then she meets Mr. Johnstone, the substitute math teacher. Jennie has
never met such a charismatic teacher. She feels honored when Mr. J. seems to
single her out for special attention, and begins to fantasize about him as her
boyfriend. When Mr. J. first reveals his feelings for her, she is thrilled by
the relationship that grows outside the classroom walls. Then, slowly, Jennie's
diary becomes a record of her loneliness, pain, and confusion. Will it also
offer her a way to escape from this treacherous love?
My Review:
This book was
alright.
Its about a 14 year old girl, Jennie, whose parents are going through a divorce and she becomes the victim of teacher abuse. The book is told in diary form.
I didn't really like Jennie. Her writing was very annoying and it seemed unreal. No 14 year old kid would write the way she did. It seemed babyish. Most of it was all rainbows and butterflies and unicorns. with a dab of depression and crying in between. She uses words like lovely and wonderful too often to be believable. Once in the book she asks her mother "Shall I call an ambulance." Shall? Really? No 14 year old girl talks like that. A lot of times in the book she would say something horrible about someone or something then say "Wait I don't mean that" and so on. There was also A LOT of crying in the book and she always seemed to be crying with someone else: her mom, her best friends, her teacher boyfriend. I don't remember crying all the time at 14. Jennie also puts herself down a lot. She often says she a horrible person or something negative about herself, which I didn't really like.
Her sub math teacher is supposed to go from being an nice guy to her boyfriend to her abuser. I gotta say nothing happens with this teacher (J.J.) for most of the book. She goes from being his helper to bam kissing him. She also wrote how she worshipped him and how he was her idol. It was kind of disturbing. However the fact was that he was not in the book that much, which is odd because its a book ABOUT a girl getting together with her teacher. J.J. was a real sleaze though. He took all kinds of pictures and Jennie let him, which on her part wasn't that smart, but she loved him and let him do what he wanted. It was never explicitly said that they had sex. There was weak hinting at it but nothing to be conclusive. She was taken to a rape crisis center, but even then there was no mention of sex, just the photos she took and the drugs he gave her. The relations between J.J. and Jennie was very vague and happened very quick, that it seemed like it was over before it started. It just wasn't that realistic, to me anyway.
There was also another underlying issue that the book dealt with and that was addiction to prescribed pills. Jennie's mother began taking prescribed pills after her divorce from Jennie's father. Her mother became addicted to the pills and when all the stuff went down with Jennie, she admitted her problem and was getting help for it.
While this book was ehh about the teacher-student issue, I have to say it sickens me that this type of thing really happens. As a teacher and a human I am extremely disgusted that these people exist. They should be shot for hurting children. I feel like teens should read books like this so that they are aware of this issue and the consequences it has. They should be prepared and always on the look out for any teacher who is acting in a suspicious and inappropriate manner.
Its about a 14 year old girl, Jennie, whose parents are going through a divorce and she becomes the victim of teacher abuse. The book is told in diary form.
I didn't really like Jennie. Her writing was very annoying and it seemed unreal. No 14 year old kid would write the way she did. It seemed babyish. Most of it was all rainbows and butterflies and unicorns. with a dab of depression and crying in between. She uses words like lovely and wonderful too often to be believable. Once in the book she asks her mother "Shall I call an ambulance." Shall? Really? No 14 year old girl talks like that. A lot of times in the book she would say something horrible about someone or something then say "Wait I don't mean that" and so on. There was also A LOT of crying in the book and she always seemed to be crying with someone else: her mom, her best friends, her teacher boyfriend. I don't remember crying all the time at 14. Jennie also puts herself down a lot. She often says she a horrible person or something negative about herself, which I didn't really like.
Her sub math teacher is supposed to go from being an nice guy to her boyfriend to her abuser. I gotta say nothing happens with this teacher (J.J.) for most of the book. She goes from being his helper to bam kissing him. She also wrote how she worshipped him and how he was her idol. It was kind of disturbing. However the fact was that he was not in the book that much, which is odd because its a book ABOUT a girl getting together with her teacher. J.J. was a real sleaze though. He took all kinds of pictures and Jennie let him, which on her part wasn't that smart, but she loved him and let him do what he wanted. It was never explicitly said that they had sex. There was weak hinting at it but nothing to be conclusive. She was taken to a rape crisis center, but even then there was no mention of sex, just the photos she took and the drugs he gave her. The relations between J.J. and Jennie was very vague and happened very quick, that it seemed like it was over before it started. It just wasn't that realistic, to me anyway.
There was also another underlying issue that the book dealt with and that was addiction to prescribed pills. Jennie's mother began taking prescribed pills after her divorce from Jennie's father. Her mother became addicted to the pills and when all the stuff went down with Jennie, she admitted her problem and was getting help for it.
While this book was ehh about the teacher-student issue, I have to say it sickens me that this type of thing really happens. As a teacher and a human I am extremely disgusted that these people exist. They should be shot for hurting children. I feel like teens should read books like this so that they are aware of this issue and the consequences it has. They should be prepared and always on the look out for any teacher who is acting in a suspicious and inappropriate manner.
Rating:
C+
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