Title:
Author:
Standalone
Number of Pages:
Date Read:
Genre:
Synopsis (Found on
Goodreads.com)
Smart girls aren't supposed to do stupid things.
Madelyn
Hawkins is super smart. At sixteen, she's so gifted that she can attend college
through a special program at her high school. On her first day, she meets
Bennett. He's cute, funny, and kind. He understands Madelyn and what she's
endured - and missed out on - in order to excel academically and please her
parents. Now, for the first time in her life, she's falling in love.
There's
only one problem. Bennett is Madelyn's college professor, and he thinks she's
eighteen - because she hasn't told him the truth.
The
story of their forbidden romance is told in letters that Madelyn writes to
Bennett - both a heart-searing ode to their ill-fated love and an apology.
My Review:
This book was ok. It wasn't the
best teacher-student relationship book out there but it wasn't terrible. It
reminded a lot of a book I read before and really liked, Drowning Instinct by Ilsa J. Bick, because of the content and the style of writing (letter
format)
So the basic plot is that Madelyn is a sixteen year old girl who is enrolled in college classes though a program in her high school. She takes all college classes which also count for her high school requirements in a community college and she doesn't have to go back to high school for classes at all. On her first day she meets her biology professor, Bennett Cartwright. As soon as she sees him, she's head over heels. And surprise! He falls for her too. The catch? He doesn't know she's sixteen. He thinks she's eighteen or nineteen....and she lets him.
I found it kind of hard to sympathize or like Madelyn. She feels pressured by her parents to succeed and to be perfect in her grades. She's expected to go to college at 16 and have a money making career. Her father pushes her to do more and more studying and school work. Her mother is never home because of her career but when she is she also shows high expectations for her daughter. So Madelyn feels trapped. She used to want what her parents want for her but lately her wants and feelings have been changing but she feels like she can't talk to her parents about it. I found Madelyn childish, like a 16 year old, especially in the way she writes. She uses words like "I swear to you", "I really did", I truly did" which sounds like the kid that she is. I think she's very selfish to go after Bennett the way she did all the while knowing what it would cost him if anyone found out. She was naive enough to think that he'd be ok with her being 16, when she told him.
I feel like Madelyn was so trapped and pressured by her parents to be someone she's not that she wanted to go crazy and rebel. And she did that with Bennett. I'm not sure if she loved him like she said she did. Many of their conversations and her own thoughts were always complaining about her parents and throughout the book it kind of felt like she was forcing herself to believe that she loved Bennett. I have no doubt that she was attracted to him and liked him. But love? I don't think so.
I liked Bennett but I have to be honest and say he was an idiot. I mean he never once outright asked Madelyn, "How old are you?" He was given false hints and half truths and he bought them. He was also naive enough to believe that a girl wouldn't lie to him about her age. He was so concerned about not doing anything with her until the semester was over and he wasn't her professor anymore that he never considered that she was younger than 18. Yes I know, its obvious to think that since she was in college that she was of legal age BUT this particular college informed their professors about the Madelyn's high school college program and that some of the students were still underage. But still. To never ask how old she was was a dumb move.
Other than his stupidity in that matter, Bennett is a sweet guy. He loves his teaching job and loves biology. He is a down to earth guy who likes to hike and has a love for the outdoors. He really cares for Madelyn. Too bad it bit him in the buns.
I liked the format of the book which is in letter format. Madelyn is writing a letter to Bennett recounting their relationship, after everything has happened, to try to clear his name with the police. It reads as if Madelyn is talking to the reader. The only problem that I could see with that is that everything in the story is biased. I couldn't help but wonder if the things Bennett said and did really happened that way or was Madelyn putting her own spin on it. I'm not sure.
All in all not to bad a read.
So the basic plot is that Madelyn is a sixteen year old girl who is enrolled in college classes though a program in her high school. She takes all college classes which also count for her high school requirements in a community college and she doesn't have to go back to high school for classes at all. On her first day she meets her biology professor, Bennett Cartwright. As soon as she sees him, she's head over heels. And surprise! He falls for her too. The catch? He doesn't know she's sixteen. He thinks she's eighteen or nineteen....and she lets him.
I found it kind of hard to sympathize or like Madelyn. She feels pressured by her parents to succeed and to be perfect in her grades. She's expected to go to college at 16 and have a money making career. Her father pushes her to do more and more studying and school work. Her mother is never home because of her career but when she is she also shows high expectations for her daughter. So Madelyn feels trapped. She used to want what her parents want for her but lately her wants and feelings have been changing but she feels like she can't talk to her parents about it. I found Madelyn childish, like a 16 year old, especially in the way she writes. She uses words like "I swear to you", "I really did", I truly did" which sounds like the kid that she is. I think she's very selfish to go after Bennett the way she did all the while knowing what it would cost him if anyone found out. She was naive enough to think that he'd be ok with her being 16, when she told him.
I feel like Madelyn was so trapped and pressured by her parents to be someone she's not that she wanted to go crazy and rebel. And she did that with Bennett. I'm not sure if she loved him like she said she did. Many of their conversations and her own thoughts were always complaining about her parents and throughout the book it kind of felt like she was forcing herself to believe that she loved Bennett. I have no doubt that she was attracted to him and liked him. But love? I don't think so.
I liked Bennett but I have to be honest and say he was an idiot. I mean he never once outright asked Madelyn, "How old are you?" He was given false hints and half truths and he bought them. He was also naive enough to believe that a girl wouldn't lie to him about her age. He was so concerned about not doing anything with her until the semester was over and he wasn't her professor anymore that he never considered that she was younger than 18. Yes I know, its obvious to think that since she was in college that she was of legal age BUT this particular college informed their professors about the Madelyn's high school college program and that some of the students were still underage. But still. To never ask how old she was was a dumb move.
Other than his stupidity in that matter, Bennett is a sweet guy. He loves his teaching job and loves biology. He is a down to earth guy who likes to hike and has a love for the outdoors. He really cares for Madelyn. Too bad it bit him in the buns.
I liked the format of the book which is in letter format. Madelyn is writing a letter to Bennett recounting their relationship, after everything has happened, to try to clear his name with the police. It reads as if Madelyn is talking to the reader. The only problem that I could see with that is that everything in the story is biased. I couldn't help but wonder if the things Bennett said and did really happened that way or was Madelyn putting her own spin on it. I'm not sure.
All in all not to bad a read.
Rating:
B
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