Title:
Author:
Standalone
Number of Pages:
Date Read:
Genre:
Synopsis (Found on
Goodreads.com)
Emma Putnam is
dead, and it's all Sara Wharton's fault. At least, that's what everyone seems
to think. Sara, along with her best friend and three other classmates, has been
criminally charged for the bullying and harassment that led to Emma's shocking
suicide. Now Sara is the one who's ostracized, already guilty according to her
peers, the community, and the media. In the summer before her senior year, in
between meetings with lawyers and a court-recommended therapist, Sara is forced
to reflect on the events that brought her to this moment—and ultimately consider her own role in an
undeniable tragedy. And she'll have to find a way to move forward, even when it
feels like her own life is over.
My Review:
This book was ok.
It wasn't the best book I read on bullying but it was ok.
The book is told in alternating chapters. One chapter is set in the present and the next one is a flashback of events that led to the present. The present deals with the main character, Sara's, trial date and the after effects of the girl she and her friends bullied, Emma's suicide. The flashback chapters showed Emma's bullying and what led to her suicide.
I have to say this is one of those books where I didn't like all, except one, of the main characters. Most of them were just plain unlikable.
I'm not sure how I feel about Sara. In the beginning I hated her but at the end I found myself, while not liking her, not hating her either. I just wonder if she deserves my forgiveness for what she did in the book. I know feel like she is/was? just a pathetic kid who followed in the footsteps of the "mean girl" in high school, who happened to be her best friend. That of course doesn't excuse her behavior. I just felt like she was so stupid, ignorant and a follower sheep. She wasn't brave enough to deal with her feelings about Emma (the bullied girl) or to confront Emma when she should have and instead jumped on the band wagon and bullied Emma with her friend Brielle. She hid behind Brielle, who was cruel and was always willing to go with whatever Brielle had planned for her. She went out with her boyfriend, Dylan, because Brielle thought she should and she even says that she slept with said boyfriend to make Brielle like her more. Can anyone be more pathetic? I was a teenage once too and in high school and I would of never do the things Sara did to be "cool" or just because my friend told me to. At first I couldn't understand why Sara hated Emma in the first place, but then I realized that it was because Emma was pretty and friendly and Sara and Brielle couldn't stand that. They had to bully and put down the transfer student who just wanted to be friends with people. They also thought Emma was a slut because she had "a lot" of boyfriends. Because that is a valid reason to bully someone. Please.
However later on in the book, Emma made out with Sara's boyfriend and basically stole him away which caused Sara to hate her more, which I understood. However where I would of kick the shit outta Emma and my boyfriend, Sara just blamed Emma and bullied her even more. Not a good response. A quick ass beating or yelling at if you're not the violent sort, would of sufficed. That's my opinion anyway.
Brielle is another asshole. She is just the typical popular mean girl who calls everyone a slut or a hoe because they're prettier than her. Seriously, I don't think anyone talks the way this girl did. And if teens do talk like this then I feel sad for the future. Brielle was the main bully and the one who though of all the horrible things to do to Emma. To top it all off, Brielle wasn't sorry about anything, even during their impending trial and plea deal. She just didn't care. And I had no love or time for her.
Dylan was Sara's boyfriend and another idiot. He genuinely liked Emma and dated her before she committed suicide. He was always trying to get into Sara's pants when they were dating and I just got a slimy feel whenever he was in the chapters.
Emma was the bully victim. I can't say I liked her either. I mean there was no reason for her to be bullied and I didn't want her to die but I just didn't really feel anything for her. I mean she was extremely stupid for going after the guy who was dating one of her tormentors. No matter how much she liked him she should of stayed away. I mean what did she think was going to happen? She should of known everything was going to get worse. That was her own fault. She just made a bad situation worse. A person has to expect something bad to happen if they steal or cheat with anyone's significant other. Emma had to know there'd be consequences for cheating with her bully's boyfriend. That was just a plain stupid move on her part and she should of stayed far far away.
The only character I liked was Carmichael, who was a guy that Sara met in summer school. He is one of the people that Brielle would consider a loser: black hair, black clothes, tattoos and ride a BMX bike. He is very funny and nice to Sara when everyone hates her after Emma's suicide. He believes there is two sides to every story and sees past what Sara did to the, I guess, good person she really is. I just feel like this romance was completely unnecessary and frankly that Sara doesn't deserve to have someone right now, after all she did.
The one thing about the book that I can't figure out it if Sara is really sorry about what she did, in the end. I mean she spends the whole book (present part) exclaiming her innocence and saying that she didn't do anything wrong over and over again. She just doesn't say it, she truly believes it. She believes that Emma's suicide ruined her life and she hates Emma even more for ruining her life with her suicide. WOW, sociopath much? I'm just not convinced that Sara's guilt is real at the end. It could be or it could just be like "oh this book went on for way to long and now its time to end it so the horrible MC has to be sorry". Her guilt and sorryiness (lol I know not a word), just came out of left field after constantly saying she did nothing wrong. Can a guy (ahem: Carmichael) really make a change in someone that quick? I don't know. Maybe. But not likely.
Anywho, this book is worth a whirl for anyone who wants to give it a try.
The book is told in alternating chapters. One chapter is set in the present and the next one is a flashback of events that led to the present. The present deals with the main character, Sara's, trial date and the after effects of the girl she and her friends bullied, Emma's suicide. The flashback chapters showed Emma's bullying and what led to her suicide.
I have to say this is one of those books where I didn't like all, except one, of the main characters. Most of them were just plain unlikable.
I'm not sure how I feel about Sara. In the beginning I hated her but at the end I found myself, while not liking her, not hating her either. I just wonder if she deserves my forgiveness for what she did in the book. I know feel like she is/was? just a pathetic kid who followed in the footsteps of the "mean girl" in high school, who happened to be her best friend. That of course doesn't excuse her behavior. I just felt like she was so stupid, ignorant and a follower sheep. She wasn't brave enough to deal with her feelings about Emma (the bullied girl) or to confront Emma when she should have and instead jumped on the band wagon and bullied Emma with her friend Brielle. She hid behind Brielle, who was cruel and was always willing to go with whatever Brielle had planned for her. She went out with her boyfriend, Dylan, because Brielle thought she should and she even says that she slept with said boyfriend to make Brielle like her more. Can anyone be more pathetic? I was a teenage once too and in high school and I would of never do the things Sara did to be "cool" or just because my friend told me to. At first I couldn't understand why Sara hated Emma in the first place, but then I realized that it was because Emma was pretty and friendly and Sara and Brielle couldn't stand that. They had to bully and put down the transfer student who just wanted to be friends with people. They also thought Emma was a slut because she had "a lot" of boyfriends. Because that is a valid reason to bully someone. Please.
However later on in the book, Emma made out with Sara's boyfriend and basically stole him away which caused Sara to hate her more, which I understood. However where I would of kick the shit outta Emma and my boyfriend, Sara just blamed Emma and bullied her even more. Not a good response. A quick ass beating or yelling at if you're not the violent sort, would of sufficed. That's my opinion anyway.
Brielle is another asshole. She is just the typical popular mean girl who calls everyone a slut or a hoe because they're prettier than her. Seriously, I don't think anyone talks the way this girl did. And if teens do talk like this then I feel sad for the future. Brielle was the main bully and the one who though of all the horrible things to do to Emma. To top it all off, Brielle wasn't sorry about anything, even during their impending trial and plea deal. She just didn't care. And I had no love or time for her.
Dylan was Sara's boyfriend and another idiot. He genuinely liked Emma and dated her before she committed suicide. He was always trying to get into Sara's pants when they were dating and I just got a slimy feel whenever he was in the chapters.
Emma was the bully victim. I can't say I liked her either. I mean there was no reason for her to be bullied and I didn't want her to die but I just didn't really feel anything for her. I mean she was extremely stupid for going after the guy who was dating one of her tormentors. No matter how much she liked him she should of stayed away. I mean what did she think was going to happen? She should of known everything was going to get worse. That was her own fault. She just made a bad situation worse. A person has to expect something bad to happen if they steal or cheat with anyone's significant other. Emma had to know there'd be consequences for cheating with her bully's boyfriend. That was just a plain stupid move on her part and she should of stayed far far away.
The only character I liked was Carmichael, who was a guy that Sara met in summer school. He is one of the people that Brielle would consider a loser: black hair, black clothes, tattoos and ride a BMX bike. He is very funny and nice to Sara when everyone hates her after Emma's suicide. He believes there is two sides to every story and sees past what Sara did to the, I guess, good person she really is. I just feel like this romance was completely unnecessary and frankly that Sara doesn't deserve to have someone right now, after all she did.
The one thing about the book that I can't figure out it if Sara is really sorry about what she did, in the end. I mean she spends the whole book (present part) exclaiming her innocence and saying that she didn't do anything wrong over and over again. She just doesn't say it, she truly believes it. She believes that Emma's suicide ruined her life and she hates Emma even more for ruining her life with her suicide. WOW, sociopath much? I'm just not convinced that Sara's guilt is real at the end. It could be or it could just be like "oh this book went on for way to long and now its time to end it so the horrible MC has to be sorry". Her guilt and sorryiness (lol I know not a word), just came out of left field after constantly saying she did nothing wrong. Can a guy (ahem: Carmichael) really make a change in someone that quick? I don't know. Maybe. But not likely.
Anywho, this book is worth a whirl for anyone who wants to give it a try.
Rating:
C+
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