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mlboyd20's review against another edition
4.0
Nowadays, it seems like every other day we hop on social media to see another story about a teen being bullied. It may be a headline for a news article, or it may be a post by a friend, concerned over how their child is being treated. Either way, when you think it should be getting better, that as a whole we should be getting a grip on bullying, it just feels like nobody's listening because it keeps escalating. What makes this story so much different is that it's about the bully. It's about how that bully originated, formed and how their world came crashing down around them, how they had their words.
This is also a story about how even a bully needs someone. How being that one positive reinforcement around them can help bring on change. How one person can help pick up the pieces and keep a person moving, even when all they want to do is pull the covers over their head and bit ado to it all. It also shows how someone going through a tough time needs someone to help them get through it, no matter who they are.
This story resonates with our world today. Every teen should pick this up and read it. They need to understand that words do hurt, that words and actions don't heal with a simple sorry. Parents need to realize how certain things they do bully their child and in turn make them a bully themselves. Teens are going through so much and now we've added that layer of social media. You don't think it will happen to your child, but it just takes a spark nowadays to set the flames leaping at them.
This is also a story about how even a bully needs someone. How being that one positive reinforcement around them can help bring on change. How one person can help pick up the pieces and keep a person moving, even when all they want to do is pull the covers over their head and bit ado to it all. It also shows how someone going through a tough time needs someone to help them get through it, no matter who they are.
This story resonates with our world today. Every teen should pick this up and read it. They need to understand that words do hurt, that words and actions don't heal with a simple sorry. Parents need to realize how certain things they do bully their child and in turn make them a bully themselves. Teens are going through so much and now we've added that layer of social media. You don't think it will happen to your child, but it just takes a spark nowadays to set the flames leaping at them.
lazygal's review against another edition
3.0
Not quite sure about this - the lead is unlikeable, and the way in which she's redeemed seems very contrived. Plus, the Big Problem (all her really bitchy texts spread around for all to see) has featured in several middle grade books, so it's not quite new ground. I did wonder about two things: 1. why was Reagan less curious about who had done this (surely, a small group)? and 2. how did it spread so quickly, because all we're told is they're printed out and posted on her locker? Surely someone could pull it down? Still, if there are teens out there who haven't gotten the message about how texts, etc. can be made public, this might be a good read.
Copy provided by publisher.
Copy provided by publisher.
islandgeekgirl's review against another edition
4.0
I was a bit nervous going into this book. The fact that it was so blatant that Regan was a bully right from the synopsis made me worry I wouldn’t be able to connect with her or feel too sorry for her. The first few chapters put my fears to rest. I thought the way the author introduced Regan was smart. Show her vulnerable and changed right away and then flash back to before it all started.
The Regan introduced in the prologue I had an instant like for and felt for as she struggled to talk about what had happened to her. The Regan in the first chapter, three months before, almost seemed like a completely different person at first. I found myself wanting to know what had happened to make her go from how she acted in the first chapter compared to the prologue. Regan as a bully was not a likeable character but I wouldn’t say she was completely unlikeable either. She was a girl making some horrible decisions in order to keep her secrets and achieve what she needed to get her mother off her back. It never came across as justified excuses for her bullying, which I liked. After her e-mails and texts and every bullying message she’d left was exposed, it was hard watching Regan get torn down by people she considered friends. It just got worse from there and what she had to endure at that school, no one should have to go through. She was slowly changing because of it, which was great to see, and I really like the person she discovered she was. In some ways, Regan reminded me a lot of Blair from Gossip Girl, especially at the beginning.
The writing was fantastic. I found there was a specific vibe that I would feel in the writing when something bad was going to happen soon, which got my nerves worked up wondering what it would be and how much more could Regan possibly take. Regan’s anxiety attacks were so well written. Just reading them made my own chest hurt in sympathy.
I thought there was a lot said in this book that needed to be said and it was powerful. Regan was forced to see just how much words can hurt, both from getting words flung at her and the ones she’d said about others. She saw how easily people will turn on you just to save themselves from becoming a target. She experienced it, she fought to survive it, and she wanted to change it when too many people stay silent.
A very rewarding book that will hopefully make people who read it think twice before they say something about someone because words do hurt.
*I received a copy of this book from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review.
The Regan introduced in the prologue I had an instant like for and felt for as she struggled to talk about what had happened to her. The Regan in the first chapter, three months before, almost seemed like a completely different person at first. I found myself wanting to know what had happened to make her go from how she acted in the first chapter compared to the prologue. Regan as a bully was not a likeable character but I wouldn’t say she was completely unlikeable either. She was a girl making some horrible decisions in order to keep her secrets and achieve what she needed to get her mother off her back. It never came across as justified excuses for her bullying, which I liked. After her e-mails and texts and every bullying message she’d left was exposed, it was hard watching Regan get torn down by people she considered friends. It just got worse from there and what she had to endure at that school, no one should have to go through. She was slowly changing because of it, which was great to see, and I really like the person she discovered she was. In some ways, Regan reminded me a lot of Blair from Gossip Girl, especially at the beginning.
The writing was fantastic. I found there was a specific vibe that I would feel in the writing when something bad was going to happen soon, which got my nerves worked up wondering what it would be and how much more could Regan possibly take. Regan’s anxiety attacks were so well written. Just reading them made my own chest hurt in sympathy.
I thought there was a lot said in this book that needed to be said and it was powerful. Regan was forced to see just how much words can hurt, both from getting words flung at her and the ones she’d said about others. She saw how easily people will turn on you just to save themselves from becoming a target. She experienced it, she fought to survive it, and she wanted to change it when too many people stay silent.
A very rewarding book that will hopefully make people who read it think twice before they say something about someone because words do hurt.
*I received a copy of this book from the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review.
serenablackbeak's review against another edition
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
hannahsophialin's review against another edition
4.0
I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Deciding to actually read Cole Gibsen's latest new book was an extremely risky decision for me: I am, by no means, a contemporary reader (why I'm avoiding New Adult a lot), and telling Cole (or any author) that I hated her latest book is not something I would actually like to do...
I find that Life Unaware wasn't so daunting after all. In fact, after looking past the little peeves I have against some people in the world, Gibsen's debut contemporary is actually one of those extremely rare contemporaries that I enjoyed reading (the other one I believe is John Green's The Fault in Our Stars).
Life Unaware is actually written not necessarily from the person being bullied, but the bully herself getting a taste of her own medicine. For years Regan Flay has been popular at her school, looked up to and respected by her fellow peers. Little did anyone else aside from her close circle of friends that she spent her time digging up dirt about her classmates, until one day, Regan finds all of her private messages posted on the lockers at school.
For the first few chapters, I just couldn't stand Regan. She seemed stuck up, annoying, spoiled – basically just another missing part of the Mean Girls clique (that movie was highly annoying as well) – and the only thing I probably liked about Regan was the mere fact that I pitied and felt sorry for her. Underneath all her "rot," Regan was just a normal person with a mother who spent 99% of her time in politics and harping over Regan in her free time.
Basically, Regan just had a lot of extremely high expectations that I could surprisingly relate to in terms of choosing a college and a major. I didn't win on the college part (that battle now includes having to get a 30 or higher on my ACT to go to a university or I'm stuck at community college), but I did win (sort of) in choosing a major... by going the harder route, famously known as double major.
High expectations aside, enter Nolan Letner. Ex-popular, artistic, and bottom of the social ladder – a completely opposite spectrum to Regan until her private messages are revealed for the entire school to see. Nolan doesn't really play much of a role in Life Unaware, aside from being Regan's only "support" when her entire life flipped upside down before her eyes.
But despite the fact Nolan doesn't actually play a really huge role, he definitely brings out Regan's true side – the side that seems much more natural for Regan rather something forced from her mother over the years. Nolan also helps Regan turn her life back around, helping and encouraging her throughout several parts in the book to become a better person than she was before at the very beginning.
Life Unaware does eventually go for a darker turn before having a happily ever after vibe – sorry, no spoilers. While this is completely different from her other books, I do applaud Cole Gibsen for writing a well-written contemporary novel dealing with bullying and the after-effects.
This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts
Deciding to actually read Cole Gibsen's latest new book was an extremely risky decision for me: I am, by no means, a contemporary reader (why I'm avoiding New Adult a lot), and telling Cole (or any author) that I hated her latest book is not something I would actually like to do...
I find that Life Unaware wasn't so daunting after all. In fact, after looking past the little peeves I have against some people in the world, Gibsen's debut contemporary is actually one of those extremely rare contemporaries that I enjoyed reading (the other one I believe is John Green's The Fault in Our Stars).
Life Unaware is actually written not necessarily from the person being bullied, but the bully herself getting a taste of her own medicine. For years Regan Flay has been popular at her school, looked up to and respected by her fellow peers. Little did anyone else aside from her close circle of friends that she spent her time digging up dirt about her classmates, until one day, Regan finds all of her private messages posted on the lockers at school.
For the first few chapters, I just couldn't stand Regan. She seemed stuck up, annoying, spoiled – basically just another missing part of the Mean Girls clique (that movie was highly annoying as well) – and the only thing I probably liked about Regan was the mere fact that I pitied and felt sorry for her. Underneath all her "rot," Regan was just a normal person with a mother who spent 99% of her time in politics and harping over Regan in her free time.
Basically, Regan just had a lot of extremely high expectations that I could surprisingly relate to in terms of choosing a college and a major. I didn't win on the college part (that battle now includes having to get a 30 or higher on my ACT to go to a university or I'm stuck at community college), but I did win (sort of) in choosing a major... by going the harder route, famously known as double major.
High expectations aside, enter Nolan Letner. Ex-popular, artistic, and bottom of the social ladder – a completely opposite spectrum to Regan until her private messages are revealed for the entire school to see. Nolan doesn't really play much of a role in Life Unaware, aside from being Regan's only "support" when her entire life flipped upside down before her eyes.
But despite the fact Nolan doesn't actually play a really huge role, he definitely brings out Regan's true side – the side that seems much more natural for Regan rather something forced from her mother over the years. Nolan also helps Regan turn her life back around, helping and encouraging her throughout several parts in the book to become a better person than she was before at the very beginning.
Life Unaware does eventually go for a darker turn before having a happily ever after vibe – sorry, no spoilers. While this is completely different from her other books, I do applaud Cole Gibsen for writing a well-written contemporary novel dealing with bullying and the after-effects.
This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts
jaimereadsromance's review against another edition
4.0
Sometimes when I've read a string of New Adult or Contemporary Romances and then I dive into a Young Adult/Coming of Age story I have a hard time reprogramming my brain to get into the mentality of a 15-18 year old. It's then that I have a hard time remembering what it was like to be young, naive and, yes, a little stupid which is why it was probably hard for me to get into this book for the first 25%. Do teenagers really act like this? Are they this cruel and selfish? Yes? That's why I hated high school, it's all coming back to me now.
This is why I focused so much on the romance aspect of the story. I needed something sweet and good to hold onto in the sea of crap these teens were giving each other. Enter Nolan, the outcast, annoying older brother of Regan's best friend. It's obvious pretty early that the dislike that Regan and Nolan have for each other will turn into something else but it was fun to watch (read, whatever, you know what I mean). Nolan was sarcastic and had a sort of bitterness to him but he was also smart and caring and it's clear he's going to go places and do things that go above and beyond himself. I could only sit and hope that his indifference to being a "nobody" would rub off on Regan.
Regan, she drove me crazy. Everything she did seemed so vindictive and cruel, especially when you know what she's dealing with all by herself. I guess that's the point though right? That bullies are usually bullies because they are trying to deflect their own problems from the spotlight to help them forget about the fact that they aren't happy.
When I finally started to see Regan changing, it's was a huge relief but it's then that I started to see that something deeper and darker was going on in that school with her friends. I had an idea of what was to come but when everything finally came out I was totally not expecting all of that. My heart broke for Regan, for Nolan and for everyone involved.
This was a well-written story of change, growth, acceptance and forgiveness and it will leave a sharpie mark on my heart for a long time.
This is why I focused so much on the romance aspect of the story. I needed something sweet and good to hold onto in the sea of crap these teens were giving each other. Enter Nolan, the outcast, annoying older brother of Regan's best friend. It's obvious pretty early that the dislike that Regan and Nolan have for each other will turn into something else but it was fun to watch (read, whatever, you know what I mean). Nolan was sarcastic and had a sort of bitterness to him but he was also smart and caring and it's clear he's going to go places and do things that go above and beyond himself. I could only sit and hope that his indifference to being a "nobody" would rub off on Regan.
Regan, she drove me crazy. Everything she did seemed so vindictive and cruel, especially when you know what she's dealing with all by herself. I guess that's the point though right? That bullies are usually bullies because they are trying to deflect their own problems from the spotlight to help them forget about the fact that they aren't happy.
When I finally started to see Regan changing, it's was a huge relief but it's then that I started to see that something deeper and darker was going on in that school with her friends. I had an idea of what was to come but when everything finally came out I was totally not expecting all of that. My heart broke for Regan, for Nolan and for everyone involved.
This was a well-written story of change, growth, acceptance and forgiveness and it will leave a sharpie mark on my heart for a long time.
justenjoy's review against another edition
4.0
This book had a lot of messages surrounding social media, high school in general, hate, bullying, tolerance toward each other… it’s a very dark and hard-hitting contemporary that’s very relevant today. Along with panic attacks, Regan also has to deal with a very, very demanding mother. There were times where I honestly wanted to smack the mom – she was so ignorant. And don’t get me started on the father. Children can be very vicious and even though Regan is the victim she was also someone who bullied others and the author did a splendid job at creating conflicting emotions concerning the main character. I did not expect this book to deal with such heavy subjects and it gets a lot darker than I first expected, but I found it to be very well done.
pacey1927's review against another edition
5.0
This book should be mandatory reading for every middle school or high school student. "Life Unaware" is not a perfect book, but it is close to being so. Let me back up for a moment. "Life Unaware" is about bullying...both the bullied and the bullies. Regan Flay is a mean girl. She is one of the most popular girls in school. Her mom is a politician who holds Regan to the highest standards. Regan will do anything to stay on top of the school food chain.The first few chapters really let us know how cruel Regan is and that she doesn't much think about the consequences of her hurtful words and actions. Readers will likely hate Regan at this point. However, I bet more than a few teenage readers will see something of themselves in her as well. Then Regan's world is flipped upside down. Her private text messages and emails have been leaked. They are all over the school. Everyone knows exactly what Regan has said about them. Her friends turn on her as well. Everyone looks down on her. Now Regan is the one being bullied.
The is a very hard-core and realistic novel. It doesn't sugar-coat the hurt that bullying causes. It deals with suicide, anxiety and depression. Yet, there is such a sense of hope and redemption. We have a different Regan, a REAL Regan by the end of the story. And I am so happy to say that the change in her attitude feels like a natural consequence to her actions. It doesn't feel convenient for the sake of the novel. There are some bad words in the book and some references to sex. All of those things are done to capture the realistic feel of the high school environment.
Now for one little complaint which still can't make me detract stars: When Regan is shunned at school and bullied relentlessly she almost immediately has Nolan at her side. Nolan is another 'freak' at school, but he defends her and is there for her. Many kids being bullied do not have anyone on their side. They don't have a "Nolan" to support them or pull their attention away during confrontations. While Nolan is ultimately necessary for this novel to succeed in telling this particular story, all I could think about is a bullied teen reading this novel and feeling like they have no one for them. Regan is never truly alone in this book.
Still "Life Unaware" is the best story I have read that deals with bullying. Not to sound trite, but it would be a great movie and I think that would be a great way to get this important story to the non-readers out there. I will look for more to come from Cole Gibsen. I am very impressed
The is a very hard-core and realistic novel. It doesn't sugar-coat the hurt that bullying causes. It deals with suicide, anxiety and depression. Yet, there is such a sense of hope and redemption. We have a different Regan, a REAL Regan by the end of the story. And I am so happy to say that the change in her attitude feels like a natural consequence to her actions. It doesn't feel convenient for the sake of the novel. There are some bad words in the book and some references to sex. All of those things are done to capture the realistic feel of the high school environment.
Now for one little complaint which still can't make me detract stars: When Regan is shunned at school and bullied relentlessly she almost immediately has Nolan at her side. Nolan is another 'freak' at school, but he defends her and is there for her. Many kids being bullied do not have anyone on their side. They don't have a "Nolan" to support them or pull their attention away during confrontations. While Nolan is ultimately necessary for this novel to succeed in telling this particular story, all I could think about is a bullied teen reading this novel and feeling like they have no one for them. Regan is never truly alone in this book.
Still "Life Unaware" is the best story I have read that deals with bullying. Not to sound trite, but it would be a great movie and I think that would be a great way to get this important story to the non-readers out there. I will look for more to come from Cole Gibsen. I am very impressed
caitlin21521's review against another edition
2.0
I sort of feel like I just read a lifetime movie. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great.