Scan barcode
juicelina's review against another edition
2.0
*More of a 2.5*
So I kind of liked this book for the most part, but it felt sort of off to me. I don't know if I really liked Ellery, because she tried so hard to be a special snowflake and "not like other girls." Also this book incorporates that stupid trope where a girl meets a boy and she's not depressed anymore. It was gradual at least and tried hard not to be that trope, but they were "so in love" after a month of knowing each other and Ellery began to question why she wanted to commit suicide. I liked Colter, but I really don't understand why and how they fell in love. It felt sort of rushed like first he was trying to save her and she thought he was annoying for it and now bam! they're in love.
I don't know this book was weird. I liked it at first, but as I read more it gave me a bad taste. I really don't know how to explain it. It was an okay book, but there's something wrong with it that I just can't put my finger on. Meh meh meh. I wanted to like it so much more than I did, but I guess it wasn't meant to be.
So I kind of liked this book for the most part, but it felt sort of off to me. I don't know if I really liked Ellery, because she tried so hard to be a special snowflake and "not like other girls." Also this book incorporates that stupid trope where a girl meets a boy and she's not depressed anymore. It was gradual at least and tried hard not to be that trope, but they were "so in love" after a month of knowing each other and Ellery began to question why she wanted to commit suicide. I liked Colter, but I really don't understand why and how they fell in love. It felt sort of rushed like first he was trying to save her and she thought he was annoying for it and now bam! they're in love.
Spoiler
Also I totallyyyy saw it coming that Colter had a sibling who also committed suicide and that's why he was hanging around Ellery trying to help her. I feel like that's such a cliche.I don't know this book was weird. I liked it at first, but as I read more it gave me a bad taste. I really don't know how to explain it. It was an okay book, but there's something wrong with it that I just can't put my finger on. Meh meh meh. I wanted to like it so much more than I did, but I guess it wasn't meant to be.
missprint_'s review against another edition
3.0
Ellery is going to kill herself. She has chosen the day and purchased the gun. She even booked a cleaning service to come right after so that her mother won't have to deal with it. She has given away her possessions and broken away from her all of her friends except for Jackson Gray who remains frustratingly loyal. Ellery is ready to die until the gun breaks when she tries to shoot herself.
Certain that shooting herself is the only viable suicide option she has, Ellery tries to return the faulty gun. Except she brings it to the wrong store. And catches the attention of the security guard, Colter Sawyer who recognizes Ellery from school. Colter sees the warning signs despite Ellery's best efforts to deflect.
Colter's brother killed himself and Colter felt powerless to stop him. He refuses to let the same thing happen to Ellery and embarks on a one-man mission to save her. Colter uses the threat of telling someone her plans to get Ellery to promise to try to be present and live until the end of October.
But that's fine. Ellery can play along for a few weeks. She can ignore the way Colter gets under her skin and makes her feel something for once. Because Ellery has already chosen a new date to kill herself--the night of Halloween in Teach Me to Forget (2016) by Erica M. Chapman.
Teach Me to Forget is Chapman's debut novel and one that has to be considered in two lights. As a piece of fiction it is well-written and engaging. As a book about a character suffering from mental illness and considering suicide . . . it could do a lot more.
It was disappointing to pick up a finished copy of Teach Me to Forget and realize the book did not offer any resources or hotline information for readers who may be considering suicide including any of the numbers found here: http://www.teenhealthandwellness.com/static/hotlines#Suicide Honestly, if that information had been in the book, this review might have been different.
**Spoilers to follow as I discuss what did and didn't work in the text.**
Obviously, Teach Me to Forget talks a lot about suicide. Ellery is depressed, she has already experienced one incident of self-harm, and she spends most of the novel determined to kill herself. In addition, Ellery bonds with her childhood friend Dean over their shared suicide plans despite Ellery's realization that she doesn't want him to kill himself. This could potentially be triggering and damaging for readers--particularly those who might have considered suicide in the past or are considering it now.
Chapman's writing is excellent. Ellery's narration is sardonic, authentic, and often heartbreaking. Ellery's arc is compelling. Unfortunately, most of her healing isn't shown on the page. Instead, the burden of saving Ellery remains with Colter who does eventually tell Ellery's mother about her suicide plans. Ellery is hospitalized and begins therapy but none of that is shown on the page and instead occurs in the space between the book's last chapter and its epilogue.
Teach Me to Forget is not a book I would highlight for its portrayal and treatment of mental illness. It is, however, a thoughtful book about healing, grieving, and finding love both for oneself and romantically. Teach Me to Forget marks Chapman as an author to watch.
Possible Pairings: Suffer Love by Ashley Herring Blake, Finding Mr. Brightside by Jay Clark, This Raging Light by Estelle Laure, How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr, The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner
*An advance copy of this title was provided for review by the publisher*
Certain that shooting herself is the only viable suicide option she has, Ellery tries to return the faulty gun. Except she brings it to the wrong store. And catches the attention of the security guard, Colter Sawyer who recognizes Ellery from school. Colter sees the warning signs despite Ellery's best efforts to deflect.
Colter's brother killed himself and Colter felt powerless to stop him. He refuses to let the same thing happen to Ellery and embarks on a one-man mission to save her. Colter uses the threat of telling someone her plans to get Ellery to promise to try to be present and live until the end of October.
But that's fine. Ellery can play along for a few weeks. She can ignore the way Colter gets under her skin and makes her feel something for once. Because Ellery has already chosen a new date to kill herself--the night of Halloween in Teach Me to Forget (2016) by Erica M. Chapman.
Teach Me to Forget is Chapman's debut novel and one that has to be considered in two lights. As a piece of fiction it is well-written and engaging. As a book about a character suffering from mental illness and considering suicide . . . it could do a lot more.
It was disappointing to pick up a finished copy of Teach Me to Forget and realize the book did not offer any resources or hotline information for readers who may be considering suicide including any of the numbers found here: http://www.teenhealthandwellness.com/static/hotlines#Suicide Honestly, if that information had been in the book, this review might have been different.
**Spoilers to follow as I discuss what did and didn't work in the text.**
Spoiler
Obviously, Teach Me to Forget talks a lot about suicide. Ellery is depressed, she has already experienced one incident of self-harm, and she spends most of the novel determined to kill herself. In addition, Ellery bonds with her childhood friend Dean over their shared suicide plans despite Ellery's realization that she doesn't want him to kill himself. This could potentially be triggering and damaging for readers--particularly those who might have considered suicide in the past or are considering it now.
Chapman's writing is excellent. Ellery's narration is sardonic, authentic, and often heartbreaking. Ellery's arc is compelling. Unfortunately, most of her healing isn't shown on the page. Instead, the burden of saving Ellery remains with Colter who does eventually tell Ellery's mother about her suicide plans. Ellery is hospitalized and begins therapy but none of that is shown on the page and instead occurs in the space between the book's last chapter and its epilogue.
Teach Me to Forget is not a book I would highlight for its portrayal and treatment of mental illness. It is, however, a thoughtful book about healing, grieving, and finding love both for oneself and romantically. Teach Me to Forget marks Chapman as an author to watch.
Possible Pairings: Suffer Love by Ashley Herring Blake, Finding Mr. Brightside by Jay Clark, This Raging Light by Estelle Laure, How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr, The Serpent King by Jeff Zentner
*An advance copy of this title was provided for review by the publisher*
ana126rhysand56aelin's review against another edition
3.5
Very slow and repetivitve. I love all the characters
merlin_reads's review against another edition
4.0
I went into this book knowing that it dealt with very harsh subject matter. Depression and suicides are nothing to be taken lightly so I was interested in how Chapman would present this. And while I didn't agree with the actions of certain people in the book, there was a good amount of realism present.
The book opens with Ellery about to kill herself. She has everything planned out - right down to hiring the cleaning service to take care of the mess so her mother doesn't have to. But when the shotgun doesn't go off (the first six times or so of trying), she gets frustrated and goes to return it. Only she doesn't return it to Walmart where they sell guns, but tries to return it at K-Mart. Even with a receipt showing it was purchased and despite her protests that she was just trying to return a defective gun but just got the stores mixed up, Ellery is still an underage girl with a gun. Obviously security takes notice. The security guard just happens to be someone from Ellery's school, and thus begins her relationship with Colter.
I felt that the author portrayed Ellery's pain as a very tangible thing. I saw some other reviews where people complained that Ellery's was too stuck in one moment and her reason for not living was stuck and repetitive. Since we were reading from her point of view, it made sense to me that she would keep reliving the night her life changed. Guilt and grief are two separate terrible things and can eat away at people if they are not dealt with. I think we were supposed to feel frustrated with her because we could see all of the reasons for her to live, but she could not.
I absolutely adored Colter. He sees that something is wrong with Ellery and tries to show her what to live for. Despite the tragedies in his past, he was focused on moving forward and was trying to understand why Ellery couldn't.
There were a couple of issues that I had and they were why I couldn't give this story 5 stars. First was the amount of metaphors the author uses. There were times where I forgot what the sentence was describing because of how many metaphors were being used. There were just too many. This was something I noticed right off the bat and just knew it was going to bother me if it persisted.
The second issue was how other people dealt with Ellery's depression. It's pretty obvious that she was not okay. Even her faking it was bad. But no did anything. I loved Colter, but when you know someone has planned to kill themselves, you tell someone. You try to get that person professional help. There were two suicidal people in this book, both with noticeable tendencies and nobody did anything about either. When Ellery finds out a classmate is also suicidal, she decides that while she doesn't want him to die, she won't tell anyone because then he might tell her secret and she's also kind of fascinated with how he's going to do it. It was a little disturbing.
This book reminds me a lot of Thirteen Reasons Why in different ways. Suicide awareness is something that needs to be focused on more. I do wish that this book portrayed how to help someone a littler better than just using the love angle, but it was still a powerful book and the ending seemed to be going in that direction.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
The book opens with Ellery about to kill herself. She has everything planned out - right down to hiring the cleaning service to take care of the mess so her mother doesn't have to. But when the shotgun doesn't go off (the first six times or so of trying), she gets frustrated and goes to return it. Only she doesn't return it to Walmart where they sell guns, but tries to return it at K-Mart. Even with a receipt showing it was purchased and despite her protests that she was just trying to return a defective gun but just got the stores mixed up, Ellery is still an underage girl with a gun. Obviously security takes notice. The security guard just happens to be someone from Ellery's school, and thus begins her relationship with Colter.
I felt that the author portrayed Ellery's pain as a very tangible thing. I saw some other reviews where people complained that Ellery's was too stuck in one moment and her reason for not living was stuck and repetitive. Since we were reading from her point of view, it made sense to me that she would keep reliving the night her life changed. Guilt and grief are two separate terrible things and can eat away at people if they are not dealt with. I think we were supposed to feel frustrated with her because we could see all of the reasons for her to live, but she could not.
I absolutely adored Colter. He sees that something is wrong with Ellery and tries to show her what to live for. Despite the tragedies in his past, he was focused on moving forward and was trying to understand why Ellery couldn't.
There were a couple of issues that I had and they were why I couldn't give this story 5 stars. First was the amount of metaphors the author uses. There were times where I forgot what the sentence was describing because of how many metaphors were being used. There were just too many. This was something I noticed right off the bat and just knew it was going to bother me if it persisted.
The second issue was how other people dealt with Ellery's depression. It's pretty obvious that she was not okay. Even her faking it was bad. But no did anything. I loved Colter, but when you know someone has planned to kill themselves, you tell someone. You try to get that person professional help. There were two suicidal people in this book, both with noticeable tendencies and nobody did anything about either. When Ellery finds out a classmate is also suicidal, she decides that while she doesn't want him to die, she won't tell anyone because then he might tell her secret and she's also kind of fascinated with how he's going to do it. It was a little disturbing.
This book reminds me a lot of Thirteen Reasons Why in different ways. Suicide awareness is something that needs to be focused on more. I do wish that this book portrayed how to help someone a littler better than just using the love angle, but it was still a powerful book and the ending seemed to be going in that direction.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
lisaluvsliterature's review against another edition
5.0
If you read and appreciated Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, this is a book that to me is just as good. It's about a girl who is going to commit suicide. It's done from a different aspect than Asher's book. This is told as the girl is going through her actual plan.
This book is so good. The way Ellery feels is described very well. Her being so set on the whole idea was heartbreaking, but you could kind of see her reasoning, or at least why it made sense to her. I have had my own issues with depression, so many parts in this resonated with me. While I totally understood her reasoning and thoughts, I think getting to know Colter and the things he did for her really helped me to see the other side of the issue. While I haven't had those types of thoughts in a while, it was definitely a good thing.
To read my full review, go to Lisa Loves Literature.
This book is so good. The way Ellery feels is described very well. Her being so set on the whole idea was heartbreaking, but you could kind of see her reasoning, or at least why it made sense to her. I have had my own issues with depression, so many parts in this resonated with me. While I totally understood her reasoning and thoughts, I think getting to know Colter and the things he did for her really helped me to see the other side of the issue. While I haven't had those types of thoughts in a while, it was definitely a good thing.
To read my full review, go to Lisa Loves Literature.
valeriefm's review against another edition
5.0
I had the chance to read Teach Me to Forget in its first draft form--which was heartbreaking and raw. Ellory's story is not for the faint of heart, but is so important to hear. I admire Erica's advocacy for suicide prevention and could not be happier that this book is out in the world.
mlatrece's review against another edition
4.0
"Teach Me Not" by Erica M. Campbell I would compare to "All The Bright Places" By Jennifer Niven because the author really captures the emotions of someone who doesn't want to go on living their life. This story is relatable because most of us have loss a love one or is battling depression. Without giving away spoilers I love the friendship between Colter and Ellery. While I found this book to be heart wrenching I couldn't put it down; I wanted to see what happens to Ellery. This is a must read for your TBR.
DISCLAIMER: I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
DISCLAIMER: I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
amanda1620's review against another edition
3.0
This book talks about depression and trauma; it is also beautifully written. The two main characters are the opposite of each other, but the completes and balances each other perfectly. I feel very strongly for both Ellery and Colter towards the end of the book.
marinazala's review against another edition
3.0
** Books 42 - 2017 **
2,9 of 5 stars!
The premise looks promising but I dunno why this books is not really captivating me. It is just about story who finally didn't suicides herself since love is saving her. i'm kinda wondering is it an author fans of Nicholas sparks? I found "The Notebook" being wrote down in this pieces.
2,9 of 5 stars!
The premise looks promising but I dunno why this books is not really captivating me. It is just about story who finally didn't suicides herself since love is saving her. i'm kinda wondering is it an author fans of Nicholas sparks? I found "The Notebook" being wrote down in this pieces.
lmohhhh's review against another edition
4.0
Where to start, I am going to start with a quick explanation about how my Kindle has soooooo many books on it 400+ that I forget synopsis's of books I want to read because I got them so long ago when I first saw them.
I recently read My Heart and Other Black Holes, then picked this one on my kindle not checking what it was even about again. It was so super similar but yet so much better than My Heart and Other Black Holes, that seemed forced, the feelings didn't seem genuine but in Teach me to Forget I feel like Erica got it right, I felt the darkness and despair even when she thought she still had to go ahead even with the great feelings that had popped up. I also loved Colter, he was wise beyond his years but sexy wise, he cared and I connected better with him.
Great read for a sensitive topic that so many authors have gotten wrong in the past.
I recently read My Heart and Other Black Holes, then picked this one on my kindle not checking what it was even about again. It was so super similar but yet so much better than My Heart and Other Black Holes, that seemed forced, the feelings didn't seem genuine but in Teach me to Forget I feel like Erica got it right, I felt the darkness and despair even when she thought she still had to go ahead even with the great feelings that had popped up. I also loved Colter, he was wise beyond his years but sexy wise, he cared and I connected better with him.
Great read for a sensitive topic that so many authors have gotten wrong in the past.