Reviews with content warning for Physical abuse - The Teacher

Disclaimer: I really went back and forth on how many stars to give this book because my feelings about it were all over the place (which you will soon discover) but in the end I landed on 2.25 because all things aside, I was entertained by how ridiculous everything was, which is probably not the way that I'm thinking Freida wanted me to be entertained.

Ok, I'm not sure where to even begin. I think I will just copy and paste my notes as I read the book because I'm not sure I could summarize them even if I wanted to. So, if you would like to peak inside my mind as I went on the rollercoaster that is The Teacher, please read on. THERE ARE SPOILERS from this point forward!

31% - OK, thoughts so far. Honestly I find both narrators quite annoying. Eve sounds like an awful teacher and I am not a fan. Also, her shoe obsession is just a little too much for me. Like I love my shoes but I feel it’s borderline a fetish for her. If she’s worried about money she should sell feet pictures to pay for her shoe obsession. As for Addie, I know she’s a teenager and is therefore written like one but these days I just have very little patience for high school bullying and antics. I can’t stand it when teenagers don’t tell adults about what is going on to at least try to address the situation. Also, how does no adult actually question Addie more about her gym clothes and wet backpack? She saw two teachers and her mom and none of them thought to actually press her just a little to see what the real issue was? (At this point I was holding out hope that maybe there would be some semblance of real life in this book but I should have just known that nothing was going to be realistic from this point on). Also, I don’t appreciate Addie (Freida) perpetuating the stigma against Pit Bulls. Come on Freida, it’s 2024 we need to change that narrative. American Pit Bulls Terriers can be the absolute sweetest dogs and I’m so over people not being informed about their true nature. Next, and the reason I finally had to stop to write this, I feel like there is a plot hole right now (I should have known it would be the first of many). Earlier in the book, when Eve found out that Addie was going to be in her class, she was commenting how she didn’t want her there and how she almost asked to have her switched blah blah blah. But at the end of that chapter she said something along the lines of, “but I shouldn’t be worried she’s in my class, I should be worried because she’s in Nate’s class too.” And yet now, we are at Eve’s birthday dinner and Nate sees Addie at the restaurant and says oh I just see one of my students and Eve acts like she didn’t know Addie was in Nate’s class. Like what? Eve, you literally said you should be worried Addie was in Nate's class and now it's a shock to you when he says she is?? I’m hoping this gets better but so far, I’m disappointed.

41% OK, fine now Nate is finally asking her about what happened to her clothes. Definitely appropriate they happen to be in a tiny little secluded hallway by the bathroom, not lol (should have realized that nothing about this book was going to be appropriate when it came to student/teacher relationships...). Did Frida do any research for this book? Does she have any idea that teachers go to bed really early? There’s no way going to bed at 9:30pm would be a record for a teacher 😂Oh my gosh. Addie saying “maybe deep down I’m just as bad as my father” while comparing her cheating on a test to his physical abuse and alcoholism is not ok IMHO.

54% Oh my gosh Addie honey you are so, so dumb. He doesn’t love you, he just wants to get in your pants. And Nate is a major perv. Before their tryst started, I was thinking maybe Kenzie and Nate were having an affair because of the note Addie found in her room (good job me!). No way that note is from Cooper (Hudson) or whatever her ex best friend football player’s name is lol.

68% Literally laughed out loud when Eve just said that eating some ice cream could soak up the alcohol. I love Freida but I am just nitpicking every tiny thing at this point and this book has quickly become a comedy for me, not a thriller 😂 Soaking up the alcohol in your system most likely requires eating something that can actually “absorb” it, not just more (frozen) liquid lol. Please forgive me if I’m being extra critical/mean at this point. I’ve lost all sense of decency 🙃

77% Addie thinking Nate saying the phrase “deny everything” as “words of wisdom” really sums up the ridiculousness of this book. I mean girl… I know she’s a teenager but wow. I can't stand her and yet I almost actually feel sorry for her…

91% Oh man, I am so smart lol. I knew Kenzie was having an affair with Nate before Addie did. But now I am realizing that Addie is even more of an idiot than I had already thought because when she saw the note in Kenzie’s room (that I now assume was written by Nate), wouldn’t Addie recognize Nate’s handwriting? And obviously known it wasn’t Cooper’s (Hudson's) handwriting or whatever her ex best friend name’s was? Oh Frida. I know your stories sometimes have plot holes but this one seems pretty big to me lol....... Hudson. I don’t know why I can’t get that name to stick lol (hence me calling him Cooper all the time).

94% LOL Freida has no idea how big a raven is. I know she did it to go with her Poe theme but if there was a raven in that pumpkin, the pumpkin must have won blue ribbon at the county fair for its size. Ravens are like twice the size of crows…

Ok, and now for the ending: I mean wow. So, so many questions. Was I shocked by the reveal that Eve was originally Nate's student and he wrote THE SAME poem for her that he gave to Kenzie AND Addie? Yes. Was I also shocked to discover that Jay was Hudson the whole time and that Eve was ALSO having an inappropriate affair with a student at their high school? Also yes. But I truly cannot even fathom the logistics of this ending. If Jay was Hudson the whole time, how in the world did Hudson drive back and forth TWICE to the same place (the pumpkin patch) in one night if a one way trip was about an hour away? Also, Hudson clearly knew that Addie was involved when he picked up Eve AFTER picking up Addie in basically the exact same spot so why did he go along with the whole idea that it was just Nate? If Hudson really loved Eve (ie was clearly groomed by Eve) (yuck), wouldn't he be livid with Addie for her part in everything and turn her in/not want to be her friend anymore?? I love a good Freida twist but this book just had me either laughing out loud or rolling my eyes wayyyyyy more often than it had me gasping due to her usual twists.

Content Warnings

sierrabowers's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I always love a good Freida McFadden book. No hate to her because I EAT UP her books, but they’re like so bad that they’re good. If that makes sense? Like they’re cringe but the ending makes EVERYTHING worth it. The ending to this one was no different. IT WAS WILD. When you think she’s done. Nope. ANOTHER twist is thrown at you. Someday maybe I’ll read this again and I’ll get to see everything in a new perspective.

Content Warnings