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dblue236's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I have yet to read a book from this author that I didn't like, and this one continued the trend. There were definitely some things about it that were cringeworthy, but considering what the book was about they weren't all that surprising. I definitely never saw the twist at the very end of the book coming and I tore through it over the course of a couple days. Looking forward to reading more of her work in the future!
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Medical trauma, Murder, Death, Infidelity, Pedophilia, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Bullying and Sexual content
Minor: Blood
cartermon4's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Infidelity, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Blood, Domestic abuse, Violence, Confinement, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Stalking, Cancer, Infertility, and Vomit
maggieparedesauthor's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Trigger Warning: Grooming, pedophilia, abuse of authority and power, extramarital affairs/cheating
Graphic: Death of parent, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Cancer, Cursing, Grief, Gore, Bullying, Murder, Violence, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, and Injury/Injury detail
thelibraryofanolive's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Body horror, Blood, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Stalking, Sexual harassment, Rape, Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Infertility, Alcoholism, Cancer, Grief, Gore, Addiction, and Alcohol
aliceaustin's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Blood, Stalking, Rape, Death, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Sexual content, Physical abuse, and Toxic relationship
britainmic's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Adult/minor relationship, and Death
Moderate: Blood
skulls3713's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Death, Murder, Pedophilia, and Stalking
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Bullying, Blood, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, and Torture
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Cancer, Self harm, Death of parent, and Grief
rready's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Stalking, Blood, Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, Murder, and Infidelity
lawbooks600's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Score: Five out of ten.
That was a heavy one. I only saw The Teacher by Freida McFadden a few days ago on a library display shelf, so I picked it up and glanced at the intriguing blurb, making it appear like a thriller. I headed in with lowered expectations after seeing the low ratings, and when I closed the final page, it was okay.
It starts with a prologue with someone digging a grave, then it cuts to two characters, Eve, the partner of Nate, a teacher, and Addie, a student at Caseham High School. Everything looks typical until Addie, a minor, has a relationship with a teacher, hence the title, making it an uncomfortable read. I could've given it a DNF there, but I read on to see where it was going, but I should've done that when I had the chance. The plot drives The Teacher forward, with the characters not developing or having depth in any way, and as I read through more of the storyline, I couldn't like any of the characters, since they made questionable decisions in one way or another. There aren't any protagonists, more like morally grey characters.
The Teacher is almost 400 pages long, so its pacing is slow in the first 200 pages as nothing much happens other than Eve and Addie recounting their daily lives then it quickly picks up steam toward the last 200, with the action intensifying. Particularly, the concluding 100 pages are the most engaging as I thought Addie killed Eve and buried her under a shallow layer of dirt, but it turns out Eve was alive all along, and now vows to retaliate against Nate instead of moving on like any typical person would. The conclusion is satisfying, at least for Eve, as she throws Nate into her grave and buries him, but I couldn't shake off the overall tone of bleakness and brutality. I wonder what happened to Addie, though, did she move on from that? I'm unsure. Now that is an unanswered question.
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Domestic abuse, Death, and Murder
Full trigger warnings: Death and murder of a partner by asphyxiation, near-death experience, physical assault and injury, blood depiction, adult-minor relationship, cheating, vivisepulture, strangulation, abuseastronomicall's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Murder and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Confinement, Bullying, Sexual content, and Stalking
Minor: Cancer, Cursing, Gaslighting, Addiction, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, and Blood