Monday, August 18, 2014

Unteachable by Leah Raeder

Synopsis-

Maise O’Malley just turned eighteen, but she’s felt like a grown-up her entire life. The summer before senior year, she has plans: get into a great film school, convince her mom to go into rehab, and absolutely do not, under any circumstances, screw up her own future.
But life has a way of throwing her plans into free-fall.

When Maise meets Evan at a carnival one night, their chemistry is immediate, intense, and short-lived. Which is exactly how she likes it: no strings. But afterward, she can’t get Evan out of her head. He’s taught her that a hookup can be something more. It can be an unexpected connection with someone who truly understands her. Someone who sees beyond her bravado to the scared but strong girl inside.

That someone turns out to be her new film class teacher, Mr. Evan Wilke.
Maise and Evan resolve to keep their hands off each other, but the attraction is too much to bear. Together, they’re real and genuine; apart, they’re just actors playing their parts for everyone else. And their masks are slipping. People start to notice. Rumors fly. When the truth comes to light in a shocking way, they may learn they were just playing parts for each other, too.
Smart, sexy, and provocative, Unteachable is about what happens when a love story goes off-script.

MrsNorthman's Review-
5/5 Fangs

"That's all life is. Breathing in, breathing out. The space between two breaths."

This book blew me away. It's been days since I've finished and I find myself still thinking about it. Part of me wants to read it again, just to see if it truly lives up to what I've been obsessing over. It's dark, forbidden, and comes so close to feeling wrong, but the writing is artistic and gritty and only left me craving more.

I have to admit the story started off a little rough for me. Maise is pretty messed up. Her father left when she was young and her mom is a drug addict, so she's been forced to take care of herself. She deals with her abandonment and daddy issues by having sex with older men and she doesn't make any excuses for it, she almost brags about it.

A chance meeting on a rollercoaster leads to sex in the front seat of a stranger's car. There's an instantaneous feeling that this guy is different, but it scares her, so she flees. A few days later, on the first day of senior year, she finds out Evan is her thirty-two year old Film Studies teacher - Mr. Wilke.
"I like that you're kind of fucked up, because I'm kind of fucked up."
There are a lot of mixed reviews about this book and it seems to be because of the age difference, something that didn't bother me at all. At first, I felt really bad for Maise, turning to sleazy men to fill the void in her heart. But, I never had the feeling that Evan was taking advantage of her. Maybe it's because as the story progressed Maise seemed so mature for being only eighteen. I was disappointed with some of the things Evan kept from her, but their connection was undeniable and so sexy and passionate. I questioned along with Maise if their relationship was just heightened because of forbidden student/teacher aspect and the sneaking around, but it was so much more. Two broken souls that found happiness in one another. A truly unique story with a brilliant ending.

*Complimentary copy provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20877902-unteachable

http://amzn.to/1p6IR5s

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