Unteachable

Even if I hated this book, I\’d still love it for the writing style. MY GOD this guy is a good writer. I don\’t know where he disappeared to but I hope he\’s somewhere writing and making movies because he seems to have a passion for it. As the author writes in the acknowledgments, quote: \”Writing is easy,\” said someone far wiser than me. \”You just open a vein and bleed.\” This story has an ominous quality to itmisty and mysterious and dangerous. It felt like I was viewing it through a gauzy curtain or a drug induced haze. There was lots of color in the author\’s descriptions, but the movie in my head kept reverting to black and white like film noir. I loved this story. It\’s all about black and white and the many, many shades of gray in between. It\’s about ethics and morality. When is it ok to not be yourself? When is it ok to do what you feel is wrong? When is it ok to betray those you love? When is it ok to give up? These main characters are spectacularly screwed up, yet despite their age difference, in terms of maturity they are a match. But Maise represents the aspirational, and Evan represents the jaded crushed spirit. Maise still has hope for the future and Evan wants her to have it even though he believes he\’s blown it for himself. Their future as a couple is surely in doubt. They are the HEA that isn\’t. I can\’t recall reading any romance stories that I can call a piece of art, that stimulate thought on so many levelsfrom the cosmic to the philosophical to the mundane. It\’s the kind of story that you will want to read more than once to gain a fuller understanding. I know this story will stick with me for a very long time. I suppose it\’s not for everybody, but for me it was over and above most other books that I\’ve read and I don\’t want to ever forget about it.

I hated this book. I only read it because I\’ve heard SUCH lovely things about it (repeatedly). But this one didn\’t hit the marks for me. I don\’t necessarily have anything against an age difference, though 18 and 33 feels a little… predatory? to me. I probably should have stopped when I realized I wasn\’t enjoying it, but I thought maybe the ending would redeem it. And it did not. I was surprised by the ending, since the male character in the story LOVES Casablanca. But I feel like the thing about the love story in Casablanca is that he lets her go in the end, BECAUSE he loves her. That\’s NOT what happened here. Their relationship felt really toxic to me. I felt like he expected her to make all of the sacrifices, and, honestly, I didn\’t find either character compelling. Which is maybe the appeal for some people? There was just SO much lying and the idea that either of them could be in love with each other when they knew NOTHING about each other was far-fetched, to say the least. I guess I just prefer my romance to be a bit lighter – there was no light in this story. And why was EVERYONE in love with Maise? That felt unnecessary to the plot of the story – even her mom\’s drug dealer wanted her. Eye roll. I guess, long story short, if you liked Ezra and Aria on Pretty Little Liars, you\’ll probably enjoy the relationship in this book. Though Ezra and Aria aren\’t as far apart in age.

For the longest time, I did not pick this book up from my TBR list. I knew the story had to do with a student/teacher relationshipit felt wrong but I curious (due to the positive ratings.) I was wrong for making assumptions. This author taught me a valuable lesson. The story was more than what I expected, it was all about gray areas and moral ambiguity. It was raw, sweet, and heartbreaking. Also, for the the FIRST time, after reading 209 books, I cheated! I jumped to the ending to read a piece of it. Ill never forgive the author for making me do this. At one point, I HAD to know if this book would break my heart. Mentally, I had to prepare for what was coming. I will not ruin it for anyone. Most likely, youll cheat too. It is a story that will stay with me. The writing, the words, the dialogue, and the unspoken words were so sweet and powerful. I was impressed from beginning until the very last page.

I had put off reading Unteachable for a really long time (as in, multiple years) for no other reason than the fact that I had other things to read. And then one day, it showed up as a suggestion when I was browsing the Kindle store and I just bit the bullet and went for it. For me, the best thing about this book was the writing style. I realise that the poetic, dream sequence-like writing is never going to appeal to everyone, but for this story it worked. It created the impression that the heroine, Maise, was permanently living in a dream, rose-coloured glasses and all. The plot, girl has one-night-stand with man who turns out to be her teacher, isnt the most original (Pretty Little Liars, anyone?) but Elliott Wake made it his own and gave it a creative twist. However, it was predictable and cliche at times. I could see the ending coming a mile away. The author could have taking his time a little bit more towards the ending of the book, which did feel slightly rushed and sloppy. Both main characters were so imperfectly flawed which was very refreshing. I dont think the author had the intention of making either character particularly likeable, but rather a reflection of how imperfect we all are. However, I couldnt help but root for Maise OMalley throughout the entire book. I loved Maises character. She was pretentious, with a side of superiority complex, but also intelligent and caring. Evan is someone I would absolutely despise if I ever came across him in real life. And for this reason, he worked so well as the teacher in this book. Some of the side characters were a bit bland, boring and unrealistic, but Ive never read a book where I liked everyone.

Refreshing, original, gritty, real… I absolutely loved this! 5 stars for Maise & Mr. Wilke! I love Leah Raeder\’s writing! She is an incredibly talented author and certainly one I will be watching for in the future. This book is so cleverly written and so engaging! I\’ve highlighted so many quotes in this book. And now I have to narrow it down to fit into this review. Yeh… trust me, this is narrowed down! This is the story of Maise O\’Malley and Evan Wilke. Maise is a screwed up, cynical, hard-faced eighteen year old girl, with a tortured past, a non existent Dad and a poor excuse for a mother. Maise meets the gorgeous Evan at a carnival and they share a few hours of intense passion, all consuming lust and then Maise does the only thing she knows how to do. She bails. She doesn\’t expect to see the beautiful stranger again… she especially doesn\’t expect to see him sitting at the teacher\’s desk when she walks into her film class on the first day of her senior year. But neither of them can help pursuing this forbidden relationship. \’What is this feeling? I wondered. What is this hunger that grows worse the more I feed it? They\’d come up with a name for it a long time ago. But you already know what it\’s called, don\’t you?\’ I really enjoyed the honesty that these characters displayed when they acknowledged the fact their relationship was completely built on the excitement of the forbidden element. And what happens when it\’s no longer off limits? When she is no longer his student and he no longer her teacher. Is \’normal\’ enough for two broken souls who seem to thrive on the rebellion of conducting a relationship that is considered morally wrong? \’The removal of all boundaries, all distractions, leaving us with nothing but each other – scary. What kind of people would we be without secrecy and desperation?\’ This is so much more than just a romance. It\’s incredibly seductive. There is nothing illegal about Maise and Evan\’s relationship re. age of consent, so it\’s just morally questionable, for those of you wondering. But the sex scenes are so sensual, they\’ll make your toes curl! It\’s taboo, so obviously there\’s the element of wanting what you can\’t have, so those of who love anything a little bit naughty will adore this… \’He embraced me, and said into my ear, \”I\’m going to f*** the s*** out of you.\” I lost my breath. It was crude, it was unexpected, and it set me on f***ing fire.\’ … but it\’s more than that. Maise\’s internal monologues are so honest and true. She voices things that we all think, yet didn\’t even realise we think. Her observations during sex are frank, yet extremely erotic. There is an innocence in her that is intriguing to read and the mere trueness of her thoughts makes it that much more sexy. It\’s written in such a way that you can almost feel the things she\’s feeling. \’His hand circled the back of my neck. \”I need you tonight.\” Has there ever been a more effective line in the history of pickup lines than \”I need you?\”\’ The imagery in this book is so strong. The colours, the seasons, the weather, the sex, the emotion, the scene setting, the atmosphere. You can almost, feel/taste/smell/hear everything that the characters experience, thanks to the soulful, descriptive writing. The excitement, the thrills, the highs and the lows, the fear, the desperation, the sensuality between the two characters, the angst. I had such strong visuals throughout this book. The metaphors that the author uses are wonderful. I was so drawn in to this story that at times I totally forgot that I was reading. I was lost to Maise and Evan\’s world. And that was all thanks to the writing. Maise is a film student and parts of this book were written as if it were a film script. I loved that… again, it allowed the words on the page to disappear and the story to turn into a film-roll in my head. So, let\’s talk about the characters. I know that some people weren\’t taken with Maise O\’Malley. I loved her. She\’s completely nuts. She has no filter between her brain and her mouth, but not in a clumsy way, just in a no bulls*** way. \’It wasn\’t about flirting with death, like Mom. It was about wanting to live all the way to the seams of life.\’ She\’s had a terrible childhood, she\’s brought herself up, been neglected and experienced things that no child should have to experience, and her tough exterior reflects that. She\’s hardened, suspicious of everything and everyone, un-trusting, defensively arrogant, sardonic… but I just loved her. \’Yeah, I hook up with older guys. And then I leave them, before they can leave me. Thanks for the abandonment issues, Dad. F*** you very much.\’ I loved her for surviving and for her determination. I enjoyed the bluntness and the strength of character. I also enjoyed watching her change and soften, against her will, throughout the book. I liked that she was both predator and prey; a walking contradiction. \’Maybe I fell in love with the idea of love, but I\’m a teenage girl. This morning I fell in love with raspberry jam and a puppy in a tiny raincoat.\’ I adored Evan, too. I have to say I was a little disappointed in him towards the end of this book. For me, he didn\’t fight hard enough for his girl. I get that he was being romantic and trying to do the right thing; \’loving her enough to let her go\’… but that didn\’t sit well with me. Sod that. Man up! Luckily, he does redeem himself by the end of the book, so don\’t panic. However, having said that, for the most part of the book he is just perfect. He\’s the perfect mix of upstanding, respectable teacher, sensitive lover and sexy rule breaker. \”I\’m also thinking the night I met you was like someone handed me a winning lottery ticket and said, \’You can only have it if you don\’t tell anyone.\’\” He gave me a sad smile. \”I feel like that too.\” \”Do you start to wonder if it\’s even real?\” \”All the time. Like maybe I made you up on that rollercoaster.\” He\’s a sad soul and I just wanted to protect him. Obviously, Maise is the young, vulnerable one in this relationship, so I felt that Evan spent a lot of time offering her strength, and rightly so. But I really wanted him to open up, share his problems with her and get the support he needed to battle his own demons. My heart ached for him. \”Nobody knows how to be a grown-up. We\’re all just pretending for each other.\” And I really felt his love for Maise. I loved that he just couldn\’t help himself where she was concerned. He couldn\’t stay away. There is nothing sexier than a man that just can not keep away from the woman he is infatuated with. I love it when you can really feel that obsession and I got that with \’Unteachable\’. \”You should love something while you have it, love it fully and without reservation, even if you know you\’ll lose it someday. We love everything. If you\’re trying to avoid loss, there\’s no point in taking another breath, or letting your heart beat one more time. It all ends.\” Surprisingly, I really liked the ending of this book. Now, usually, I like everything all wrapped up and adorned with a pretty little bow. I want to know exactly what happens with the characters. I want to know the date of the wedding and how many kids they are having and the name of their family dog! Lol! You don\’t get that with \’Unteachable\’. You do get a happy ending. However, it\’s quite vague and it leaves an awful lot to the imagination. I\’d usually even say that there would be the possibility of a sequel, but I just don\’t get the impression that that would be Leah Raeder\’s style. The ambiguity of the ending was kind of what made it what it was. Ambiguity really isn\’t usually my thing… I like everything tied down and spelled out for me… but this just worked. It fit the style, the characters, the nature of the plot. It was the perfect ending for Evan and Maise. \’You can call it love, or you can call it freefall. They\’re pretty much the same thing.\’ Before I finish, I have to mention Wesley. I felt he was such a special part of this book and signified so much. He was Maise\’s best friend, the boy her age, the boy should could have but didn\’t want, as opposed to the man she wanted but shouldn\’t have. He was the safe, the dependable, the reliable, the taken-for-granted. I have such a soft spot for this character. So, this book was so much more than I thought it was going to be. I thought I was going to read a typical, steamy, high-school, teacher/student, taboo romance. And that would have been fine, I\’d have enjoyed that… but what I got was an alluring, addictive story of two tortured, broken souls, piecing one another back together, dealing with twists and turns that will make your head spin. I\’d highly recommend this book, but do go in with an open mind. Unteachable Statistics * Steam Rating (out of 5): * Ending: HEA * Length: 356 pages * Narrative: Maise\’s POV. First person. Past tense. * Series: * Can this be read as a standalone? Yes * Themes: Student/teacher College * WARNING. This book includes… Sexual content. Forbidden love. Drugs. * Writing: Fantastic Review by Smitten\’s Book Blog

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