Grrrrrr!!!!! Im bummed. I wanted to love this. I really liked Going Under and i was excited to read this. Overall, 2.5 stars. I am conflicted about this book and have lots of unresolved issues with it. First thing that really irritates me is that Mark says he likes or was interested in Cadence because she was mature. Really!? REALLY?????? Im still waiting for her to show her maturity. I could give a dozen examples of how she was so NOT mature! Next, there wasn't enough relationship development. It was more like "this is dangerous"...."I really like you and don't care".... "I've never seen a dick before".... "I love you and will be with you forever". Ummm.... Wait!? Huh? And there were the situations that were totally predictable and as soon as it happened you were like, saw that one coming. I guess I think that if I were in a relationship with my teacher I would be a little more terrified and a hell of a lot more careful. Maybe being more careful and actually educated in relationships would show some maturity? Also, I'm not sure if it was the editing or the writing but I felt like certain events that were pretty important we're glazed over and others too drawn out. Let's not forget when Mark the creep/ teacher fist pumped his bouncer friend because he commented on how it's a score that Mark is dating an underaged girl. See- that's where things went wrong- WAY wrong for me. When reading this kind of plot line the author should be able to make you feel that their love is NOT creepy and the teacher is not a predator or a creep. I felt both these things about Mark. He bought her things to gain her attention and favor and often referred to her as a "cute little thing"- yeah, that's not creepy. AT. ALL. What bothered me the most and something I couldn't get past was when he called her up to the whiteboard and blatantly humiliated her, knowing that she couldn't answer the question. If Mark cared about her the way he said he did- why would he abuse his power over her and do that- if he wasn't some kind of weirdo. I can't get past that. So with that said, there were some cute moments and glimmers of greatness. There were circumstances that made me laugh. It wasn't all bad. But now to the hard part... The damn cliffy at the end. It wasn't epic at all- but it's there and I'm curious- can the author make Mark likeable? I feel sucked in and I don't want to be- so maybe I'll read the next one. Still undecided.
I love the plot- the danger of the student/ teacher thing... And only one book has succeeded in this arena for me and impressed me. Normally I don't like to mention other books while writing a review, so I won't. *cough* Unteachable *cough*.
