This was a book club selection. This novel follows some students at an elite performing arts high school as they engage in the worst of teen behaviors, the consequences of said behaviors, and their lives about 15-20 years later. The book has three "eras", the first of which is half the novel. I loathed this part. The unnecessarily vulgar language, the not entirely believable overly mature sex lives of the kids, and the awful depiction of (and reading/accents) the "English People", made me dread putting this book back on. The second "era" was really good and explained the necessity of disgusting first part. The third era was confusing and unsatisfying.
I see what the author was trying to do. It is extremely ambitious and I just don't think she pulled it off. The message is a little muddy but seems to involve themes of badly behaved rapey men/boys, women/girls who lack the confidence to take ownership of their own bodies, and a system that rewards talent even in the face of predatory behaviors. But there were too many loose ends. ( )

I may have liked this more if I'd read the print version. The audiobook narrator in the first part was not my favorite. And listening to a book like this left me feeling more confused than if I'd read it (at least I think so). It is a super confusing book, especially the last part. Also, I read [b:Normal People|41057294|Normal People|Sally Rooney|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1571423190l/41057294._SY75_.jpg|59141209] earlier this year, which is also about an intense teen relationship and I liked it so much more than this.

Even though I'd really like to talk to someone about this book and try to figure out the confusing parts, I'm not sure I'd go so far as to ask anyone I know to read it. I wouldn't want to waste anyone's time. In the end, the effort to finish this didn't feel worth it.

UPDATE: I enjoyed this piece about the book way more than the book itself: https://www.newyorker.com/books/under-review/who-owns-a-story-trust-exercise-sus...

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I'm not sure about this one. Three stars usually means a good, average novel. But this wasn't an average reading experience. I was ready to DNF pretty early in the novel but I knew the story shifted and wanted to understand the wide range of reviews. The first half was a bit of a rant-read (ugh, another adult novel about teenagers) and the second half gripped my attention but left me unsatisfied. Even so, I didn't hate it and I think I may want to re-read it. I'll wait to see if it sticks with me. ( )

I’m not smart enough to understand it. ( )

Typically I do not mind a time-hoppy narrative, a la The Hours, although it is not my favorite device as the late 90s and afterward sort of sucked the genre dry. I do mind overly dramatic teens and their inflated sense of importance, and I thought this book illustrated that quite well, but it didn't make it easier to handle. If you haven't experienced theater life at all, I doubt you'll like this book, as it will seem foreign to the point of absurdity. My disdain — for how theater teachers of the era in which this takes place and the level of overblown ego they seem to invoke in their students, the superiority complexes and inferiority complexes covered up by thinking they are so unique and them being so cliquey — made me averse to a lot of this novel (yes, despite my theater background and despite this all being intentional writing). That said, I ended up loving the story of David and Sarah, which was incredibly relatable and nostalgic to many people's teen years of fumbling around and thinking everything is love. But the narrative flips failed to keep me engaged. The nonstop and "college essay"-esque explanations of words and their meanings, while likely laced with irony/purpose, irritated me. The first person to third person mid paragraph alternating threw me off even though it was intended to show the author/real person/meta-ness of the characters/their situations. The characters caring and remembering this much this long after high school was hard to believe, even for the sake of a meta book within a book type narrative. This book has many important things to say, especially comments on consent and assault and love and friendship, but it didn't hook me like I thought it would. It reminded me of Ponti, which I love and has many of the exact same themes, and which captivated me much more. ( )