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Liked It1 of 1 members found this review helpful “I've read Little Children, and of course seen the movie (which I did like by the way) and was looking forward to this one. Happily, I got it from the library last week and read most of it while my poor mother had oral surgery. I try not to read too many reviews for books I am looking forward to...” see full review » see other reviews » |
Didn’t Like It “Just wasn't my style of book. Felt way too much like Danielle Steel” see full review » see other reviews » |
Newest Reviews
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“I expected to like this book a lot, because sex ed and radical Christianity are two of my favorite subjects, but I mostly just thought it was anticlimactic. It built up a whole lot for kind of a nothing ending, but it was worth reading. An interesting way to while away a Sunday morning.”
Monica J wrote this review 4 weeks ago. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Just wasn't my style of book. Felt way too much like Danielle Steel”
Kelley W wrote this review Monday, October 19 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Really goodand riveting and the dialogue was fantastic but I felt let down by the ending!”
Kate H wrote this review Saturday, October 17 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I did not like this book”
Janet S wrote this review Friday, October 2 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“This book had definite potential, but seemed very forced and rushed during the last half. ”
Chanelle wrote this review Sunday, September 20 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“Ruth and Tim, the main characters, could have been distilled to compact clichés, but Perrotta’s mature voice and compassion for people of all shapes and sizes prevents that. Simultaneously, the storyline is a bold social commentary and an empathetic examination of the so-called “differences” that seemingly separate us. Whatever position the reader plays on the field of sexuality ed—abstinence dialogue, s/he will come away with an appreciation of how the larger debate wears away at the individual players. ”
Kelly D wrote this review Saturday, September 26 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No“Read in 2008-2009. Ruth teaches an honest open high school sex eduction class. Tim is a member of an Evangelical Christian church and coach of Ruth's daughters soccer team. When the church forces a Christian based abstinence curriculum on the schools, Ruth struggles with the misinformation it conveys to her students. Tim struggles with his faith. Book presents both secular and religious sides without bias and lets the reader come to their own conclusions about religion and secular life. An undercurrent of sexual tension between the two characters is hinted at but the story never seems to find its way.
Linda V wrote this review Friday, September 11 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
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“ This book reads like half a novel, literally. The conflict never really gets cooking and the book reaches the point where it starts to get interesting when it suddenly ends. Most frustrating is that it could have been half a great novel. It amazes me that an editor let this one get out into the world without telling Parrota that he was really onto something if he continued to explore the relationship between sex ed tacher Ruth Ramsey and born again christian Tim even further.
Robephiles wrote this review Tuesday, August 18 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
At the end of the novel the characters are well established and a conflict is brewing but the book never got up enough speed to have any revelations on any of the subjects it had so far tackled. ”“The only thing that kept me from giving this book 5 stars was the ending. I can appreciate cliff-hanger endings but this one really just seemed to leave the story hastily unfinished.”
Chala R wrote this review Sunday, August 9 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
“I'm a huge fan of Perrotta's, and I was excited about getting to read "The Abstinence Teacher," but it just didn't get to me as much as "Joe College" and "Little Children." Still, he's a great story teller and his work is fantastic. ”
Maureen wrote this review Wednesday, August 5 2009. ( reply | permalink ) Was this review helpful? Yes | No
