[Review] Unteachable - Leah Raeder

Released: July 27th, 2013

This novel contains graphic sexual content and strong language. It is intended for mature readers. 

I met him at a carnival, of all corny places. The summer I turned eighteen, in that chaos of neon lights and cheap thrills, I met a man so sweet, so beautiful, he seemed to come from another world. We had one night: intense, scary, real. Then I ran, like I always do. Because I didn’t want to be abandoned again.

But I couldn’t run far enough.

I knew him as Evan that night. When I walked into his classroom, he became Mr. Wilke.

My teacher.

I don’t know if what we’re doing is wrong. The rules say one thing; my heart says screw the rules. I can’t let him lose his job. And I can’t lose him.

In the movies, this would have a happy ending. I grow up. I love, I lose, I learn. And I move on. But this is life, and there’s no script. You make it up as you go along.

And you don’t pray for a happy ending. You pray for it to never end.

"It wasn't about flirting with death, like Mom. It was about wanting to live all the way to the seams of life."

Unteachable was completely indescribable. This is definitely one of the best books I've read this year. The characters were amazingly developed and described, all of them captivating and interesting in their different ways. The storyline was absolutely beautiful and deeply moving. There was this sense of darkness that kept the story going and it was brilliant. This book was fucking brilliant.

Sweet Jesus. This is just undeniably awesome. I can't even begin to describe everything. Usually when I highlight quotes in a book, each and every one of them would make it to my review. But this time, there's way too many to mention.

Let's start off with Maise O'Malley. She is possibly one of my favorite heroines of all time. She's witty, quick and downright smart as fuck. The things she says are undeniably true and deep and her vocabulary is bloody complete. She is far more mature for her age due to growing up with a drug-addicted, absent mother. She can be realistic but when it comes to Evan she becomes a romantic.

I'm not going to do the whole rollercoaster/falling in love metaphor. I didn't fall in love with him up there. Maybe I fell in love with the idea of love, but I'm a teenage girl.

This is where she's so damn smart. I know how hard it is to tell the difference between actually falling in love and falling in love with the idea of love. The fact that she acknowledges this just shows how smart she is. She doesn't automatically say, "Oh shit, I think I'm in love after one goddamn rollercoaster ride." with the cheesy metaphor and shit.

God, and you know how some people just think that they're adults? They think that they're so damn mature. I love how she knows that she doesn't know how to answer life's questions – hell nobody does. But she admits that. And Jesus, I just admire that so much.

"I can't be the girl who teaches you how to open your heart and embrace life and all that bullshit, because I'm trying to figure out how to do that myself."

I think I'm in love with her. Honestly, she's just so smart and perceptive of this fucked-up world and she knows all these facts and she accepts all these things.

I was still a teenager, and part of being a teenager was constantly checking your answer against everyone else's. What did you get for number four? Is falling in love with someone twice your age gross, weird, amazing, or all of the above? The secrecy insulated me in a vacuum-sealed bubble.

Who fixes broken people? Is it only other broken people, ones who've already been ruined? And do we need to be fixed? It was the messiness and hurt in our pasts that drove us, and that same hurt connected us at a subdermal level, the kind of scars written so deeply in your cells that you can't even see them anymore, only recognize them in someone else.

I really don't fucking know how she is an 18 year-old girl.

And God, when asked whether or not she was in love with him?

"I don't think I know what being in love is yet. But this is different than anything I've ever felt. […] Remember when you thought I was jumping off to kill myself? It's like that. But no one catches you. You're just hanging over infinity."

Wow, I spent that much time talking about one character. See how much I love her?

And then all the other characters. Sweet Jesus Christ Lord Almighty, they were all so freaking perfect it's unbelievable. 

Evan was the sweetest, despite some of his too sappy, cheesy lines. But he was just so thoughtful and so considerate of her, I wanted to hug him to pieces. And Wesley and his mom ugh. CHRIST, I LOVE WESLEY'S MOM OKAY. SIOBHAN IS THE BEST.

"My consolation is embarrassing my children in front of their friends. THat's why the oldest went to college on the other side of the country."

Siobhan: "Biotechnology."Wesley: "The Terminator."Siobhan: "It probably involves a certain amount of naked men." 

Siobhan taught them not to break curfew by waiting for them in the dark kitchen one night in a white gown, holding a chef's knife.

HOW CAN YOU NOT LOVE HER?!?!

But really, this book was so amazing. I have no words to describe it. If I could give it a million stars, I would.

Minor Faults:

• The book cover doesn't really suit the book

MY RATING:

6 MEGA-SUPER-DUPER APPLES!!!!!

★ Goodreads | Amazon | B&N ★

Leah Raeder was born in the 80s, which meant that she had fantastic taste in music and atrocious taste in hair. Since she was eight, she knew that she wanted to be a published author. Although back then, she imagined it as a more glamorous profession. Aside from being an author, she is also a voracious reader. In her non-bookish life, she is a graphic designer. Leah is from Chicago and has lived all over the world and is now living in the Windy City with her partner, Alexander.

Check her out in these sites:

Website | Twitter | Facebook