Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.

Start by marking “Tease” as Want to Read:

Other editions

Enlarge cover

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Open Preview

Tease

Amanda Maciel

3.72 · Rating details · 5,301 ratings · 857 reviews

If you gulped through reading or streaming 13 Reasons Why, Tease is the book for you.

Provocative, unforgettable, and inspired by real-life incidents, Amanda Maciel's highly acclaimed debut novel Tease is the story of a teenage girl who faces criminal charges for bullying after a classmate commits suicide. With its powerful narrative, unconventional point of view, and stron ...more

Get A Copy

Or buy for

Hardcover, 321 pages

Published April 29th 2014 by Balzer + Bray (first published 2014)

More Details... edit details

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Reader Q&A

To ask other readers questions about Tease, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare

Beautiful Book Covers of 2014

234 books — 482 voters

YA Books That Deal With Bullying

106 books — 146 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

Showing 1-30

3.72 ·

Rating details

· 5,301 ratings · 857 reviews

Filter

Sort order

Nov 06, 2013 Emily May rated it liked it

Shelves: arc, contemporary, young-adult, 2014

Ignore the rating.

This book was almost impossible to rate due to the amount of thoughts - both positive and negative - running through my head when I put it down. I say thoughts and not emotions because I sadly remained rather emotionally detached from the characters despite the strong subject matter. The fact is... Tease is an ambitious book that will likely piss off a lot of people because the author refuses to take sides, even when presenting us with a narrator that is increasingly diffic Ignore the rating.

This book was almost impossible to rate due to the amount of thoughts - both positive and negative - running through my head when I put it down. I say thoughts and not emotions because I sadly remained rather emotionally detached from the characters despite the strong subject matter. The fact is... Tease is an ambitious book that will likely piss off a lot of people because the author refuses to take sides, even when presenting us with a narrator that is increasingly difficult to like and relate to. But that wasn't a problem for me, I thought it was one of the book's better aspects.

The story is an old one from a new perspective. It's about high school bullies and cliques: the mean girls and their sidekicks, their boyfriends, and "the slut" who attempts to interfere with their reign. Emma Putnam is known as the school slut and this book starts where she has just committed suicide after being repeatedly targeted and harrassed by Brielle and Sara. Sara is our narrator and the sidekick of the meanest girl in school - Brielle. The thing is, she never really understood the consequences of her actions and she never meant for Emma Putnam to die... but at the same time, she isn't apologetic for her own actions either and believe she was justified in attacking Emma because she was a "boyfriend-stealing slut".

This book starts to do something really interesting by painting us a picture of a scene without judgement - I never got the impression that the author was trying to impart a negative view of anyone, and even characters like Brielle had deeper levels and were shown to be victims of school politics and cliquedom, rather than simply evil. It's true that bullies are often scared, lonely and insecure in themselves and this book shows that all teenagers are, but they choose to respond to it differently. Sara was not evil, but acting within the social structure she knew. She is sensitively portrayed as a confused young woman who worries about her image and sex - I think it offers a sad but realistic portrait of what runs through many teen girls' minds when thinking about sex.

There was a lot of potential and power lurking in the shadows of this book. It will anger so many people, I'm sure, because of Sara's unrepentant narrative and the implied message that bullies are not to blame for bullying (something I struggled to accept too). But where the book shines with intent, I think it is also let down by dry storytelling, characters it was hard to give a damn about (not even because they're mean), and a sometimes immature portrayal of the characters. Every now and then, the book would slip into language that felt like what you get when adults write the way they *think* teens speak. "Like, ohmigod, I need to instagram this! And, wow, Twilight!" You get the idea.

I will keep an eye out for more by this author because I like what Maciel was trying to do, but I think I'll wait for the reviews to roll in first.

Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Tumblr ...more

flag 118 likes · Like · see review

Apr 17, 2014 Faye, la Patata rated it it was amazing

Shelves: social-issues, young-adult, contemporary-fiction, bullying, lovely-romance-but-not-central, best-books-i-ve-ever-read

"She asked for it."

"It didn't have to happen if she didn't do this... if she didn't do that..."

"We didn't kill her. She did this to herself."

How many times have we seen these excuses being said by bullies and perpetrators, in defense of their horrible actions? How many times have we read these kinds of comments by people on the internet, heavy words easily thrown under the veil of anonymity? Too many times, I bet. Once is already too much. And every time I stumble upon such words, such implications, I feel dark and empty inside, and I wonder if the people in our society are devolving into hideous monsters who have no ounce of compassion in their veins.

So to read a book about bullying, about slut-shaming, from the perspective of a bully and a slut-shamer, was... a different kind of experience. I can't describe it, but let's just say that after reading this book, I felt like showering myself ten times over.

Sara Wharton is about to go on trial. A schoolmate of hers, beautiful Emma Putnam with her fiery red hair, was found dead in the garage of her parents' house. She committed suicide, a tragic end that was the result of months and months of harassing and bullying online and offline from the clutches of Sara, her best friend Queen Bee Brielle, and the rest of their group. Because of her death, Sara believes her life is over. She lost friends. She lost her boyfriend. Her life was ruined. Why does everyone hate her now? She never wanted this to happen. She never wanted Emma to kill herself. All she wanted was for "slutty" Emma to leave her and her boyfriend alone. However, she is about to realize, that maybe, just maybe, things are not that simple.

Tease was hard to read, especially the first 80-90%. I've read a lot of bullying books before, but it has always been in the perspective of the victim, making the characters easier to sympathize with. This book was different in that sense, as we see the story unfold from the perspective of a bully, someone who showed a complete lack of remorse of what she has done, someone who couldn't see beyond herself. She wanted to please everyone in her circle, especially Brielle, to the point that she had sex with her boyfriend so they can have something in common, to the point of bullying Emma just to keep up with Queen Bee. For many years, she has stayed in her best friend's shadow as her sidekick. Brielle says "skank!", she echoes it. Brielle says "whore!", she repeats it. Brielle calls someone a "bitch slut", she doesn't hesitate to call that someone the same names, too. And every time she does, she feels powerful. Like she finally has an advantage over someone. Like she can control them through the words she uses, through the actions she does. She gets a thrill out of it. Who knew making someone fear you was so easy? Just say a few things on Facebook, make fake profiles on Twitter, and you can change someone's outlook in life. Just with a click. Just with a few minutes. And then that someone turns up dead the next day.

You can see why I felt dirty while reading Sara's thoughts. She was so hard to like. I hated how for the majority of the book, she kept thinking she wasn't in the wrong. So what if she bullied Emma? Emma started it! It didn't have to happen if Emma didn't steal her boyfriend! Emma didn't have to end her life if she didn't allow what happened to affect her! Excuses after excuses after excuses... her internal monologue was largely disturbing and uncomfortable, and I thought to myself, "is this what bullies think when they get caught? That it's the victim's fault for being bullied?"

And the thing is, it's probably what some of them think. And it's probably encouraged by their peers, and because of that, they find themselves blameless. It illustrates to us the possible reasons why there is so much victim-shaming and slut-shaming up to this day. Everyone knew Emma was being bullied, and yet no one really stopped it. Since Sara and Brielle were at the top of the high school food chain, almost everyone followed their lead. Not to mention, the lack of parental figures to help the teenager's morals also was a factor. If there's no adult to lead you, to help you, to answer your questions, you turn to your peers. It's not always the case, but sometimes, they're the bad influence.

There was a scene later in the book where Sara's absent father was scolding her for not being accountable for her actions. He reprimanded her for being such a child, and that she should grow up. Sara, hurt, replied with tears (non-verbatim), "Maybe I am a child, have you ever thought of that? There was no one there to help me grow up."

One thing is for sure, this book made me think a lot about today's social issues. As a culture, as a society, there is still much for us to learn, so much for us that we need to be aware of. From bullying, to victim-shaming, to slut-shaming... these are things that still run rampant up to this day, and it's such a shame that acts of kindness are more the exemption than the rule. But the thing is, this toxic world that we live in, there are many factors that contribute to its being poisonous. It's true that it's up to the person to choose whether or not to make life hell for someone else, but we've to stop and pause for a while and think why such options seem better for certain people. We have to look at the greater picture. We need to stop thinking small and start thinking big. There are societal structures that could be really improved on to make our environment a better place. It also has to start in the family, the basic unit of society. We need to start being more compassionate. We can't assume that everyone is strong enough to take it all in. We need to start putting ourselves in the other person's shoes before we do anything that could potentially emotionally hurt them. We need to start seeing others as humans, not as rocks void of feelings.

All in all, Tease was a hard book for me to read, and even harder to review. So many thoughts are running through my head, both positive and negative, and I'm unsure if I was able to put them across in this review. But I always appreciate it if a book can push me to think critically and philosophize. Difficult this book may seem to read, it definitely opened my eyes to a very bitter and sad reality. I'll conclude this review with this:

Suicide is stupid? You wanna know what is stupid? Hurting someone so much emotionally, that they think suicide is the only answer

— Macklemore (@ItsMacklemore) March 19, 2013 ...more

flag 57 likes · Like · see review

Nov 12, 2013 May rated it did not like it · review of another edition

**Spoilers, rambling and profanity** (honesty too)

(view spoiler) ...more

flag 41 likes · Like · see review

Dec 05, 2014 Kelly (and the Book Boar) rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-in-2015, liburrrrrry-book

Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/

Boy this little book sure sparked some strong opinions. Here’s the deal. It’s not an easy read. For a YA novel, Tease deals with some really serious issues. Suicide, slut shaming, bullying . . . just about everything nasty that can possibly come out of high school. And the kicker? It’s told from the bad guy’s perspective.

In order to lighten the mood and to confirm I’m sick in the head, I will be using the assistance of the Most Popula ...more

flag 27 likes · Like · see review

Nov 15, 2013 Glass rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: realistic-fiction

You have never read a book like this one. I won't lie and tell you how amazing this book is, that you'll feel as if you just have to read it in one sitting and that you will love a main character. But it is a brilliant book. Amanda Maciel speaks up about the things we'd rather push under the mat and not think about them and she does all that from unexpected point of view. That is the reason why Tease is not an easy book to read.

We need more books like this. If you read only to escape from reali ...more

flag 26 likes · Like · see review

Nov 07, 2013 Melanie rated it liked it

Shelves: books-i-own, e-arc, contemporary, me-likes-you, death, romance, take-your-instant-love-and-get-lost, young-adult

See more reviews at YA Midnight Reads

3.5 stars

I can definitely see where Tease lost it's appeal. It's written from the perspective of a bully--Sara. She's not vaguely sorry about Emma Putnam's suicide. Even though she and her friends are accountable for it according to the public. We have chapters that take us back to the time when Emma Putnam was still alive, but in between we get to see Sara's current life. One that is falling apart fast. It's like she cannot go anywhere without getting a dirt See more reviews at YA Midnight Reads

3.5 stars

I can definitely see where Tease lost it's appeal. It's written from the perspective of a bully--Sara. She's not vaguely sorry about Emma Putnam's suicide. Even though she and her friends are accountable for it according to the public. We have chapters that take us back to the time when Emma Putnam was still alive, but in between we get to see Sara's current life. One that is falling apart fast. It's like she cannot go anywhere without getting a dirty look from a passing stranger. Like she go a day without having to see her lawyers and therapists.

Emma was a boyfriend-stealing bitch right up until the day in March when she killed herself. I didn't do anything wrong, but she totally ruined my life.

Like most people who have read Tease already, I wasn't a huge fan of Sara. She's melodramatic, has a cold heart and is a bitch. She's part of the reason why a girl is dead but Sara doesn't care at all. But, I liked how we got to look into the head of a bully. This was an extremely refreshing premise and I found myself up late trying to see how the book would wrap up in the end. Sara's got a typical teenage personality. She tries whatever she can to climb to the top of the high school food chain and fit in. Heck, she had sex with her boyfriend just so she could be even closer friends with Brielle. Brielle is the Queen Bee. Their friendship is toxic, but also very fascinating in the sense that there are only a few books that have toxic friendships.

"Skank." I think it's Brielle hissing the word for a minute, and then I realise it was me who just said it. It feels good. I say it again. "What a total skank!"

There is a hell lot of slut-shaming in Tease. And a hell lot of carelessness/impulsiveness in the main character. These were probably the main factors that made me cringe. But it's reality. Words like skank, bitch, slut--they get thrown around all the time at most high schools. In Tease, those words are almost on every page. If you really hate it, then this book isn't for you. But I believe that it's important to read about the view of bullying from the bully's mind. And this was exactly that. There are real people in high school who are just like the ones in this novel. And I really appreciate the author for giving this topic a try. In fact, she did a darn awesome job!

A realistic take on bullying and how it effects the victim and the bully, and how careless actions can lead to big problems, Tease is a brilliant novel that needs to be read.

~Thank you Balzer & Bray for sending me this copy!~

...more

flag 21 likes · Like · see review

Apr 20, 2014 Hannah (fullybookedreviews) rated it really liked it

Shelves: deep-and-meaningful, contemporary-fic

I remember when I was 6, and was in the swimming pool with my cousin and another girl who was on a playdate with us. I dared her to go into the deep end without her armbands on, even though I knew she was a poor swimmer, but I kept taunting her until she did it. My cousin and I got distracted my other things, and when we turned around, the girl was drowning. The adults noticed in time, and rushed her to the hospital.

I still remember it to this day. I also remember that sense of power I had over ...more

flag 16 likes · Like · see review

Jul 31, 2017 Zyra rated it really liked it

Shelves: highly-entertaining, young-adult

3.5 stars

flag 12 likes · Like · see review

Oct 27, 2016 Elise (TheBookishActress) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: genre-contemporary, read-2015, 4-star, elise-underrated-list, my-personal-author-shrines

I've decided Amanda Maciel might be one of the most underrated authors ever. After adoring this book and Lucky Girl, I'm beginning to sense a trend; Maciel writes incredibly unlikable protagonists, readers hate them, brilliant books get middling ratings. But man, I wish that weren't the case.

If you've read the blurb, you'll know that this book follows a girl who teased another girl to suicide. I feel like it should be obvious why the main character is unlikable. But wow, I empathized with her s ...more

flag 12 likes · Like · see review

Oct 09, 2013 Molly rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: top-5-to-read-in-2014, favorites

Huge thank you to the publisher for letting me read an advanced copy of this. I'm writing this honest review to say thank you

You're going to either love this or hate this. I've seen A LOT of DNFs and 1-star ratings because people don't like the narrator. She feels no remorse, she's not sorry, she's self-centered. I feel like that's the point of this book though. The narrator, Sara, is part of a group of popular kids who bullied a girl until she killed herself. Sara doesn't understand why she's t Huge thank you to the publisher for letting me read an advanced copy of this. I'm writing this honest review to say thank you

You're going to either love this or hate this. I've seen A LOT of DNFs and 1-star ratings because people don't like the narrator. She feels no remorse, she's not sorry, she's self-centered. I feel like that's the point of this book though. The narrator, Sara, is part of a group of popular kids who bullied a girl until she killed herself. Sara doesn't understand why she's to blame. She didn't make Emma kill herself. She didn't KILL Emma. She doesn't know why she has to be sorry, why she's the one being attacked now. In her eyes, she's blameless.

I think the biggest reason Sara doesn't feel that she holds any blame is because she was essentially following her best friend through all of the bullying. Sara's the side kick and her best friend is the mean girl. Sara does a lot of shit to keep up with Brielle, from sleeping with her boyfriend to bulling Emma both online and offline. Sara gets a kick out of being powerful, and essentially, anyone who is the bully does. That's why people do it. They want to feel powerful, it makes them feel powerful. And with the internet these days... it's just even easier.

The lack of empathy and remorse Sara and her friends show really highlights a huge problem that has cropped up these past 10 years with young people using facebook and twitter. I remember being harassed on livejournal when I was in college by my roommate and a group of her friends. I've seen my fair-share of online bullying. It makes me sad and sick. But it's just so EASY. And it seems to be getting worse as time goes on.

I liked that this book showed the flip side of the bullying. Most books show what it's like to be the bullied. I've read a lot of mean girl books where the popular girl loses her popularity and gets crushed. The fact that this story led to suicide and was shown from a different perspective made me think a lot. It's hard to think about who is wrong, who is to blame, how should this be handled and fixed.

I liked the ending when Sara does start to feel sorry and remorseful. People make mistakes, teenagers especially. There are no excuses, and she doesn't make a full recovery, she doesn't suddenly become a saint. She essentially learns from her mistakes. And I guess that's all we can hope for, really.

This story is told in first person with alternating chapters taking place in the past and the present. I LOVED this. The winter is when all of the bullying took place and the summer is when the deposition and aftermath took place. I loved the juxtaposition of the two seasons.

The only thing that I would have liked would have been more information about Emma. I never really felt like I had any sense of who she was and how she was feeling. We're told a lot of information, but she's surprisingly absent from the book (no pun intended). I would have liked more characterization for her.

This is another powerful mean girl story that I think fans of Courtney Summers would really enjoy. It also reminds me quite a bit of The Truth About Alice (coming out later this year, which I've already reviewed). ...more

flag 11 likes · Like · see review

Mar 19, 2014 Sarah Churchill rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: received-for-review, bullying, antibullyreads-2014

I'd heard great things about this book, and was really looking forward to finally reading it, but I have to say I was a little disappointed. I knew that the main character was likely to be un-likeable, being the bully, but I was also curious to see the story from her perspective.

The problem I had with the character wasn't the fact that she's blind to the damage she's caused, mainly because 'everyone did it', but more her constant whining and childish attitude towards EVERYTHING. The idea of bein ...more

flag 12 likes · Like · see review

Jun 23, 2016 ✍Neyla Kunta ✍ rated it liked it · review of another edition

(Review folgt selbstverständlich)

flag 11 likes · Like · see review

Nov 08, 2013 Jeann (Happy Indulgence) rated it did not like it

Shelves: arc, edelweiss, young-adult, ya-contemporary, did-not-finish

Yeah, no. When a book uses the following terms and phrases, I am NOT going to waste any time on it:

"Fat Beyotch."

"He obviously won't be texting Emma Sluts-a-Lot if he's getting the good stuff from you".

"You know they're in Language Arts together...and you know she keeps hooking up with Jacob and Tyler, and you know she's a dirty skank. Don't assume she's not creeping up on your man."

Slut shaming to the nth degree.

"The debate, more like, over whether I should lose my virginity to Dylan at the pa ...more

flag 10 likes · Like · see review

Jan 03, 2017 Elle's Book Blog rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: standalones, top-favorites, thrills-and-chills, young-adult, must-read

Release Date: April 28, 2015
Genre: Young Adult Fiction

I find myself at a loss for words when reviewing this book because it is extremely unconventional. The subject matter of bullying is the main theme of this book of course, but rather than focusing on how the victim feels and lives through the torment, we are taken into the mind of the teenage bully herself, Sara. This is very clever on the authors part however, readers are going to find it very hard to relate and connect with the characte Release Date: April 28, 2015
Genre: Young Adult Fiction

I find myself at a loss for words when reviewing this book because it is extremely unconventional. The subject matter of bullying is the main theme of this book of course, but rather than focusing on how the victim feels and lives through the torment, we are taken into the mind of the teenage bully herself, Sara. This is very clever on the authors part however, readers are going to find it very hard to relate and connect with the character simply because it was her actions (along with her friends) that lead to the suicide of a classmate whose name is Emma. There were many points in this book where I shook my head and even moments when I wanted to stop reading it because Sara is such an unlikeable character, but I kept reading anyway to see where everything would go. Was I disappointed? Yes and no. Yes because I felt like the ending was kind of a letdown – I wanted more justice than what was served - and no because it was so interesting to be able to get into the mind of the tormentor (which is rarely done in any books) and see how and why things progressed as they did.

With that being said, this book really does a great job at diving into the minds of teenagers. Sure, many of us were not bullies in high school, but seeing the driving force behind everything in this novel made sense for the age. Adolescence after all, is a really hard time for many people, and when someone is stealing your boyfriend and screwing with your clique you are bound to do something unimaginable. Right? In high school, this is common. Everything seems more grandiose and life threatening at this age, and the author does a wonderful job of bringing this to life. Just be aware that if you do read this book that there is a lot of “slut shaming” and nastiness that will ooze from these characters. It may not be pretty, but think back to high school. I am sure some of you will remember exactly what that was like and how teenagers acted and ran off their mouths whether it be true or not. The author doesn’t seem to be condoning this behavior but she sure writes it as if she lived it herself to and I commend her for that.

Overall, this is not an easy read and I am sure you will either love it or hate it. There really is no in between. But, because I am a reviewer I wanted to make sure that I understood the point of the story and where the author was going when she wrote it, so I remained partial to the story until I could come to grips with what I was reading. Now, for me this could have been a 5 star review because of its uniqueness and the message the author was portraying, but because the characters came off a little dry and immature (yes, I know this is normal for the age) I had to go down a star. But believe me when I say this, the story is very good ESPECIALLY because it’s so unlikable. This may not make sense to you, but when you read it you will know what I mean.

Rating: 4 stars ...more

flag 9 likes · Like · see review

Oct 08, 2013 Michelle (Pink Polka Dot Books) rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: tbr-2014, favorites

I. Loved. This. Book.

Sara, her BFF Brielle, and three boys that they are friendly with are all in big trouble. Emma Putnam committed suicide and the blame is being placed solely on them. They are all being charged with bullying, harassment, stalking, and/or assault. Sure Sara didn't like Emma. Yes she maybe said and did some mean things to her. Yes it was her goal in life to get Emma to transfer out of their school. But did she force the girl to kill herself?? Did she put the rope around the gir I. Loved. This. Book.

Sara, her BFF Brielle, and three boys that they are friendly with are all in big trouble. Emma Putnam committed suicide and the blame is being placed solely on them. They are all being charged with bullying, harassment, stalking, and/or assault. Sure Sara didn't like Emma. Yes she maybe said and did some mean things to her. Yes it was her goal in life to get Emma to transfer out of their school. But did she force the girl to kill herself?? Did she put the rope around the girl's neck? And why doesn't everyone see that Emma isn't exactly the angelic martyr that the media is making her out to be? She had flaws too. She did some things that were not so nice herself.

As the trial nears, Sara is finding out that being branded a bully and a villian is a lonely existance. Her whole life exists in a lawyer's office, visits to her therapist, summer school, and the agonizing wait to see exactly what sort of consequences her actions will have.

My Thoughts:
Amazing book!!! I really connected with this book in a big way. It's about mean girls, and the other side of the story. Not the victim's side... the other side. Because every story has 2 sides right? And the thing is, if I read this from the victim's side, I probably would have HATED Brielle and Sara with a passion. But reading it from their side... I didn't hate them at all. I freaking related. I remember being in high school... people were not nice to me at times and I was not nice to them. And yeah it usually was over some guy. I remember feeling exactly like Sara when it came to boys. Like having a boyfriend and being with someone who is considered "cool" meant everything. How my whole freaking day would hinge on whether I got a call or an IM (yeah texting didn't exist back then) from whatever guy I was into. To think about how much energy and emotion I wasted on such dumb relationships honestly exhausts me.

I've seen a lot of bad reviews for this book and mostly it's because people are appalled at Sara not having remorse for what she did to Emma. And I see where they are coming from... but I also think it is unrealistic to believe that everybody in this type of situation would instantly feel responsibility. Sara did not kill Emma. Emma killed herself... and a lot of the reason why Emma killed herself had to do with things she did to make herself a target. If you go after the popular girl's boyfriend and CHEAT with him... you have to expect some backlash. I didn't agree with what Sara and Brielle did to Emma all the time, but I can see why they were pissed at Emma.

A main focus in this book is the friendship between Brielle and Sara. How Brielle is the dominant friend and Sara is always tip-toeing around her. Wanting to still be Brielle's favorite friend, wanting to be in the in-group, wanting Brielle's approval for whatever reason. Holy shit can I relate. I had a friend A LOT like Brielle. She wasn't the queen bee of our school (she didn't even go to my school), but I always felt like I had to be careful around her. And we weren't nice girls. If someone went against us, we held a grudge. I wouldn't say that we were bullies, but we definitely had a few battles with other girls for various reasons (like I said earlier, mostly over some guy).

I loved everything about this book. I loved how it wasn't stereotypical victim-loving. I loved the writing and the dialogue. And I loved how this felt like real high school. Sometimes I felt uncomfortable relating to these "mean girls". And I can't lie, sometimes I really hated Emma as well. She definitely didn't do herself any favors. But I think that's the whole point of the book, to show you that this kind of stuff is complicated. There is no black and white sometimes.

OVERALL: A book about bullying that shows you the flip-side. It's not about the bullying victim, it's about the bullies. It shows how life isn't always black and white, good and bad. I want everyone to read this because I think it shows a really important perspective. It gets a conversation going at the very least.

My Blog:

...more

flag 7 likes · Like · see review

Nov 06, 2013 Sarah rated it really liked it

Shelves: mystery, netgalley-edelweiss, read-2014, young-adult, r2r-complete, bullying

(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to HarperCollins and Edelweiss.)
17-year-old Sara didn’t want Emma Putnam to kill herself, she just wanted her to stop sleeping with her boyfriend, but that’s not the way the general public saw things when Emma committed suicide.
Did Sara’s bullying lead to Emma’s death though? And should Sara and her friends be held responsible?

This was an interesting story about bullying, but I could definitely see both si (Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to HarperCollins and Edelweiss.)
17-year-old Sara didn’t want Emma Putnam to kill herself, she just wanted her to stop sleeping with her boyfriend, but that’s not the way the general public saw things when Emma committed suicide.
Did Sara’s bullying lead to Emma’s death though? And should Sara and her friends be held responsible?

This was an interesting story about bullying, but I could definitely see both sides of the story.

Sara was quiet a hard character. She believed that she was in the right, and while she didn’t want Emma to kill herself, she still thought that Emma had brought the bullying on herself for sleeping with other people’s boyfriends, which to be quite honest, she kind-of did.

The storyline in this was pretty good. I know a lot of other people haven’t liked this book, but I did. I was really interested to find out what exactly had been going on, and how Emma came to commit suicide, and while the bullying was bad at times, I liked how we saw things from the bully’s perspective rather than the victims. At face value it may have seemed that Sara and her friends were just bullying Emma, but for Sara it wasn’t that simple.

This is where I can see both sides of the story; because yes – Sara was calling Emma nasty names on facebook, and pulling mean pranks on her, but also – Emma was flirting with, and having sex with Sara’s boyfriend behind her back. Okay, Sara should maybe have gotten angry with her boyfriend as well as Emma, but when Emma was going around sleeping with as many boys as possible, you can see why Sara was annoyed.
I think a lot of the problems in this book were due to peer pressure, because Sara most likely would not have thought up these pranks on her own, and she wouldn’t have spent an hour calling Emma names on facebook if there was nobody else around encouraging her to go on.

I think this book could have been improved if we’d had access to Emma’s point of view as well. I felt like I was only getting half of the story all the time, as who knows if the information Sara was getting about Emma was really true? Did Emma sleep with Dylan? Who instigated it? Was Emma really going around sleeping with as many boys as possible? Was she doing this for attention? Or was she purposely trying to hurt the girls that the guys were dating? Were there any signs that Emma was suicidal? Could someone have prevented her suicide somehow?

The ending to this was satisfactory, although we didn’t find out 100% what punishment the girls received for their part in driving Emma to suicide. I did enjoy this book though, and I would definitely read another book by this author.
Overall; an interesting story about bullying.
8 out of 10.
...more

flag 7 likes · Like · see review

Aug 23, 2017 Julie rated it liked it

*More of a 3.5*

Okay so this is the first ARC I've ever gotten and it's been sitting on my shelf waiting to be read for 3 yearssss. I never unhauled it cause it sounded interesting and I'm sentimental af, which is probably the same reason why I didn't dnf it.

This book was good. It just didn't blow my mind. I've been in a weird reading mood all month and that might be part of it, but also the main character was a bit frustrating. Basically everyone in this entire book is a shitty person. I didn't ...more

flag 6 likes · Like · see review

Jan 25, 2014 Michelle rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: ya

I was not sure that I was going to like this book. It was about bullying and sometimes I fined that all the Anti Bulling books become full of useless platitudes about doping unto other etc.

This is not that book.

I want to say it again.

This is not THAT BOOK.

Tease is written from the view point of one of the girls who did the bullying and the person she bullied commits suicide. Now she is being sued by the dead girls parents.

This book draws you into the world of a 16 year old girl who is trying to ...more

flag 6 likes · Like · see review

Jun 08, 2014 Reem rated it did not like it

This book made me get in a lot of trouble just because of the title of the book. If you don't speak arabic you won't get it. I'm going to tell you my first incident.
So mom asked me what book I was reading and I told her. my older brother was in the room with us and he gave me this "WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU SAY?" look, and i swear to god I almost shit my pants!! I had to explain to him that it was not what he thought it meant. IT WAS FRICKEN HORRIBLE OMG!

Back to my review, it took me seven days to ...more

flag 6 likes · Like · see review

May 29, 2014 Cassie rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2015-read

This book really stuck with me, as I imagine for many other people who have experienced bullying and read this book can share as well. I could relate both to Emma and to Sara. I personally view that every person at one time in their life or another have been both the bully and the victim. I think everyone should read this book, because of the fact that it is a book much needed in this day and age, specifically for my age group. This will most likely stick with me throughout the rest of my high s ...more

flag 6 likes · Like · see review

Dec 27, 2013 Saoirse rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2014-publication, arc-copies, annoying-heroines, books-i-wasnt-sure, bullying, cracked-up-chick-that-gets-fixed, cracked-up-dude, dark-and-mysterious-guys, not-so-ordinary, not-sure-why-i-read-this

There is something wrong here.

I don't know what exactly but Tease has this certain ring to it that is inevitable. I tried so hard to refrain myself from reading reviews--positive-wise and negative-wise, knowing that other people's opinions matter to me and might possibly affect my reading experience. This book is not actually that bad (I've read far worse) and it did have a message I believe should be sent out to everyone.

But being inside a mind of a bully is something of a new experience for me ...more

flag 5 likes · Like · see review

Mar 15, 2014 Eve rated it did not like it

Shelves: arc-or-free-copy, 2014, reviewed

"He[Dylan]'s never going to talk to me again. And that's the saddest I feel all day." - this is what Sara thinks when she finds out Emma committed suicide.

I know it's still early, but I think Tease is going to be one of the worst books I've read this year. It's full of dangerously despicable characters. I wanted to read Tease, because I think that seeing the bully's side of the story was going to be interesting. I wanted to see what happened between Sara, her friends and Emma, why they did what ...more

flag 5 likes · Like · see review

Feb 22, 2014 eileen rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: contemporary, young-adult

Check out more of my reviews at Singing and Reading in the Rain!

Tease would have been a more positive reading experience for me if one thing had happened: Sara was a completely different character entirely. While the idea is creative, Sara’s entire personality ruins the air of melancholy loss and grief.

What angered me the most about Sara was how nonchalant she was about Emma’s suicide. Tease is told in two time frames, before Emma’s suicide and after it. The two together worked well, but I reall Check out more of my reviews at Singing and Reading in the Rain!

Tease would have been a more positive reading experience for me if one thing had happened: Sara was a completely different character entirely. While the idea is creative, Sara’s entire personality ruins the air of melancholy loss and grief.

What angered me the most about Sara was how nonchalant she was about Emma’s suicide. Tease is told in two time frames, before Emma’s suicide and after it. The two together worked well, but I really hated the kind of person she was in both time frames. I could understand her being a complete bully in the before parts, but the fact that she was still a pretty big bully in the after parts was really inexcusable. In those parts, Sara would continuously rant about how she had absolutely nothing to do with Emma’s suicide, when it was obvious she was. At first, she was a little bit of a bystander, acting as the major bully Brielle’s tag-along, adamantly agreeing with the biting jokes she made. But then Sara started joining on making fun of Emma, going out of her way to put her down to make herself feel superior, and there was this one instance when Sara started a string of angry Facebook posts on Emma’s wall, like, “Why are you such a skank?” and “What does it feel like to be a skank?” I get why you may be angry, but it was so stupid how Sara continuously preached her innocence when it was obvious she did participate in the bullying and harassment. No, you obviously aren’t as innocent as you say you are, so if you’re going to keep saying, “Boo hoo, everyone hates me because they all think I killed Emma but I didn’t DO ANYTHING!!!!!” we’re going to have a serious problem,

Another thing I had an issue with was the obvious slut-shaming. Brielle and Sara actively call Emma a slut, because she has a “reputation” for sleeping around, which everyone knows of. Absolutely everyone knows that Emma’s a supposed “slut,” but there’s absolutely no evidence of her reputation. The worst thing she does is hook up with someone once, but Sara and Brielle are doing way worse, so they had no right to be calling her those kinds of things if Emma was only hooking up with one person throughout the entire book. Even then, Brielle would be like, “Eww Emma’s wearing such a slutty outfit, like look at that tight dress!” If it’s not clear enough how much I despise slut-shaming, the two had no right to put Emma down for what she wore, especially since Brielle and Sara also wore the same kinds of clothing.

*spoiler paragraphs*

And what pissed me off even more was that when Sara caught Emma kissing Dylan, she exploded and called Emma all of these vulgar terms like slut and skunk, posting those messages on her Facebook. But when Dylan apologizes, she thinks, “It was all that slut’s fault Dylan cheated on me, but I still love him so I think I’m gonna sleep with him because that’s obviously what he wants.” First of all, it’s so degrading to assume that Emma was the sole perpetrator in the relationship, and that Dylan didn’t have at least one thing to do with the cheating. Another thing, if Sara thinks that sleeping with Dylan is the way to get him back, she shouldn’t be calling Emma the slut. Not that I’m calling Sara one, but her and Brielle’s definition for the word “slut” is exactly what Sara was doing.

It just really pissed me off how she didn’t blame the guy of the relationship because of how men are displayed as the blameless one in cases. Girls are more subject to being called sluts for cheating, but the guy won’t have as heavy of a punishment because society’s taught us that it’s okay that guys can’t control their emotions. It’s okay for a guy to cheat because they can’t help it. You have to be easier on them because that is just their nature. In the world today, we’re constantly glorifying a man’s actions and trying to place the blame on a woman, because they’re assumed to be more subject to labels like this thanks to slut-shaming. And Tease is obviously advocating this kind of action with how often it happens.

*end of spoilers*

While this book had potential in the summary, I really couldn’t bring myself to like this one even remotely with the slut-shaming, hypocritical characters, and degrading themes towards women. ...more

flag 5 likes · Like · see review

Jun 05, 2014 rachel rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2014, ya, will-i-ever-enjoy-romance-no

Welp, this is a timely read considering that parts of the internet are upset over that Slate article about why adults reading YA should be ashamed of themselves. The author's main argument is that YA lit is simplistic, often wraps up neatly, and is not representative of real life. Generally I agree with that assessment for widely popular YA (though it hasn't occurred to me since I was probably 20 to assign a value judgment on what other people like to read, so way to give a good impression of "l Welp, this is a timely read considering that parts of the internet are upset over that Slate article about why adults reading YA should be ashamed of themselves. The author's main argument is that YA lit is simplistic, often wraps up neatly, and is not representative of real life. Generally I agree with that assessment for widely popular YA (though it hasn't occurred to me since I was probably 20 to assign a value judgment on what other people like to read, so way to give a good impression of "literary" "mature" 30-44 year olds, Ruth Graham, ffs).

But then here comes Tease with an unlikeable main character in Sara, who swears to the end that even though she is sorry that the girl she bullied committed suicide, she won't accept responsibility for the death. Sara has moments of supreme selfishness -- for example, her first sadness upon hearing of Emma Putnam's suicide is that her ex-boyfriend Dylan will never talk to her again. She rationalizes her bullying because she feels that Emma (view spoiler) made her suffer THE MOST so it's only natural for her and her best friend to write SLUT on Emma's locker and put a nasty Valentine heart on her front lawn and absolutely spam her Facebook wall with hateful shit.

I can't agree with general consensus that Sara "should have been" sorry or likeable. Sara's moments of selfishness reflect a very real teenager. I take public transport in the city, where I see and hear groups of teenage girls all the time. They can be mean, talking about who's ugly but trying to look hot or who is "gross" or "fat" or what have you. I respect that Amanda Maciel didn't write an obvious, simplistic story about a selfish-by-nature teen acting truly awful until there are consequences and then insta-repenting. It happens sometimes I'm sure, but let's be real: it's unrealistic. Portraying it for what it is to be a selfish teenager should (hopefully) raise questions for the book's teenage audience, help them reflect on how their behavior affects others.

(view spoiler)

So yeah...Sara's being unlikeable is not why Tease gets only two stars from me. It's only an OKread because Sara's present day life (especially with her family) seemed unremarkable and like many other things I have read and been bored by before. There is also a tepid half-romance with another social pariah, a Breakfast Club turn that has been done many times before and probably didn't need ~75 pages of the book dedicated to its development. All of the characters except Sara and Emma run a little flat or cliched, and Emma's depression is not really explored in as much detail as I would have liked. And, the structure of the book in alternating present day consequence chapters and chronological past chapters didn't work for me, since the climactic event of the book (being Emma's suicide) and its immediate after-effects are dashed off anti-climatically in a small chunk of the book's final 30 pages.

Those are all boring reasons to just not be that into a book, but I'm finding that when I'm not into a YA read one or all of these reasons are usually why. For as annoying as that Ruth Graham/Slate article is, I think she's summed up the potential flaws of YA lit to adult readers pretty accurately. It's not always the case that YA is simplistic, underdeveloped and happy, though. Sometimes, a book is just one of those things. Sometimes it's none.

When I saw what Tease was doing in the opening pages, when I read Sara's sullenness from the start, I got excited because this one had the potential to really be different. But meh, there is too much that is flat and cliched and unexciting in the part of this book that isn't its mean girl. ...more

flag 5 likes · Like · see review

Mar 10, 2014 Marga rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2014-releases, arcs, net-galley, r2r, realistic-fiction, stand-alone, young-adult

"My knees are still pale after this long, long summer spent inside, talking about my feelings, talking about a girl I barely knew who didn't want to live. Didn't want to live in the world that had me in it. And I'm still here, in this crappy world. Fighting her ghost."

The story started when Sara, Brielle, and other guys were sued because Emma Putnam killed herself. It's because of the grounds that they somehow affected her to came up with a decision like that. But what really happened that mad ...more

flag 5 likes · Like · see review

Jul 20, 2018 Khristina Chess rated it really liked it

Shelves: ya-pretty-good

In Tease, readers get a chance to take the bully’s journey and explore the escalation of events through a different set of eyes. How did things go so far? Why? This book does something important in showing that children do evil things, but that doesn’t make them evil. They take actions without thinking of consequences, and in their world they have tools to do tremendous harm—even push others to kill themselves.

The protagonist Sara demonstrates the most beautiful change through the story, and the ...more

flag 5 likes · Like · see review

Apr 06, 2014 Brian rated it it was ok

Two girls in high school bully another girl, calling her mean names and eventually driving her to commit suicide. Is it sort of like murder? Or was it the girl's fault. This novel really tried to tell a good story, but instead, the characters were ALL unlikable. The girl who was being bullied didn't come across as being a well developed character with much of a personality, making her seem very one note. And the main character, our narrator who was one of the bullies, did not have a whole lot of ...more

flag 5 likes · Like · see review

Dec 31, 2018 Angela Auten rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: nook-books, standalones, 1-star-books

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Tease Review

Book Rating: 1 star out of 5.

Story Line: 1 star out of 5. I really disliked this book a lot. I'm really annoyed I even invested time in this book. The book goes back and forth between past and present. Before Emma Putnam killed herself and the aftermath. Sara Wharton, Brielle Greggs, and a few other students are responsible for her death. Sara doesn't believe it's her fault. Well, it is.

She didn't know how she as making Emma feel. Her and her stupid best friend, Brielle, were the m Tease Review

Book Rating: 1 star out of 5.

Story Line: 1 star out of 5. I really disliked this book a lot. I'm really annoyed I even invested time in this book. The book goes back and forth between past and present. Before Emma Putnam killed herself and the aftermath. Sara Wharton, Brielle Greggs, and a few other students are responsible for her death. Sara doesn't believe it's her fault. Well, it is.

She didn't know how she as making Emma feel. Her and her stupid best friend, Brielle, were the main ones bullying Emma. I was super angry when they went into the past chapters. You saw what they did to her. They did so many messed up things. They cornered her in the locker room. Sara pushed her up against the locker. They put a poster in her front yard calling her a slut on it. They sent her 50 flowers from a whole bunch of boys they are sure she hooked up with. They made a Facebook page using her picture. They named the page "Fat Beyotch". The night before Emma died...they posted so many hurtful words on her Facebook.

The only reason that they were bullying her was because apparently she was stealing people's boyfriends. I really didn't believe anything that Sara and Brielle said throughout the whole story. I don't think Emma was sleeping with every guy she saw. Dylan, Sara's ex-boyfriend, actually liked her. Dylan did break up with Sara to be with Emma. That's another reason she started bullying her.

The only positive thing I can say about this book is I liked her brothers and Braden Carmichael that's it.

I just really can't with this book. It was horrible.

Never blame the victim for taking their own life. Sometimes it's the actions of others that push them to the edge. You never really know what someone is going through. You should take a moment to walk in their shoes before you do something to harm them.

Characters: 1 star out of 5. I'm not going to go into detail because I really hated almost all the characters in this book.

Writing Style: 1 star. I didn't like the annoying writing style in this book. I'm going to give this author another chance before I drop her work entirely. ...more

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

May 29, 2015 kari rated it liked it

Shelves: 2015, ya

After a lot of thought, I ended up somewhat torn on how I'd rate this book. While I understand what the author was going for, I found Sara to be one of the most childish, shrill and unlikeable characters I've come across. And both her lack of growth and her lovely, shining happy ending made me very angry at the author. A quote from the author's note at the back: "But it seems to me that there's always more to the story--at least two sides, if not four or seven or one hundred. And I believe that After a lot of thought, I ended up somewhat torn on how I'd rate this book. While I understand what the author was going for, I found Sara to be one of the most childish, shrill and unlikeable characters I've come across. And both her lack of growth and her lovely, shining happy ending made me very angry at the author. A quote from the author's note at the back: "But it seems to me that there's always more to the story--at least two sides, if not four or seven or one hundred. And I believe that everyone deserves to be heard." If this is actually her intent, then where is Emma's side? Where are Emma's thoughts? Leaving her out doesn't give balance, it simply gives a book full of excuses from the bully without anything from the other side. I didn't like that.
I had a tough time reading this because THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR BULLYING ANYONE!
Sara was completely in the wrong and she never actually accepts that.
Page 9: "Emma was a boyfriend-stealing bitch right up until the day in March when she killed herself.
I didn't do anything wrong, but she totally ruined my life."
Page 306: "I'm the only one who's actually sorry about all this. Not just about Emma ruining my life. I'm sorry about that, too-- I still wish to God she'd just held on another day, switched schools, tried to just get along like the rest of us have to get along."
Do you get that? She's still blaming the victim. If only Emma had been somehow different, then Sara's life wouldn't have been ruined. Not Sara finally seeing that she screwed up her own life by her cruel actions, but that Emma should have not reacted as she did. It is all about Sara's life and how people don't like her and whine, whine, whine, but I didn't and still don't believe that her remorse was actually over Emma. Her remorse was for how it had affected herself and nothing more. She'll remember because she'll remember how it hurt her, not Emma.
I was actually furious at the end of this book. They have their day in court and that's the last word about any actual legal proceedings. Did she get probation? Did she have to do community service? Did any of them actually pay any price for their cruelty? That is just glossed over and when the framework of the book is this court case, it is a huge disappointment to not have any outcome.
Furthermore, there is no excuse for bullying and, yes, I'm repeating that, but it bears repeating. The author gives the idea that Sara is so put-upon by having to help out with her younger brothers and occasionally help with a meal. Or that Brielle is a lonely rich girl who's parents are too busy with their lifestyle to pay attention to her. Let me just say one thing. Bullies come from broken homes, lonely homes, but they also come from perfectly nice families with two involved and caring parents so I would have liked all of that left out. Some girls can only feel good about themselves when they are tearing down someone else. That's the personality they develop and in many cases, they are formed because they even start preschool, I've seen it and it hasn't anything to do with anything else. It isn't happy family of unhappy family, it's character traits and how they are developed. And, I just didn't like the idea that there is any kind of excuse for bullying.
I think the author was very ambitious with this story and it should have been more even-sided. There was a great opportunity here to actually tell both sides of bullying and we get just the one. I've read other reviews that call Emma names, the very names she is called in the book and then try to defend Sara's behavior, because as they put it, she was a boyfriend-stealing girl. Sadly, without any input from Emma, we don't know if that is true of not. Perhaps the boys didn't tell the truth about what did or didn't happen with her. Or, perhaps they didn't say they had a girlfriend. I'd personally call what Sara has is not a boyfriend. She hangs out after his ballgames and they makeout. There isn't any real dating going on and he seems to be just taking advantage until something better comes along. She is a convenience. Yes, Sara doesn't see it that way, but look between the lines, he isn't her boyfriend. Someone who cares for you doesn't behave the way he does.
This even story-telling bothers me because this book is aimed at a more impressionable audience and the vast majority seem to think Emma had it coming to her and got what she deserved. So, I think the author made major mistakes in the telling or else she thinks bullies deserve sympathy. They do not.
I think what most bothers me about this book is how one-sided it is while the author states she believes there are many sides to a story. This one is only filled with blaming the victim and excuses. It left me feeling very disappointed.
On the other hand, I think this book should be required reading, along with Thirteen Reasons Why for every student entering high school, and then discussed in a group. Maybe that would help.
There is NO excuse for bullying. ...more

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

Jun 02, 2015 Iris rated it it was ok

Shelves: read-in-2015

"You’re in your own world, and no one can understand what that’s like unless you let them in."

I don't this is the right rating for this book. For a long time I sat down and thought how many stars I should give this book, because I liked it and disliked it in (sort of) equal ways, so I settled for 3 stars.

Tease is told from Sara's perspective. Emma Putnam, "the school slut", commited suicide due to bullying. She was bullied by almost the entire school, all lead by Sara and her best-friend Briel ...more

flag 4 likes · Like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

topics	posts	views	last activity
YA Buddy Readers'...: Tease by Amanda Maciel - Restarting June 3rd 2015	93	136	Jun 04, 2015 04:12PM
2015 Reading Chal...: Tease by Amanda Maciel	2	9	Mar 28, 2015 04:38AM

Readers Also Enjoyed

Genres

Young Adult

25 users

Realistic Fiction

20 users

Health > Mental Health

18 users

See top shelves…

About Amanda Maciel

Amanda Maciel

105 followers

Amanda Maciel has worked in book publishing since graduating from Mount Holyoke College and is currently a senior editor at Scholastic. She spends her free time writing, running, or riding the subway with her young son. She lives with him, her husband, and their cat, Ruby, in Brooklyn, New York. Tease is her first novel.

Books by Amanda Maciel

Sasha Cohen: Fire on Ice (Revised Edition): Autobiography of a Champion Figure Skater

More…

Trivia About Tease

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

Quotes from Tease

“You're weird,' he says.
Despite everythin, I smile. 'You're always saying that, but in fact, you're weird,' I say.
'Yeah, I know. Remember? That's how I can tell you're weird, too.” — 32 likes

“The thing about having one really good friend, one person you talk to all the time about everything, is that you stop really talking to anyone else. You sort of talk to other people, but mostly you have your one person and that's enough.

And then one day, maybe for a good reason or maybe out of nowhere, you can't talk to that friend anymore, and you suddenly realize you can't talk to anyone else. Like, it's physically impossible. No one understands you except that person. it's like you speak another language, and the other person who also speaks it is gone.” — 13 likes

More quotes…