#triggerwarning

by Coleen Kearon

When a college dean's affair with a student goes viral, two feminist students decide to take vengeance on the school by taking a hostage, and barricading themselves in the administration building. #triggerwarning is a raucous trip through gender politics and academia told from various perspectives, including those of campus buildings. #triggerwarning shows us how people with few opportunities to address systematic injustices amplify their voices, fueling the urgency to act.

250 pages, Paperback

Published April 24, 2017

Reviews

[Susan Ritz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a short but complex book, beautifully written an imaginative. I was especially Impressed by Kearon's incentive use of the college buildings voice overs to give a bigger sense of history for the wild college she depicts. Like Feminist on Fire, Kearon's first novel, this gives us an insight into how trauma, especially childhood trauma can warp personalities. The kidnapping scenes Are tense and aggravating , building a sense of both suspense and frustration. Kearon dares to walk on the dark side, and the result is a provocative read!

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

I recieved this book as a Goodreads giveaway.

First the only reason I gave this book 2 stars instead of a 1 star is because of the chapters written from the point of view of the building walls. Unfortunately those chapters were the only part of this book I enjoyed. The story is about two self absorbed, hypocrytical, impulsive, self loathing, radical feminist that pretty much take a pregnant woman ( that didn't even want to be pregnant but was too lazy to take care of the issue and be a responsible adult) hostage in a stand in of one of the campus buildings all because .... wait for it..... an ADULT student had a CONSENSUAL sexual relationship with the Dean of Students..... Honestly If the author was trying to gain any empathy for these two radical brats it was a miserable fail. In fact the only character in the entire book that was tolerable and had any sense of being a responsible, logical adult was the teacher Pablo. This really became a hate read for me and the only thing #triggering was the outlandish attitude of Sarah and Ally throwing a fit like 5 year olds.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this novel to be absorbing and compelling. I've been thinking about it a lot and basically carried it around with me so that I could read it whenever I had a few free minutes. I loved the shifting points of view--being forced to hear from characters I didn't really want to understand.

[Tena · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this in a GOODREADS giveaway ** #Triggerwarning by Coleen Kearon ** A little too avant-garde for me but it was an interesting read!

[Lara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story was quite suspenseful, and I read the final third all in a rush, unable to put it down. Also, it is told in a series of chapters with different points of view, which I found a tad confusing, but also creative. In general, this was a good read and Kearon is definitely a fine writer.

However, it isn't clear exactly what it is she is trying to do, and the result is something a bit messy. I'm very familiar with the college in which she has placed her story, and I can't tell if the story is about that college, or about the current state of higher ed in general. It doesn't work as both, because the setting as she describes it is so far outside of normal that it doesn't work to stand in for your average small college. If she's trying to write a condemnation of a place she obviously knows very well, that's an interesting topic for a story, but it undermines her more universal feminist themes.