Name: Even When You Lie to Me
ISBN: 9780385391160

Jessica Alcott

Fans of John Green's Looking for Alaskaas well as Lauren Oliver and Sarah Dessen awill embrace this provocative debut novel, an exploration of taboo love set against the backdrop of a suburban high school. a Charlie, a senior, isn't looking forward to her last year of high school. Another year of living in the shadow of her best friend, Lila. Another year of hiding behind the covers of her favorite novels. Another year of navigating her tense relationship with her perfectionist mom. a But everything changes when she meets her new English teacher. Mr. Drummond is smart. Irreverent. Funny. Hot. Everyone loves him. And Charlie thinks he's the only one who gets her. a She also thinks she might not be the only one with a crush. a In this stunning debut, Jessica Alcott explores relationships-and their boundaries-in a way that is both searingly honest and sympathetic.

Even When You Lie to Me

Vesselina

And that ending... is the reason I won't sleep tonight. And why I'm crying right now. I hate it.

Reyna Wren

Mixed feelings. The development of the relationship was done well and eloquently, without any stupid insta-love, and I liked most of the side characters, but I found the main character incredibly immature and annoying. 3.5 stars.

Georgia Carr

I don't really know what to make of this book. At times, I thought "FIVE STARS!" because of its honesty and its pace, but at other times I thought "ONE STAR!" because of its honesty and pace. Me = confused. 

I wanted to read this when I wasn't reading it BUT only because I was desperate for something to HAPPEN. I think I got to 90% done before anything major happened. I understand the slow build and the character development but that's a bit insane. The pacing was definitely too slow for my liking. 

This is a first person novel and I thought that was utilized well. Charlie has some really strange thoughts though. I understand this is an important topic and there are obviously sexual feelings attached, but crikes. I remember her mum saying "what are your plans?" and Charlie replies (in her head) with "masturbation and pizza." I mean, really? Okay. Cool. Have fun!! 

Drummond was an interesting character. Sometimes I loved him, sometimes I hated him. His relationship (or lack of) with Charlie was quite strange and jaunting at times, but it made sense (I think...). I don't know. I just read however many pages of novel and I'm still not sure about the characters or their relationships. That's not a good sign to me. Also, the things Charlie and Lila say to each other?! I must be having the wrong sort of conversations if that is a normal friendship. Definitely not on /that/ level of intimacy. 

I definitely empathized with Charlie, however. Her feelings towards herself and towards Drummond are ones I've experienced, and this novel did make me think about them again. Teachers are in a weird position where they know a lot about you, but only in a certain way, and sometimes when you're insecure and lonely, they seem like the perfect option because they're older and more mature and often more intelligent than your peers. They're not the perfect choice, I know, but this book reminded me that feeling that way is not completely wrong and awful. It's actually pretty normal for a teenager and it's human to want to be close to someone. 

On the whole, this is not a bad book and I didn't hate it, but it's a slow burner with some weird and very undeveloped side stories and a focus on something that happens in the last 10% of the novel. I don't think I'd recommend it exactly, but I wouldn't say don't read it. It's an okay read, but not as great as I was expecting unfortunately.

Tiffany Engler

This book was nothing how I expected it to be. I was fooled by the synopsis to think this book is about the "relationship" of a teacher and his student. There wasn't a relationship at all!! Just endless flirting from mostly Charlie, the senior who has a crush on her English teacher, Mr. Drummon (Tom).

Nothing happened in this book, which I should have known. This book seems like the author wanted to write about an unlawful relationship but didn't want to. Almost like she was scared to get to the nitty-gritty details. 

I felt like the flirting was all one-sided from the beginning. I honestly don't think Tom cared for her as much as Jessica tried to lead on. He didn't try to fight for her, he just left. He just quit. I mean, I know their relationship was illegal and all, but he didn't even seem like he cared for her half the damn time. 

I felt like Charlie would have been better off trying to date Dev. He showed more emotion toward her than Tom did when they were naked together. 

In my eyes, Tom is a dick who just wanted to be around Charlie because she made him feel good. Wanted, because his marriage with his ex-wife fell through because of insecurity. 

Also, I don't see how Charlie and Lila can be friends. Lila is such a bitch to her! Knowing that Charlie was in love with Tom and trying to make a move on him. I would have smacked her!

I wanted so much from this book. It's not as great as I thought it would be. It's still a decent book though, I did enjoy the read.

Even When You Lie to Me

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