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Teach Me
 | Teach Me R.A. Nelson Date: 2005-07-21 04:31:08 — $11.55 — Book Rating: |
A brilliant and passionate girl with scientific mind but emotions surprisingly close to the surface decide to round out her -ology heavy schedule with an English elective - and promptly falls for her hot poetry teacher - who FALLS BACK. Very believably. Mr. Mann (aptly named) becomes the center of 17 year old Carolina's world. The second she's no longer jailbait, they consummate their love. But when the affair goes sour (is she just a number to him after all?), hell hath no fury like a teenage girl scorned.
Teach Me is extremely tight in terms of the narrative structure - tension builds because of the order of the chapters (as opposed to the order of the events). The writing is rich and ripe, dripping with entendre and layered with symbols. Ocassionally it gets over-the-top dramatic, but the best friend with the puppy dog crush brings us back to nice and normal, if predictable. The book as a whole is smart - lots of interesting ideas and big words. The voluptuous and enticing red apple on the cover hints at the juicy goodness inside that is also meaty: in plot, language and character, most especially the scene where we are introduced to Mr. Mann, who engages his class in poetry analysis from day one when he encourages the students to "murder poems." "I adore him already," says Nine. And so do we.
Actually, it's disturbing that the author effectively gets the reader to adore this couple. We are so caught up in the authenticity of the romance that we're actually kind of okay with it - until Nine makes the discovery of Mr. Mann's real age. And then, the whole thing is kind of horrifying and we are as righteous as she. This is not a novel for the faint of heart; there are several cringe-worthy scenes, but Nine's raw voice carries us through them to a mouth-hanging-open-catching-flies climax.
And how can I forget Emily? Poetry and misinterpretation and desire are the three anchors of the plot, with an appropriately selected Dickinson poem (or excerpt of one) for every major event. Emily brings our star-crossed lovers together, and Emily tears them apart.
No doubt the attractive cover and taboo topic will make this a popular choice.
