Member Reviews

The "Terrible" Bullies?! I am sorry, but what exactly gives you the right to judge whether or not a bully's actions are considered terrible?! Are you trying to excuse bullying by trying to make them appear human? Whatever your intentions might have been, dear author - if you try to evoke sympathy for bullies, you did a "great" job. I think this was one of the worst books on anti-bullying - or, as you should rather say in this case, pro-bullying - that I have ever read.
I am horribly disgusted!

I received a free ARC by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

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This book has potential, but unfortunately at the moment the negatives outweigh the positives for me.

The story is a short novella, which is a good length for the author’s first book, and I commend them for having the courage to publish it. However, it is in serious need of editing if it is going to be read more widely, as I was almost out off by the very first page.

In the first chapter, the author must say the word ‘Tanya’ at the start of every line. This is something that makes the writing feel clunky and irritating to read.

Overall, the book has a well intentioned message and a good plot in theory, but the execution needs a lot of work.

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The “Terrible” Bullies is a book written by a teenager for teenagers. Sometimes I like to read something suited for a younger audience, especially when I’m in a bit of a reading slump or looking for a shorter, easy read. I liked the cover of this book and felt it represented a teenager in high school today, wanting to fit it, always on their phones etc and that the picture was similar to one that would probably be posted on Instagram. However, I didn’t feel that the cover accurately represented the story itself and I wish it had been a little more in line with this.

I personally didn’t enjoy this book as much as I hoped. I was expecting it to be a little more like other YA’s that I have recently read, but it wasn’t. The story did feel as though it was aimed towards teenagers and I tried to take a step back and remember that I wasn’t the target audience, but it felt a little lacking in places. I don’t think this was helped by Tanya’s repetitive daily routines or the lack of flow to the book. While the writing was good, it could have been developed more and the formatting definitely requires some work.

I think the author definitely has potential and shouldn’t be disheartened by lower reviews, but simply develop on the formatting and flow of story, which I definitely feel would help to improve the story overall.

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Thank you to Netgalley for this ARC.

This... was not what I expected. I think it would do good that, in the description, readers are informed this was written by a 16-year-old as the writing needs polishing as well as structure. For example, there are numerous instances that don't seem plausible and are actually quite dull. Readers are told of the MCs night-time routine at the end of almost every chapter and seem like quite a mundane details which could be left out. Furthermore, I wasn't gripped by the story, the shaming of the bullies at assembly seemed to be treated quite lax, and the characters have random dialogue which doesn't make sense. The book was quite disjointed which didn't help.

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I didn't find myself wanting to continue reading this book. This probably isn't the author's fault but the formatting seemed odd. There were random capital letters and unfinished sentences. This was the major reason I was put off.
The writing wasn't bad however I wasn't gripped. The book began with Tanya's daily routine- not an ideal place to start a book- so I wasn't hooked from the start. I didn't get far enough into the plot but I would give it a go if the writing and formatting improved.

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