Sloth

Seven Deadly Sins #5

by Robin Wasserman

One of the seven is dead, and everyone's

Adam 's done. With love, with school...with everything. Done.

Beth 's doing her best to act "normal," but even Reed recognizes devastation, since all he does is fantasize about Kaia .

Miranda 's lost too.
Did she ever really forgive Harper ?

Only Kane is actually doing uncovering how the crash happened -- and why.

But there's no do-over with death.

There's only moving on -- to the most unlikely places....

Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Fiction, Contemporary, Realistic Fiction, Chick Lit, Teen

256 pages, Paperback

First published December 26, 2006

About the author

Robin Wasserman is the author of the novels MOTHER DAUGHTER WIDOW WIFE (June 2020) and GIRLS ON FIRE. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, Tin House, The Los Angeles Review of Books, and several short story anthologies. A recent MacDowell Colony fellow, she is also the New York Times bestselling author of more than ten novels for young adults and teaches in the low-residency MFA program at Southern New Hampshire University.

Reviews

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Possible spoilers for PREVIOUS books*

Just like Envy, Sloth pulls through in the end.

I found the first half of the novel to drag on. Maybe because I missed Kaia so damn much and the aftermath of the accident didn't really interest me. Everyone is now sucking up to Harper, the world is once more revolving around Harper, and I couldn't care less. If you haven't picked up on it yet, I would have preferred Harper to die. Not Kaia. :(

It does pick up though, as everyone eventually moves on with their lives. Or at least, they start to accept what has happened.

Because that's really what the title of the book is all about. It took me a while to figure it out, because I could not understand how "sloth" had anything to do with this current stage of the characters' lives. But sloth also refers to avoidance - avoiding the truth, avoiding the past, avoiding consequences. They are slow in accepting what their past was, what their present is, and what their future will become. They are slow in finally saying goodbye to Kaia.

Kane is now my absolute favourite character. He is the best onion in the batch, because of how many layers he has. And he's no soggy onion either, but completely crisp. I love him to death. I can't wait to move onto Gluttony.

[Anissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed & am finally donating as I need to cull bookshelves before moving. Read the whole series & have a soft spot for the movie as well.

[Miranda Potratz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading the book “Sloth” by Robin Wasserman. This book is about the lives of a group of teenagers. Now with Kaia gone, everything changes. Harper and Beth can’t live with themselves and have not been the same since the accident. Kane and Adam are trying to get everyone back to normal. Miranda feels lost but in the end starts to turn it around with Harper. Reed, feeling guilty, begins a close bond with Beth and she is not resisting.

Harper is queen bee but definitely does not feel or act the part at this point. Kane is self-centered, athletic, and good-looking. He starts to become the guy to lean on though now. Adam is sweet and thoughtful. Miranda is more confident in herself now. Reed is a rugged, quiet, kind, and spontaneous boy.

The setting of this story is in the small town of Grace, California. It is based on present day. The story is told from the perspective of each teenager throughout the book.

I would recommend this book for others to read. It keeps the reader interested the whole time and gives a lot of twists. I would recommend it to teenagers and anyone older.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

These are such a guilty pleasure for me.

[Shacoria · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read this book series back in 11th grade. I only vaguely remember them, but I know that I really liked them a lot. Sloth & Gluttony were my least favorite books in the series, according to my diary entries about this book series in October 2009. I felt like nothing really happened in Sloth. I read Sloth (#5) & Gluttony (#6) before reading Wrath (#4) apparently, so I was a little bit confused by them and that may have been why I liked them a little less. I really liked Lust (#1), Envy (#2), and Pride (#3) a lot though.

[Pin · Rating 3 out of 5]

None of them are really themselves as they'd been push to the edge before they break. I felt suffocated and down when I read this. Intense and sad. And annoyed in a way.

[David Thwaites · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, an excellent look at why working too hard is dumb and how the seemingly hardest working people are the biggest sloths of them all

[The Academic Princess · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is starting to rebuild the drama... I liked it. Need to see what's happening in the next ones.

[Arzu · Rating 2 out of 5]

Tembellik kısmını pek anlamasam da okuyoruz işte

[Cara Volz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Personal response:
I really enjoyed Sloth by Robin Wasserman a lot. It was a very good book, but the plot development took a lot longer than it did in Wrath. Other than taking a little longer to read, it was great to see the character’s evolving from everything that has happened to them recently. Harper and Beth were my favorite to read about in this book.

Plot:
One of the seven is dead, who could that possibly be? Adam's officially done with love, school, and just about everything else. Beth, being guilty, is trying really hard to act normal. No matter what anyone says, Beth will always believe it is her fault that the car accident happened. Beth secretly slipped pills in Harper’s drink before her speech to the Governor of California. Unknowing that Harper would run out of the school and get in a vehicle to drive, let alone with Kaia Sellers. That’s when Harper lost control at a high rate of speed and got in an accident. Kaia is dead and Harper sustained very severe injuries. When Harper finally wakes up, she can’t really remember anything that happened except for making herself look dumb in front of the whole school. Harper also can’t sleep because she thinks she is the reason Kaia is dead. Even if it isn’t entirely her fault, she feels she is to blame. Reed recognizes devastation, since all he does is fantasize about Kaia. Reed is very unsure what to do with his life until Beth comes along. Beth feels guilty for what she did to Kaia, so in a way she thinks she has to make it up to Reed. Beth becomes Reed’s new girl and is having a more difficult time doing that than she thought. Beth has never been into the drugs and alcohol, but with Reed she feels obliged to do it. Miranda on the other hand is just trying to get her life on track. Miranda seems a little lost and isn’t really sure if she truly forgives Harper. Miranda isn’t sure what options will benefit her at this point. It seems like no one is going somewhere, except for Kane. Kane is actually doing something: uncovering how the crash happened. He’s not sure why he feels the need to uncover the truth about the accident, but he does it anyway. Some things just don’t add up in Kane’s mind. Too bad for Haven High, there isn’t another chance with death.

Characterization:
Harper Grace: Harper is embarrassed by her little act when the governor came to Haven High. She is still queen bee but has lost some of her social status due to the car accident. Harper barely has her best friend to help her through hard times like she used too.

Miranda Stevens: Miranda isn’t sure if she forgave Harper because of the accident or because she really forgives Harper. Miranda is still a great friend and will always be Harper’s best friend.

Kane Geary: Kane has everything going for him as if he never played anyone. He is still getting all the girls he wants, whenever he wants. Something about Harper’s accident just doesn’t sit right with him.

Adam Morgan: Adam is perfectly fine with being done with anything and everything. He wants his normal life back and

Beth Manning: Beth is now crumbled to pieces after getting her “revenge” on Harper, Adam, Kane, and Kaia. Struggling to stay above the water, Beth starts using new methods to distract her.

Setting:
Sloth takes place in modern day times, in a town called Grace. Grace is a very small town and just represents modern day high schools. Being such a small town, it shows how much drama can actually happen because of how fast things get around.

Thematic connection:
I think a common theme is greed leads to negative outcomes. Such as suffering, disaster, catastrophe, evil, callousness, and arrogance. Miranda and Kane were to greedy with their wants/desires, that they didn’t even think about what would happened in the end. Karma came back in the end and hurt them in many ways.

Recommendation:
If you love drama and tragic love, this book and series are definitely for you. I would recommend this book to anyone in high school. I enjoyed the drama and how much it connected to how high school can actually be. I give this book a five out of five stars.

[Siyahyuzgec · Rating 4 out of 5]

Serinin en iyi kitaplarındandı, kimsenin ne yapacağı belli değildi. Aralarından birinin ölümü hepsini değişik şekillerde sarsmıştı ve tabiki en çok sarsılan Harper'dı.Kendini toparlaması çok zaman alacağa benziyor, Miranda'yıda kendinden uzaklaştırmaktan son anda vazgeçerek ruhsal sağlığını biraz korumayı başardığını düşünüyorum. Kane her zaman kendinden eminsin ve kendi doğrularınla oynuyorsun ve bana kalırsa içlerinden bu oyunu en iyi oynayanda sensin. Beth'e gelince,senden nefret ettiğimi daha kaç kere söylemeliyim acaba? Kitaptaki bütün erkekleri masum kız rolüyle kendine çekiyorsun ve aralarındaki en sürtükte sensin. Evet kabul et Kaia senin yüzünden öldü senin öfkenin kurbanı oldu.Seni o psikopat Fransızca öğretmenine bırakıyorum sana ne isterse yapsında cezanı bul artık.

[Mabel · Rating 3 out of 5]

After one of the original seven dies, the six left are now lost and changed. At least, it seemed like it.

Adam is out of school and slowly paving the way for a downfall, Reed is dreaming about Kaia even though he has no chances with her, and Miranda is confused and completely not in tune with the rest of society, as are many of the other members of the seven.

Kane is the only one who is taking action in order to understand how and why the accident happened, and why did the fun that they all had together disappear.

[Caitlin Trepp · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is the first time I've picked up a book from this series, and not a lot happened. Most of the characters are acting very differently than they were. I get that they're grieving, but the last book and this one have such a dark tone. The ending to this book was almost as empty as the last... I want to know what happens, but not unless it ends the way I want it to, ya know? For the first time in this series I wonder if the plot has changed less to the natural flow of writing and more towards the writers' agenda.....?

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book was sort of a let down after the drama of wrath.everyone seems to go back to the characters they were in the first book and destroy all the character development. Beth goes back to whiny although her good girl routine does take an interesting nose dive. miranda loses her spine again. Kane seems to be more tolerable in some parts but then hell ruin it the very next paragraph. while i still enjoyed the book it was a little disheartening to read since the other ones all led up to this dramatic crescendo and it was a bit of a wah wah wah moment

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Overall, this book was good, but I think that Wrath is still the best of the five I've read so far. This book was really about how the characters dealt with the news of Kaia's death and even though not many people were friends with Kaia, you'll be surprised by the feelings of some of the main characters. This book was sad in a way because of the leftover feelings that Reed still had for Kaia. This book wasn't as interesting as the last book, but I'll definitely be waiting for the sixth one.

[Janelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ah, I can't believe that Kaia was the one to not survive! I was really disappointed that she was the one to go, because she was one of my favorite characters. So the only reason why I didn't give this book a higher rating was because it was mostly about Beth, and I really can't stand her. I was pretty upset that she kissed Reed, but I guess I'll get over it. I'm really hoping that the next one will be more focused on Reed, because we really don't know much about him.

[Waffle...♥ · Rating 4 out of 5]

It just really sucks that Harper can't learn to accept Adam's friendship without thinking he's just doing that to pity her.

Anyways in Sloth... nobody is really doing anything, just getting into more trouble while trying to avoid it. Why can't anybody just get out with the truth and get over it?! Hmm... sins.

[Jenee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ironically enough, Sloth moved a lot slower with its plot development than Wrath did. It took me much longer to read it also. But as always with Wasserman's books, once you hit about 75% completion you can't put the book down. I like that the characters gained a bit more depth in this book. Great read. Great series. Highly recommend it.

[WCPL Teens · Rating 1 out of 5]

Part of a series. With Kaia's death, her friends and enemies struggle to continue with their high school lives: Harper wonders if the car crash was her fault, Beth feels guilty for the part she played, and Adam's just trying to regain Harper's friendship. Full of drama and angst.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really am enjoying this series. However, this is not my favorite book out of it. I think this book did a good job of keeping my attention throughout the story. I am looking forward to the next one.

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book and I found it very interesting with how the characters dealt with what happened since the ending of the last book

[Louise Metierre · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it. (sorry i'm to lazy to do reviews now)

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

So emotional. You actually get to c the characters true feelings nd emotions

[Mercedes · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.5 stars*

[chelsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

good book but not the series best

[Gielizza · Rating 3 out of 5]

Less exciting than the other Seven Deadly Sins novel. I think.

[Cornelia (Corrie) Maston · Rating 3 out of 5]

that was rather depressing... but I currently <3 Reed ... le sigh

[Paul Madarasz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Any book that pokes serious fun at the self-help movement is definitely OK in *my* book.

[Kelsea]

DNF first book in series.