7 dni

by Eve Ainsworth, Marcin Mortka (Translator)

Jess jest zastraszana przez swoją rówieśnice Kez. Z tego powodu jej bezpiecznie życie szkolne, zmienia się w piekło. Kez ma również mnóstwo problemów, ale wciąż pociesza ją fakt, że jest lepsza od Jess – a przynajmniej tak myśli… Bezkompromisowo i celnie ujęty problem, z którym borykają się nastolatki na co dzień.

Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Fiction, Mental Health, Realistic Fiction, Abuse, Teen

248 pages, Paperback

First published February 5, 2015

About the author

Author of Seven Days & Crush
Scholastic
www.eveainsworth.com

http://www.curtisbrown.co.uk/eve-ains...

I have also self published an adult comedy - The Blog of Maisy Malone.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Blog-Maisy-Ma...

I love reading, long walks, hot baths, eighties music and tea.

Please follow me on Twitter

https://twitter.com/EveAinsworth

Or find me on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/eveainsworthn...

Reviews

[Jeann (Happy Indulgence) · Rating 1 out of 5]

Check out Happy Indulgence for more reviews!

Seven Days is a compelling and disturbing story of bullying and abuse, from the perspective of the bully and the victim. It started out rather cliche, with the mean girl Kez and her band of skinny, popular friends cheering her on. Their target is the overweight Jess, who has low self esteem and suicidal tendencies. But it starts to spiral too far out of control and it's absolutely confronting and horrifying, the depths with Kez goes to to make Jess pay.

I don't care how you want to justify bullying, but bullying is never, never okay. Yes, Seven Days attempts to paint two sides of the story, from both the perpetrator and the victim, but I did not feel sorry for Kez. At all. I've often thought that those who like to inflict pain, who like to bully other people like to feel in control of their lives and are often suffering greater issues of their own. Which was certainly true in this case, but honestly. It was all so dramatic and black and white, you know?

Kez is a horrible human being and suffering from an abusive family life, but honestly, does absolutely no one, not even her friends, other students, or teachers see the impact on her behaviour? Same goes for what she does with Jess, it's easy to see her self loathing behaviour, but are people blind to that as well?

Poor self-loathing Jess, I struggled to feel sorry for her as well. Not because I'm cruel and heartless, but because she doesn't want to do anything to help her own situation. She's letting someone else get in the way of her thoughts, of her self view, of her livelihood but I'm glad she finally grew some balls to stand up to her.

Seven Days is a confronting bullying story which attempts to paint two sides of the story, but guys, this isn't bullying. This is straight out verbal and physical abuse which definitely did not deserve the ending here. I find it hard to sympathise with these characters that seemed so one-dimensional, although I appreciated the creativity "7 days" coverage of the story.

I received a review copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Maddie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked reading a dual perspective story, where you see exactly the same events from two different eyes. While I'll always be more sympathetic to the bullied, I really appreciated a narrative that showed how everyone can be a victim and that what we see doesn't always give us a full picture of what that person's really like. A quintessential story of bullying and redemption, I'm pleased to have started the CramAThon off with something good!

[furacs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nagyon tetszett. Nagyon megérintett. Nem tudom, kamasz koromban hogyan hatott volna, de felnőtt fejjel teljesen vissza tudtam helyezkedni abba a bizonytalan, serdülő állapotba, ahol egyik pillanatról a másikra változnak az érzések, indulatok, minden képlékeny, bizonytalan. Ha a kortárs csoport ellened fordul, akkor mindennek vége, megutálod magad, a saját, kérlelhetetlen ellenségeddé válsz.
Ainsworth bizonyára jól ismeri ezt a korosztályt, értő szemmel, nyitott szívvel nyúl a kiközösítés, zaklatás problémaköréhez. Behozott egy csomó diszfuncionális családot, ahonnan a szereplőket válogatta, érintőlegesen az interneten zajló zaklatást is megmutatta (ami mára valószínűleg jóval súlyosabb, mint egy-egy kaján fb poszt). A családi problémák nagyon valódiak voltak, komolyan megrendültem egy-két jelenetnél. Valószerű volt a történet, bár én úgy érzem (jajj, bár ne lenne az, de saját tapasztalat), hogy akire rászállnak, az egy buborékba kerül és a többiek többnyire igyekeznek messze elkerülni, nehogy ők is áldozattá váljanak. Az itteni gyerekek között azért több jól nevelt, jó érzésű is akadt, az áldozat nem maradt magára. A történet vége talán már egy kicsit idealizált, de azért nagyon jól esett a lelkemnek a feloldás. Mivel tizenéveseknek íródott, kell is valami iránymutatás, egy lehetséges verzió, hogy hogy lehet ebből (jól?) kijönni.
Összességében engem teljesen meggyőzött, az írónő többi könyvét is keresni fogom.

[ninawkrainieksiazek · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Chiara]

A copy of this novel was provided by Scholastic UK for review.

I have never liked the whole “bullies are victims too” or “bullies do it for a reason” or “bullies are just insecure themselves” thing.

No. NO.

I do not care if someone has the worst life in the world. Full of pain and death and suffering of every kind on this planet. You do not bully someone because of that. You do not bring someone else down because you might feel like shit. You do not give someone hell because you might be going through hell yourself. You. Do. Not. Bully. Anyone. Ever. For. Any. Reason.

Having a shit life is no excuse for bullying. Because there is no excuse for bullying. Bullying is disgusting, and has consequences, and I feel nothing – absolutely nothing – for bullies.

So when I realised that that was the kind of crap that 7 Days was trying to pull, I knew it wasn’t going to be the book for me. I also knew that I couldn’t rate it, because on the one hand it wasn’t written all that badly, and the chapters alternating between Jess and Kez were clearly defined, but on the other hand I am so completely opposed to the terrible message that this book is sending out into the world that rating it would be more of a reflection of that than anything else.

That message is along the lines of the ones stated at the beginning of this review. That bullies are victims themselves, that they have a “reason” for bullying someone, and that they are insecure. And like I also said: I don’t believe in this. At all. In any way whatsoever.

So it’s okay to make someone’s life a living hell just because you’re in pain? Is that something that we should be sending out into the universe? That you can forgive the bully that nearly killed you just because you find out that their dad is an abusive fuckwad? That bullies realise that they aren’t nice human beings and decide to change? That the bullied girl gets a really nice boy at the end of it all?

Because that, my friends, is shit. This doesn’t happen in real life. Bullying isn’t forgivable. Most bullies never realise that they are terrible human beings for being cruel to others. And when is there ever a cute, popular guy who sticks up for the bully? Never.

The only accurate portrayal of bullying in this book is how completely incompetent teachers are. They never realise. And then when the bullying is brought to their attention, they flounder and have no ways of actually making it stop.

7 Days was not a novel I enjoyed, and do not recommend.

In closing: bullying is never okay. There is no “reason” to bully. Bullying is not forgivable.

© 2015, Chiara @ Books for a Delicate Eternity . All rights reserved.

[Kelly (Diva Booknerd) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was horrified to be honest, and bullying is not nearly a strong enough word to describe the abuse inflicted here. It was mental and often physical torture. Kez was a deplorable character that I absolutely loathed. I couldn't give two fucks if she's also seen as a victim due to her home conditions, she and her band of disgusting and vile friends has left me fuming beyond comprehension.

Review to come.

[File de Poveste · Rating 5 out of 5]

Din punctul meu de vedere, această carte este o carte cult, foarte frumoase care pe mine m-a învățat foarte multe. O recomand tuturor cu mare drag! 🤗🤗🤗

[Edel Waugh Salisbury · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the story about a girl called Jess. Jess is fourteen years old and getting bullied at school. She lives with her mum and sister and her mum works hard but money wise things are tight for this small family of three so she does not have the best of everything. Jess's dad is pretty much absent in her life and basically a useless individual , you would not want to rely on this guy. So when the bullying gets worse she has hardly anyone to turn to. Half of this story is told from the bully's point of view, her life is no picnic either but it's interesting reading a book about bullying seeing what's going on in the bullies life at the same time as the victim.This was different from any other book about bullying that I have ever read , I found it left me with a smile and sense of hope.
I recommend this to anyone who has been bullied or is going through it as Jess is a very likeable character who is very relatable and full of goodness.

I received this book for review from the lovely people over at Lovereading4kids.

[Madalina · Rating 5 out of 5]

E atât de ușor uneori să închidem ochii la tot ce se întâmplă în jurul nostru. Uităm atât de ușor să ne punem în locul celorlalți și câtă putere au cuvintele.

https://mbuubooks.blogspot.com/2020/0...

[Susbogblog · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jeg var meget tæt på at give den fem stjerner. Jeg læste den på under et døgn, den var helt umulig at slippe.

[Shannon's Library · Rating 1 out of 5]

I know it's harsh but I didn't like much about this book

[Loredana Mariana Bublitchi · Rating 5 out of 5]

O carte ce trebuie citita! ❤️

https://bookwormsinacozycorner.home.b...

[Caitlin N · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to Scholastic for sending me this book, you are indeed very kind people, especially since we exchanged so many emails. I thank you very much as the book has become one of my favourites for this year.

Synopsis:

This bold, compelling and topical story about bullying is told from the perspective of the bully and the bullied. You won’t be able put it down until you’ve reached the conclusion. Jess’s life is difficult enough without Kez picking on her – it’s turning school from a safe place into a nightmare. Kez has plenty of problems too but she finds comfort in knowing she is better off than Jess – or so she thinks. A hard-hitting and even-handed look at bullying and the issues facing teenagers today.

Review:
… Where do I start? This is a good “Where do I start?” though.

This book handles an issue that is very close to my heart, as I was bullied for many years, so reading something like this is difficult but at the end I felt so glad reading it. Book’s that handle tough issues don’t normally get a great response or it gets a mixed response because people don’t know how they feel about the topic. But for this book all I’d heard were glowing reviews, so I was excited to delve into this book.

The writing is choppy yet it flows (that sounds really stupid.) It has a certain feel to it, a bit like “Yes, I’m a rough book, talking about rough stuff but you won’t feel like it’s rough it feels like silk, the words are silk.” It probably feels choppy because it’s split up into a course of seven days with a chapter from each characters perspective. However I like this writing style and I always argue that more books should be written this way. I’m definitely an unconventional reader/writer.

The characters each have their voice, Jess has a very sad and harrowed voice yet Kez seems strong in a sad way. If you open up to a chapter you can tell whose narrating, which I like in a story as it shows that the writer is good, good enough to make distinctive characters. I wished though, that I liked some of the other characters a bit more, it really focuses on the two main characters but you do read many other characters who interact with Jess and Kez, I didn’t like them as much.

I was pleased that it was told from two story points because that way we see the two sides to the story. It shows that Kez is a victim as well and I think that’s important. The bully normally has a story and I’m so happy this want a one way story.

My fave quote:

“I don’t have magic answers, I just take each day as it comes.”

This book was so amazing but it wasn’t quite all the way amazing and I thought some aspects could have been a tad bit better. This is still a book to read though and I urge you to pick it up. I rate this 4½ stars out of 5. ½/

[Bee · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice try, but it didn't really work for me. Set over seven days (hence the title) it is an insight in the lives of 2 teenagers: the bully, and the victim. It sounds like a great idea, and could potentially be an eye-opener. Like the author says in her acknowledgments: there are two sides to every story. But I think that is exactly where my problem with this book is. It is a little bit too two dimensional for me.

The characters are not very well developed, especially the two protagonists. Half their actions don't make sense and they seem to change their personality midsentence.
The set up is nice though. Both have sob stories and - yes I could totally see why one is a victim and the other a bully - but I honestly don't buy it. The book reads more like an after-school special that has been thrown together last minute, than a well thought out novel that is going to be the poster book for the anti-bullying campaign.

But fair enough, the book never really claimed to achieve that. And hopefully it will bring support to victims, and will be an eye opener to bullies everywhere. But I kind of hoped the book would be better.

[Michelle (Fluttering Butterflies) · Rating 4 out of 5]

That last 1/3 was really tough to read as things escalated. Really important book and very interesting look at bullies/victims. Full review soon!

Seven Days by Eve Ainsworth was a really thought-provoking novel about bullying told from the perspective of both the bully and the victim. I thought it was a very interesting book, one that had me hooked right from the start and I felt very emotionally connected to both main characters.

I loved seeing the lives of both Jess and Kez in more detail and discovering how and why they both end up in the positions that they are in. Seven Days explores friendships and school and family and also self-image and how each of these things has an impact on Jess and Kez's lives. Jess is quite clearly a victim because of her weight and appearance and while Kez is Jess's bully, she is also a victim and it was interesting to see Kez so sympathetically portrayed throughout.

This book tackles some very serious topics in an honest and believable way. It's a fast-paced, emotional and surprising story and I highly recommend it!

[anthea · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well 2.5* / I have my issues
--
A story of bullying, but not as you'd expect it. Whilst reading this book I had my problems, but looking back on it now, I can begin to see the other side of things, the side the author wanted us to be able to see. I just didn't agree with it at the time. I enjoyed reading this book, and read it near enough in one-sitting as it's pretty short, but it wasn't like anything I was expecting and I did find it lacking in some places.

Full review on my blog!:
http://originalbooker.blogspot.co.uk/...

[Katie (Kitkatscanread) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual rating : 3.5 stars

This book was a short quick contemporary about a bully and a victim.
Spread over the course of 7 days, we get to see the perspectives of both characters.
It reflects a harsh reality of what bullying can be like.
The ending was satisfactory, and settled the dark theme of the book.
For people who enjoyed Wonder by R. J. Palacio.

[Preda Stefania · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5☆
Un must read daca ma întrebați pe mine!📚
O carte care ar trebui să devină lectură obligatorie si sa fie recomandată mai des!✨
Superbă!💖

[Ezra · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5
Czułam ból zarówno ofiary, jak i oprawcy.
Książka wyraźnie pokazuje, że "złego człowieka" może stworzyć trauma, strach, niemoc oraz inny zły człowiek.
Historia pokazuje jak ważna jest rozmowa i zainteresowanie, iż możemy nie zdawać sobie sprawy z cierpienia przez jakie ktoś przechodzi. Również pokazano jak istotne jest reagowanie na przemoc psychiczną i fizyczną.

TW: przemoc domowa/psychiczna/fizyczna, próba samobójcza, próba okaleczania, dotkliwe obelgi i sugestie, alkoholizm

[helliswaiting_forus Jula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jak dla mnie każdy powinien przeczytać i zdać sobie sprawę jak nastolatkom jest ciężko🥺
Płakałam czytając,autorka tak cudnie rozumie młodych ludzi

[olagg · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Yoko02 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked this book because it tells the reader that a person is able to change in just one week or in just a moment. It also teaches you to not judge a person, when you don't even know their background story. It is a story about two totally different girls who are both victims, one is an unpopular over weight girl who is bullied and one is a super popular mean girl who is abused with her mom by her unemployed drunk dad at home. One girl changed in 7 days and realised she loves herself and the other changed in just a few minutes and realised that being mean is not always the answer. I really liked how the author describes how the characters felt, it is as if she knew how it felt to be both because it seemed so realistic. The only problem with this book, was that it was a bit too predictable and one part of the book was too unrealistic.

[EvaLovesYA · Rating 4 out of 5]

Also posted on Eva Lucias blog (Danish version)

- English review is on its way...

Blog ~ Facebook ~ Instagram ~ Youtube ~ Spotify ~

[ana :) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a good book! It had that atmosphere, the atmosphere of a normal school, a normal life, a poor family, a weird family and a normal city! I really liked this book because it gave me some beautiful feelings and I enjoied the time reding it!That end was quite unexpected and I really liked it!a I think more people should read this novel, because it is a different topic and all of us need to discover diffrent kinds of books every year!

[Lee Message · Rating 5 out of 5]

eve is a good friend of mine.i read this book and was hooked.it took me 2 days to read which is normally hard work as I have 3 little ones at home so I managed to fit it in.i loved jess and the way how she became so strong in the end.kez what a great way to show a different side of a bully.i felt sorry for her and I saw a bully in a very different light.

[Bookundermybed · Rating 1 out of 5]

Nope, not what I was expecting. Kez was downright awful and Jess whines a lot. Kez comes from a broken home but that was no excuse. I disliked every character. Lyn was weird to be honest. I had no idea what to think of him and what Kez did at the end of the novel was uncalled for. I wish I could say I liked this book more.

[*Sophie* · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 sentence review;
Good book, funny, sad, all the god things a book should have. Basically a shorter, less romantic and slightly different version of Holding Up the Universe by Jenifer Niven (which I do recommend). Overall a good book and I recommend both books in this review.

[KnigasBooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Książa skupiająca się na motywach prześladowania dzieci w szkołach. Przeznaczona raczej dla młodego odbiorcy. Podobna do "13 powodów" Jay'a Ashera, jednak bardziej skondensowana i mniej drastyczna.

[Alyce Hunt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Full review coming on Monday, but I wasn't overly impressed with this YA contemporary debut.

EDIT 23/03/2018:

Jumping between the perspectives of Kez and Jess, 7 Days tells two sides of a story the bully and the bullied.

Kez is the most popular girl in their year, and she makes Jess’s life a living hell because she’s overweight, poor and too scared to stand up for herself. Jess is almost as weak as Kez’s mother, who allows Kez’s alcoholic father to abuse her physically and verbally, never fighting back. She’s a coward, and she deserves to be treated like dirt.

Focusing on a week in the life of Kez and Jess, 7 Days is a quick but awkwardly paced read. Towards the end of the week Kez’s behaviour escalates at an alarming rate, but jumping between their perspectives every day is ineffective. Some of the chapters contained no notable events, and I regularly found myself skim reading rather than concentrating on the story.

I feel conflicted about 7 Days. Eve Ainsworth does a good job of proving that Kez has a reason for being a bully, but it reads like she’s trying to excuse her behaviour. Because Kez’s father is abusive and she has an unhappy home life, it’s as though Ainsworth is attempting to make us empathise and pity Kez. It’s not okay to victimise someone just because your life isn’t the happiest. Her behaviour is abhorrent, and the apparent justification of her actions made me extremely uncomfortable.

As well as that, I didn’t appreciate the attitude towards Jess’s weight. Not only does Kez bully her for being overweight, but her mother makes barbed comments towards her, too. Jess takes them all to heart and is extremely self-critical, but this is never properly addressed. Yes, the reality is that some teenagers are overweight, but I don’t think it would help anyone struggling with their own body image to see negative, abusive comments left unchecked.

However, there was one aspect of 7 Days that I thought was really well written: Jess’s family are working class. It’s something which isn’t frequently encountered in YA novels despite being the reality for a huge amount of teen readers, and this particular set-up – a single parent working as many hours as they physically can and still struggling to put food on the table – is easy to relate to. It would have been reassuring to see this representation when I was younger.

This review was originally posted on The Bumbling Blogger.

[Cynka · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nie oczekiwałam dużo od tej książki. Panie w bibliotece niedawno ją kupiły, zobaczyłam, że kojarzę okładkę poprzedniego wydania i wypożyczyłam. No i w sumie też za dużo nie dostałam od tej książki.
Czyta ją się bardzo, bardzo szybko, mimo że przedstawia całkiem poważne tematy. Ale właśnie - wydaje mi się, że robi to za szybko. Wszystko jest rzeczowe, konkretne i po prostu jest. Jakby czegoś tu brakowało.
Nie udało mi się ani zżyć za bardzo z bohaterami, ani zapałać do nich większą sympatią. Mam też wrażenie, że zakończeniu, mimo że kompozycyjnie było bardzo odpowiednie, logiczne i "estetyczne", brakowało postawienia bohaterów przed konsekwencjami? Nie wiem, wydaje mi się, że przydałby się tutaj epilog, który trochę nakreśliłby ich dalsze losy i pokazał, jak rozwiązać problemy,z którymi te postacie się borykały. Bo w sumie to wyszło na to, że wszystko jest okej, a nie jest. Ale może to tylko moje wrażenie.
Myślę, że za niedługo zapomnę, o czym była ta książka. Trudno mi powiedzieć, że mi się nie podobała, ale w sumie to też chyba przesadzę, jeśli powiem, że mi się podobała. Ona po prostu.. była. I nie była zła.