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Indecent: A Novel
Corinne Sullivan’s debut that bestselling author Jennifer Close called “a sharp and complex coming-of-age story,” now in trade paperback.
"[A] surprising debut...an affecting novel, examining self-doubt, self-sabotage, and the lasting impact of both." -- Publisher's Weekly
"Sullivan's debut is a smart and delicious page-turner." -- Booklist
"[A] steamy debut, in which infatuation crosses the line into obsession...Imogene's backstory...will have readers sympathizing with her as she works through her past." -- Library Journal
"The disturbingly painful depiction of the struggle to be at home within one's skin will move teens with its well-written, haunting, and illuminating story of a young woman spinning out of control." -- School Library Journal
Shy, introverted Imogene Abney has always been fascinated by the elite world of prep schools, having secretly longed to attend one since she was a girl in Buffalo, New York. So, shortly after her college graduation, when she’s offered a teaching position at the Vandenberg School for Boys, an all-boys prep school in Westchester, New York, she immediately accepts, despite having little teaching experience—and very little experience with boys.
When Imogene meets handsome, popular Adam Kipling a few weeks into her tenure there, a student who exudes charm and status and ease, she’s immediately drawn to him. Who is this boy who flirts with her without fear of being caught? Who is this boy who seems immune to consequences and worry; a boy for whom the world will always provide?
As an obsessive, illicit affair begins between them, Imogene is so lost in the haze of first love that she’s unable to recognize the danger she’s in. The danger of losing her job. The danger of losing herself in the wrong person. The danger of being caught doing something possibly illegal and so indecent.
Exploring issues of class, sex, and gender, Indecent by Corinne Sullivan is a smart, sexy debut that shatters the black-and-white nature of victimhood, taking a close look at blame and moral ambiguity.
"[A] surprising debut...an affecting novel, examining self-doubt, self-sabotage, and the lasting impact of both." -- Publisher's Weekly
"Sullivan's debut is a smart and delicious page-turner." -- Booklist
"[A] steamy debut, in which infatuation crosses the line into obsession...Imogene's backstory...will have readers sympathizing with her as she works through her past." -- Library Journal
"The disturbingly painful depiction of the struggle to be at home within one's skin will move teens with its well-written, haunting, and illuminating story of a young woman spinning out of control." -- School Library Journal
Shy, introverted Imogene Abney has always been fascinated by the elite world of prep schools, having secretly longed to attend one since she was a girl in Buffalo, New York. So, shortly after her college graduation, when she’s offered a teaching position at the Vandenberg School for Boys, an all-boys prep school in Westchester, New York, she immediately accepts, despite having little teaching experience—and very little experience with boys.
When Imogene meets handsome, popular Adam Kipling a few weeks into her tenure there, a student who exudes charm and status and ease, she’s immediately drawn to him. Who is this boy who flirts with her without fear of being caught? Who is this boy who seems immune to consequences and worry; a boy for whom the world will always provide?
As an obsessive, illicit affair begins between them, Imogene is so lost in the haze of first love that she’s unable to recognize the danger she’s in. The danger of losing her job. The danger of losing herself in the wrong person. The danger of being caught doing something possibly illegal and so indecent.
Exploring issues of class, sex, and gender, Indecent by Corinne Sullivan is a smart, sexy debut that shatters the black-and-white nature of victimhood, taking a close look at blame and moral ambiguity.
304 pages, Paperback
First published March 6, 2018
96 people are currently reading
3384 people want to read
About the author
Corinne Sullivan
4 books84 followersCorinne Sullivan studied English with a Creative Writing Concentration at Boston College, where she graduated in 2014. She then received her MFA in fiction from Sarah Lawrence College in 2016. Her stories have appeared in Night Train, Knee-Jerk, and Pithead Chapel, among other publications. Indecent is her first novel.
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March 9, 2018
Imogene has in her head that prep schools are the end all of all be all. She wishes that she had been one of the elite but now she has the chance to teach at one.
She begins her job but the whole time you are getting to know her..she has severe insecurities and you just know something ain't right.
Then one night she goes on a walk and meets one of the fourth year students. She is so flattered by him and let's be honest. He is a little weasel.
He keeps showing up and texting her and she is ever so flattered. Then begins the affair.
Now you would think that this story would be about a whack job predator wouldn't you? Teacher seducing the student thing..but it's not. Imogene is too off the charts for it to be that.
She is completely on her own realm. That realm is totally her own.
The whole time I was reading this book I couldn't figure her out. One minute I would sorta feel sorry for her and then the next I wanted to smack the shit out of her.
I even thought maybe she was the product of a bad life and wanted her to have some redeeming character. I kept thinking surely there had to be some reason that she is like this. Then I'd want to see her smacked once again.
[image error]
So all I can say about this book is don't go into it expecting anything. Just read it and shake your head...and say "Bless her heart."
Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review.
She begins her job but the whole time you are getting to know her..she has severe insecurities and you just know something ain't right.
Then one night she goes on a walk and meets one of the fourth year students. She is so flattered by him and let's be honest. He is a little weasel.
He keeps showing up and texting her and she is ever so flattered. Then begins the affair.
Now you would think that this story would be about a whack job predator wouldn't you? Teacher seducing the student thing..but it's not. Imogene is too off the charts for it to be that.
She is completely on her own realm. That realm is totally her own.
The whole time I was reading this book I couldn't figure her out. One minute I would sorta feel sorry for her and then the next I wanted to smack the shit out of her.
I even thought maybe she was the product of a bad life and wanted her to have some redeeming character. I kept thinking surely there had to be some reason that she is like this. Then I'd want to see her smacked once again.
[image error]
So all I can say about this book is don't go into it expecting anything. Just read it and shake your head...and say "Bless her heart."
Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review.
February 2, 2018
Find all of my reviews at: http://52bookminimum.blogspot.com/
Oh my glob how much do I love books like these. I know, I know . . . .
Guess what? I don’t really care.
Meet Imogene . . . .
She also has a pretty severe case of arrested development . . . .
(No relation.)
Imogene spent her high school days dreaming about leaving her ho-hum, middleclass life behind in order to attend a prestigious boarding school. When offered a job as a teaching apprentice at Vandenberg School for Boys after college, she jumps at the chance. What follows is the story of Imogene’s tenure at said school and her various interpersonal relationships – one in particular that readers won’t soon forget . . . .
“This was a bad habit of mine, falling in love.”
When this sucker popped up on my feed from St. Martin’s Press I knew I had to get my hands on a copy. Luckily, ARCs were available for request over on NetGalley and trust me when I say I clicked that button so quick smoke was probably flying off my fingertips. As a mother, believe me when I say if I ever even got a hint that one of their teachers was trying to have an inappropriate relationship with them I’d press charges so quick their head would spin and I’d probably wind up in jail for kicking all of the ass while waiting for the cops to get there. But when it comes to a work of fiction????
I can’t help myself. I love reading about the taboo. And this one? What a debut! The combination of Imogene’s age in relation to the students, her position of authority not necessarily being that authoritative, her lack of self-awareness/ability to interact with others and the smarm which was Kip all amounted to some serious . . . . .
And I just couldn’t help but feel sorry for Imogene at times while simultaneously cringing at her behavior.
Oh, and I can’t forget to mention that cover . . . .
Recommended to all y’all weirdos. You know who you are.
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley!
Oh my glob how much do I love books like these. I know, I know . . . .
Guess what? I don’t really care.
Meet Imogene . . . .
She also has a pretty severe case of arrested development . . . .
(No relation.)
Imogene spent her high school days dreaming about leaving her ho-hum, middleclass life behind in order to attend a prestigious boarding school. When offered a job as a teaching apprentice at Vandenberg School for Boys after college, she jumps at the chance. What follows is the story of Imogene’s tenure at said school and her various interpersonal relationships – one in particular that readers won’t soon forget . . . .
“This was a bad habit of mine, falling in love.”
When this sucker popped up on my feed from St. Martin’s Press I knew I had to get my hands on a copy. Luckily, ARCs were available for request over on NetGalley and trust me when I say I clicked that button so quick smoke was probably flying off my fingertips. As a mother, believe me when I say if I ever even got a hint that one of their teachers was trying to have an inappropriate relationship with them I’d press charges so quick their head would spin and I’d probably wind up in jail for kicking all of the ass while waiting for the cops to get there. But when it comes to a work of fiction????
I can’t help myself. I love reading about the taboo. And this one? What a debut! The combination of Imogene’s age in relation to the students, her position of authority not necessarily being that authoritative, her lack of self-awareness/ability to interact with others and the smarm which was Kip all amounted to some serious . . . . .
And I just couldn’t help but feel sorry for Imogene at times while simultaneously cringing at her behavior.
Oh, and I can’t forget to mention that cover . . . .
Recommended to all y’all weirdos. You know who you are.
ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you, NetGalley!
March 6, 2018
Thank you, St. Martin's Press for sending me, "Indecent" by Corinne Sullivan, in exchange for an honest review.
This novel was just...BONKERS! The main protagonist, Imogene Abney was a piece of work. She's not the most articulate person in the world, but thing that made her an interesting character was that she was imperfect and fragile. I like reading about female characters who don't have it all figured out. Imogene might not be a social butterfly, (she's very aloof around her co-workers) but she felt human and relatable, warts and all. She's got deep emotional problems when it comes to her appearance, (she picks at her face to relieve anxiety) and she's inexperienced when it comes to the opposite sex. She doesn't have a clue how damaged she really is, and oh yeah, she's VERY immature and self-involved.
Throughout the course of this novel, I couldn't believe some of the horrible, self-destructive behavior Imogene was engaging in, I was dumbfounded but I was fascinated as well. Even though I wasn't crazy about the writing style, (some of the metaphors are cringe-worthy) I truly felt Sullivan's strength as an author was creating a realistic, complicated, and insecure young woman on the brink of a professional and mental breakdown.
It's funny (and sad) how far some people will go for love, attention, and acceptance. At the end of "Indecent", you might not like Imogene, but you might feel empathy towards her because she's incredibly misguided. This book is scheduled to be released March 6, 2018.
This novel was just...BONKERS! The main protagonist, Imogene Abney was a piece of work. She's not the most articulate person in the world, but thing that made her an interesting character was that she was imperfect and fragile. I like reading about female characters who don't have it all figured out. Imogene might not be a social butterfly, (she's very aloof around her co-workers) but she felt human and relatable, warts and all. She's got deep emotional problems when it comes to her appearance, (she picks at her face to relieve anxiety) and she's inexperienced when it comes to the opposite sex. She doesn't have a clue how damaged she really is, and oh yeah, she's VERY immature and self-involved.
Throughout the course of this novel, I couldn't believe some of the horrible, self-destructive behavior Imogene was engaging in, I was dumbfounded but I was fascinated as well. Even though I wasn't crazy about the writing style, (some of the metaphors are cringe-worthy) I truly felt Sullivan's strength as an author was creating a realistic, complicated, and insecure young woman on the brink of a professional and mental breakdown.
It's funny (and sad) how far some people will go for love, attention, and acceptance. At the end of "Indecent", you might not like Imogene, but you might feel empathy towards her because she's incredibly misguided. This book is scheduled to be released March 6, 2018.
May 31, 2018
3.5☆ A good dose of drama.
(Rounded up to 4☆ for Amazon and Goodreads)
INDECENT is a story about how one young women's carer comes crashing down, when she abuses her power as a teacher.
Imogene works as an apprentice teacher for Vandenberg School for Boys.
She enjoys her job but finds it difficult to stick entirely to the rules.
First and foremost she is an adult, in charge of teaching. In no circumstance is she to befriend, get into a relationship or abuse her power.
I actually don't know why Imogene picks Adam Kipling, I think it's because Adam pushes the boundaries too, he is exciting and endearing and Imogen is drawn to this. The first time she spies him He is drinking alcohol and being mischievous with his mates out of school hours. Instead of chastising him which she should of done. She is intrigued by him.
It's quiet clear from very early on Imogene has very little sexual experience.
I'm not condoning by any means what she does but maybe it's because she wants to gain experience from a younger boy who won't judge her lack of experience.
Adam is 17/18 I'm not entirely sure. Yes he is over 16, but she still abuses her power to protect.
Imogene is very nieve, she is very immature for her age. She has a very low self esteem and kind of lives in her own bubble.
She craves attention and the need to be liked. Particularly Male attention, as soon as any male shows her a glimmer of attention she is infatuated.
This is the reason she gets herself into so much trouble!
The writing style for me was a little disjointed. I felt like I was dropped into the story, not really a clue who or what was happening. Then the plot switches to Imogene's teenage years. I just felt a little lost as there was no indication of a switch as it happens within a chapter.
When I see the blurb for Indecent I was very excited. Once the story got just past 100pages it ramped up a little.
The characters are flawed, and unlikable.
I didn't particularly like any of the characters. I wanted to like Imogene but I just couldn't relate to her deep rooted insecurities.
Indecent does contain sensitive subjects that some May find hard to read. Particularly underage sex, with teacher and pupil.
If you enjoy stories that contain Drama, a fair amount of sex, then you will enjoy this book.
Thank you to Netgalley and HQ Digital for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.
My Review is also on my Blog Website;
https://dashfan81.blogspot.com/2018/0...
(Rounded up to 4☆ for Amazon and Goodreads)
INDECENT is a story about how one young women's carer comes crashing down, when she abuses her power as a teacher.
Imogene works as an apprentice teacher for Vandenberg School for Boys.
She enjoys her job but finds it difficult to stick entirely to the rules.
First and foremost she is an adult, in charge of teaching. In no circumstance is she to befriend, get into a relationship or abuse her power.
I actually don't know why Imogene picks Adam Kipling, I think it's because Adam pushes the boundaries too, he is exciting and endearing and Imogen is drawn to this. The first time she spies him He is drinking alcohol and being mischievous with his mates out of school hours. Instead of chastising him which she should of done. She is intrigued by him.
It's quiet clear from very early on Imogene has very little sexual experience.
I'm not condoning by any means what she does but maybe it's because she wants to gain experience from a younger boy who won't judge her lack of experience.
Adam is 17/18 I'm not entirely sure. Yes he is over 16, but she still abuses her power to protect.
Imogene is very nieve, she is very immature for her age. She has a very low self esteem and kind of lives in her own bubble.
She craves attention and the need to be liked. Particularly Male attention, as soon as any male shows her a glimmer of attention she is infatuated.
This is the reason she gets herself into so much trouble!
The writing style for me was a little disjointed. I felt like I was dropped into the story, not really a clue who or what was happening. Then the plot switches to Imogene's teenage years. I just felt a little lost as there was no indication of a switch as it happens within a chapter.
When I see the blurb for Indecent I was very excited. Once the story got just past 100pages it ramped up a little.
The characters are flawed, and unlikable.
I didn't particularly like any of the characters. I wanted to like Imogene but I just couldn't relate to her deep rooted insecurities.
Indecent does contain sensitive subjects that some May find hard to read. Particularly underage sex, with teacher and pupil.
If you enjoy stories that contain Drama, a fair amount of sex, then you will enjoy this book.
Thank you to Netgalley and HQ Digital for this copy which I have reviewed honestly and voluntarily.
My Review is also on my Blog Website;
https://dashfan81.blogspot.com/2018/0...
February 4, 2018
The dilemma of the three-star review! Do I start with the things I liked and then move on to the things I didn't like, running the risk of ending the review on a sour note? Or do I start with what I disliked and then try to finish with the positives, running the risk that the initial negativity will taint the entire review? In the case of Indecent, it may be better to explore how my feelings about the book changed as I read.
The first 100 or so pages of this novel were frustrating; the author just couldn't stop telling readers things we'd already figured out long ago: THE HEROINE IS INSECURE AND NAIVE! BOYS IN SWANKY BOARDING SCHOOLS ARE PRIVILEGED AND ENTITLED! Indecent seemed mostly concerned with checking all the right boxes of the story it was trying to tell, rather than getting at something actually genuine. I was skeptical and impatient, but I kept reading.
About halfway through the book, things unexpectedly began to improve; I began to notice how well Indecent portrayed complicated emotions. The 22-year-old protagonist, Imogene, is cripplingly concerned with what other people think; in her interactions with the other characters, she negates herself over and over again. Sometimes she even realizes she's doing it but is powerless to stop. I never liked her, exactly, or even sympathized with her, but I believed her. I was gradually drawn in and became intrigued with where it was all going, and despite the fairly common contours of the plot, Indecent managed to keep me guessing till the end.
Even so, I can't overlook the book's flaws. Imogene's mind was such a swampy morass of bad feelings, it felt extremely claustrophobic. This may have been intentional, but I couldn't help but wish for even the tiniest glimmer of humor—our brains do give us a break sometimes, and I wanted Imogene's brain to give a break to both her and me. Adding to the claustrophobia is the fact that we never really know any of the other characters at all. It's the mark of a good writer to be able to portray all secondary characters through the point of view of the main character while still giving us enough information to make up our own minds about them. Indecent doesn't do that, so every other character, from Raj to Chapin to the all-important Adam, felt only half-drawn. Again, this may have been intentional, but I did find myself wishing the book had been a bit more rounded out, somehow.
Unrelated to the novel's quality, I have to object to both the salacious cover of this book and the blurbs proclaiming it "sexy." This is really a book about the unfinished coming-of-age of an emotionally desperate character; the vast majority of readers probably aren't going to find it particularly sexy. I fear this sort of marketing will turn off the readers who might actually appreciate this book and disappoint the ones who are drawn to it expecting something sexy and fun. This is a worthy book in many ways, but fun it is not. I hope it's able to find an audience anyway.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press for providing this ARC. My feelings about Indecent may be mixed, but I'm glad I read it and I'm looking forward to seeing what this author does next.
The first 100 or so pages of this novel were frustrating; the author just couldn't stop telling readers things we'd already figured out long ago: THE HEROINE IS INSECURE AND NAIVE! BOYS IN SWANKY BOARDING SCHOOLS ARE PRIVILEGED AND ENTITLED! Indecent seemed mostly concerned with checking all the right boxes of the story it was trying to tell, rather than getting at something actually genuine. I was skeptical and impatient, but I kept reading.
About halfway through the book, things unexpectedly began to improve; I began to notice how well Indecent portrayed complicated emotions. The 22-year-old protagonist, Imogene, is cripplingly concerned with what other people think; in her interactions with the other characters, she negates herself over and over again. Sometimes she even realizes she's doing it but is powerless to stop. I never liked her, exactly, or even sympathized with her, but I believed her. I was gradually drawn in and became intrigued with where it was all going, and despite the fairly common contours of the plot, Indecent managed to keep me guessing till the end.
Even so, I can't overlook the book's flaws. Imogene's mind was such a swampy morass of bad feelings, it felt extremely claustrophobic. This may have been intentional, but I couldn't help but wish for even the tiniest glimmer of humor—our brains do give us a break sometimes, and I wanted Imogene's brain to give a break to both her and me. Adding to the claustrophobia is the fact that we never really know any of the other characters at all. It's the mark of a good writer to be able to portray all secondary characters through the point of view of the main character while still giving us enough information to make up our own minds about them. Indecent doesn't do that, so every other character, from Raj to Chapin to the all-important Adam, felt only half-drawn. Again, this may have been intentional, but I did find myself wishing the book had been a bit more rounded out, somehow.
Unrelated to the novel's quality, I have to object to both the salacious cover of this book and the blurbs proclaiming it "sexy." This is really a book about the unfinished coming-of-age of an emotionally desperate character; the vast majority of readers probably aren't going to find it particularly sexy. I fear this sort of marketing will turn off the readers who might actually appreciate this book and disappoint the ones who are drawn to it expecting something sexy and fun. This is a worthy book in many ways, but fun it is not. I hope it's able to find an audience anyway.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press for providing this ARC. My feelings about Indecent may be mixed, but I'm glad I read it and I'm looking forward to seeing what this author does next.
April 4, 2018
What can I even say?
Imogene Abney always dreamed of escaping her small town life. At 22 she applies and is accepted as a teacher apprentice at the Vanguard School for Boys which is a very elite boarding school in upstate NY.
Imogene is incredibly naive and suffers from a lack of self confidence and low self esteem. She has always been a follower and socially awkward. She tends to rely on alcohol as a crutch during social situations.
One day while walking back to her residence on campus she spots Adam "Kip" Kipling and his friends horsing around. She keeps her distance watching them and is mesmerized by Kip. His confidence and easy way about him. So natural in his own skin. All things she wishes she could be. Kip spots her and takes an immediate interest in her. From here we follow the evolution of this Indecent relationship.
A lot of reviewers have 1 and 2 starred this novel because they couldn't relate to Imogene and what she did as a person of authority and I can completely see where they're coming from. I was the opposite in the sense that while I would never condone the relationship of a teacher apprentice with a student my heart still broke for Imogene. She was lonely and relatively sexually inexperienced. A strapping young man starts to pay her attention and it became impossible for her to resist. She lacked any self awareness that this relationship was wrong besides the fact that, yes, she was a teachers apprentice and he a student. She so desperately wanted to be loved and she truly believed that this is what this is. I'd be hard pressed to call her a "pedophile". He was 17/18 to her 22 which, to me, isn't really a very big age difference so I didn't really experience the "ICK" factor that so many others had mentioned. I'll be honest and say that it was Kip's face I wanted to punch throughout this novel, he's a privileged little prick.
A special thank you to Brittani @ St. Martin's Press who kindly sent me a widget in exchange for my honest review. You rock!
Imogene Abney always dreamed of escaping her small town life. At 22 she applies and is accepted as a teacher apprentice at the Vanguard School for Boys which is a very elite boarding school in upstate NY.
Imogene is incredibly naive and suffers from a lack of self confidence and low self esteem. She has always been a follower and socially awkward. She tends to rely on alcohol as a crutch during social situations.
One day while walking back to her residence on campus she spots Adam "Kip" Kipling and his friends horsing around. She keeps her distance watching them and is mesmerized by Kip. His confidence and easy way about him. So natural in his own skin. All things she wishes she could be. Kip spots her and takes an immediate interest in her. From here we follow the evolution of this Indecent relationship.
A lot of reviewers have 1 and 2 starred this novel because they couldn't relate to Imogene and what she did as a person of authority and I can completely see where they're coming from. I was the opposite in the sense that while I would never condone the relationship of a teacher apprentice with a student my heart still broke for Imogene. She was lonely and relatively sexually inexperienced. A strapping young man starts to pay her attention and it became impossible for her to resist. She lacked any self awareness that this relationship was wrong besides the fact that, yes, she was a teachers apprentice and he a student. She so desperately wanted to be loved and she truly believed that this is what this is. I'd be hard pressed to call her a "pedophile". He was 17/18 to her 22 which, to me, isn't really a very big age difference so I didn't really experience the "ICK" factor that so many others had mentioned. I'll be honest and say that it was Kip's face I wanted to punch throughout this novel, he's a privileged little prick.
A special thank you to Brittani @ St. Martin's Press who kindly sent me a widget in exchange for my honest review. You rock!
April 6, 2018
The writing is beautiful...the subject matter not so much. Despite that, I cannot give this book less than 5 stars.
April 26, 2019
There are certain types of coming-of-age novel I struggle to get along with because the stories they tell feel so alien to me, and they sit at opposite ends of a scale. The first type is the girls-gone-wild excess of, for example,
Girls on Fire
and Wild Things, in which kids are veterans of orgies and hard drugs by their early teens. The second type encompasses the likes of Indecent, in which an educated and otherwise well-rounded woman has somehow managed to make it to her early twenties with an almost completely blank personality and all the emotional maturity of your average 12-year-old.
Indecent is about Imogene Abney, a 22-year-old teaching assistant at the exclusive Vanderbilt School for Boys, and the illicit relationship she begins with Adam Kipling, a 17-year-old final-year student. Imogene's claustrophobic narration paints a portrait of a young woman who is terribly lonely and has led a rather sheltered life, if mostly by her own design. Awkward, unpopular and almost comically naive about relationships and sex, she sees herself as an outsider – she comes from a perfectly comfortable middle-class background, but has an enduring yearning for/attraction to much greater privilege, as represented by Vanderbilt, which counts 'future heads of state, surgeon generals, CEOs' among its students. (Imogene has opted to teach boys instead of girls because she is terrified of being judged and found wanting by the latter – another sign of her immaturity.) For someone like Imogene, Adam's attention is intoxicating. But, of course, starting a relationship with a student puts her on a dangerous path that seems certain to end in disaster.
When Imogene recalls being a child and wishing she could be sent to boarding school – lusting after the golden lifestyle portrayed in these elite institutions' brochures – it's one of the only points in the first half of the book where the character demonstrates any kind of active thinking. The rest of the time, she feels like a default videogame avatar waiting for a player to make her do something. What frustrated me was that I could so easily see how she could have been nudged into more intriguing territory. When she recounts an elaborate fantasy (of living together, marriage etc.) about a man she saw out running and then admits she didn't even see his face, or when her memories of an 'ex' (actually just a hookup) are gradually revealed to be mainly based on stuff she imagined – those could be amusing, chick-lit-type moments, chances for her to be self-deprecating and cynical, or they could be creepy, revealing her as a serial obsessive with a slippery hold on reality. (Or both! The American Sweetpea!) But Imogene is way too sincere to be a predator, and not self-aware enough to be funny.
After the halfway point, though, I found myself really softening towards our 'heroine'. Maybe we all have a little bit of Imogene in us (with regards to her naivety, to be clear, not in the sense of being inappropriately involved with teenagers). Maybe we've all been her at some point: desperate to be liked; hating ourselves for the depth of our own emotional need; blindly clinging to a relationship that is much more significant to us than it is to the other person. As Imogene loses herself in her addiction to Adam, she becomes more human. She is still pathetic, but pathetic in a way that is all too familiar.
So, in the end, I went on quite a journey with this book. The writing is occasionally clunky, and Imogene's credulity and passivity often threatened to infuriate me. Indecent does, however, possess an irresistible forward momentum that held my attention, and ultimately Sullivan achieved what I initially thought would be impossible – she made me really feel for Imogene. At first I couldn't help but unfavourably compare much of Indecent to Alissa Nutting's Tampa, which takes a similar premise and stretches the limits of morality and bad taste to create a challenging, horrible, hilarious satire; but perhaps it's a story like this, believable and often very sad, that is more difficult to craft.
I received an advance review copy of Indecent from the publisher through NetGalley.
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Indecent is about Imogene Abney, a 22-year-old teaching assistant at the exclusive Vanderbilt School for Boys, and the illicit relationship she begins with Adam Kipling, a 17-year-old final-year student. Imogene's claustrophobic narration paints a portrait of a young woman who is terribly lonely and has led a rather sheltered life, if mostly by her own design. Awkward, unpopular and almost comically naive about relationships and sex, she sees herself as an outsider – she comes from a perfectly comfortable middle-class background, but has an enduring yearning for/attraction to much greater privilege, as represented by Vanderbilt, which counts 'future heads of state, surgeon generals, CEOs' among its students. (Imogene has opted to teach boys instead of girls because she is terrified of being judged and found wanting by the latter – another sign of her immaturity.) For someone like Imogene, Adam's attention is intoxicating. But, of course, starting a relationship with a student puts her on a dangerous path that seems certain to end in disaster.
When Imogene recalls being a child and wishing she could be sent to boarding school – lusting after the golden lifestyle portrayed in these elite institutions' brochures – it's one of the only points in the first half of the book where the character demonstrates any kind of active thinking. The rest of the time, she feels like a default videogame avatar waiting for a player to make her do something. What frustrated me was that I could so easily see how she could have been nudged into more intriguing territory. When she recounts an elaborate fantasy (of living together, marriage etc.) about a man she saw out running and then admits she didn't even see his face, or when her memories of an 'ex' (actually just a hookup) are gradually revealed to be mainly based on stuff she imagined – those could be amusing, chick-lit-type moments, chances for her to be self-deprecating and cynical, or they could be creepy, revealing her as a serial obsessive with a slippery hold on reality. (Or both! The American Sweetpea!) But Imogene is way too sincere to be a predator, and not self-aware enough to be funny.
After the halfway point, though, I found myself really softening towards our 'heroine'. Maybe we all have a little bit of Imogene in us (with regards to her naivety, to be clear, not in the sense of being inappropriately involved with teenagers). Maybe we've all been her at some point: desperate to be liked; hating ourselves for the depth of our own emotional need; blindly clinging to a relationship that is much more significant to us than it is to the other person. As Imogene loses herself in her addiction to Adam, she becomes more human. She is still pathetic, but pathetic in a way that is all too familiar.
So, in the end, I went on quite a journey with this book. The writing is occasionally clunky, and Imogene's credulity and passivity often threatened to infuriate me. Indecent does, however, possess an irresistible forward momentum that held my attention, and ultimately Sullivan achieved what I initially thought would be impossible – she made me really feel for Imogene. At first I couldn't help but unfavourably compare much of Indecent to Alissa Nutting's Tampa, which takes a similar premise and stretches the limits of morality and bad taste to create a challenging, horrible, hilarious satire; but perhaps it's a story like this, believable and often very sad, that is more difficult to craft.
I received an advance review copy of Indecent from the publisher through NetGalley.
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July 12, 2017
I gripped this ARC so hard, I tore off the entire back cover. That says something.
September 22, 2017
This book was completely unputdownable, and finally, finally broke my inability to read anything but nonfiction or romance.
Imogene's voice come alive, and the interiority captures all the insecurity, anxiety, and depression she feels. It's perfectly cringeworthy and felt so real.
The novel reminded me a lot of what I loved about Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld, one of my favorite books, and I'd also agree with the publisher's comparison to Sweetbitter, my favorite adult novel of 2016. It has that same why why why are you doing this momentum to it, where you can't believe the character is making such a terrible decision but you also can't wait to find out what happens.
Imogene's voice come alive, and the interiority captures all the insecurity, anxiety, and depression she feels. It's perfectly cringeworthy and felt so real.
The novel reminded me a lot of what I loved about Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld, one of my favorite books, and I'd also agree with the publisher's comparison to Sweetbitter, my favorite adult novel of 2016. It has that same why why why are you doing this momentum to it, where you can't believe the character is making such a terrible decision but you also can't wait to find out what happens.
September 30, 2017
"I was scared by what I saw. I was scared of the power I'd allowed someone else to have over me. But I knew just as well that I was powerless to resist."
This is the kind of story that leaves your heart still aching long after you've turned the last page of the book.
And when I say 'ache', I mean it literally - like I could feel my entire heart clenching and unclenching the entire time I was reading this book. I am not joking. It was a painful experience that had me dissolving into tears.
Imogene, oh Imogene. Where do I even start with you? You were sweet and beautiful - the angel with the golden halo around her head - but so deeply flawed, that you tore off your own wings and became the very reason for your own destruction. I can't count how many times I've cried for your character. Your weakness frustrated me, but at the same time it grieved me, as I could understand where it was coming from.
And Kip. I should've been angry at your character, but I couldn't be. I DIDN'T HAVE THE HEART TO BE. You were still just a boy, after all. You had your own demons, and you dealt with them in the only way that you knew possible. I'm actually hoping that the author will write a follow-up story told from your point-of-view. It would be nice to be able to get inside your head.
Student-teacher relationships are just messy - illegal in the eyes of the law, and HORRENDOUS in the eyes of society. More often than not, the teacher is seen as the very embodiment of evil for taking advantage of the student. Pertaining to age and experience, of course he/she would be wiser, and just know better.
In this story, however, it's more complicated than that. With Imogene and Kip, I couldn't exactly pinpoint who took advantage of whom. Or if "taking advantage" is even the right term. They were both just looking for something... hungry for something... close to love. And that 'love story' they created - well, that just makes me dissolve into tears again.
Quotes were taken from an ARC of the book and may be subjected to change prior publication. My heartfelt thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing me with an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
November 7, 2017
*This was given to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*
2.5 Stars
Wow. Where to start? Should I start by saying I didn't like the writing style at all? No, I should start with how much I disliked Imogene. She never got any better throughout the story either. I kept hoping and hoping that she would get what was coming to her for getting into a relationship with a student but.... that leads me to my next point, the ending was such a let down.
So, I'm sure you're wondering why I didn't give this book one star, Kip. He was the only reason I did not finish DNF this book. I don't know why, he's not the best character either but I just liked him.
2.5 Stars
Wow. Where to start? Should I start by saying I didn't like the writing style at all? No, I should start with how much I disliked Imogene. She never got any better throughout the story either. I kept hoping and hoping that she would get what was coming to her for getting into a relationship with a student but.... that leads me to my next point, the ending was such a let down.
So, I'm sure you're wondering why I didn't give this book one star, Kip. He was the only reason I did not finish DNF this book. I don't know why, he's not the best character either but I just liked him.
August 26, 2017
A young insecure female teacher apprentice works at an all-boys school. What can possibly go wrong?
Sullivan is on point with her characters, her setting simple but charged, day-to-day activities seemingly innocuous but speaks volumes.
Sullivan is on point with her characters, her setting simple but charged, day-to-day activities seemingly innocuous but speaks volumes.
December 28, 2017
(3.5) Expect a cross between Prep (Curtis Sittenfeld) and Notes on a Scandal (Zoe Heller). Imogene Abney, 22, is an apprentice teacher at Vandenberg School for Boys in New York State. She’s young and pretty enough to be met with innuendo and disrespect from her high school charges; she’s insecure enough due to her severe acne to feel rejected by the other apprentices. But Adam Kipling, who goes by “Kip,” seems different from any of the other people she’s thrown together with at Vandenberg. A fourth-year student, he’s only five years younger than she is, and he really seems to appreciate her for who she is. Their relationship proceeds apace. “What a thrilling affliction a secret was,” Imogene thinks. But nothing stays a secret for long around here. Being in Imogene’s head can feel a little claustrophobic because of her obsessions, but this is a racy, pacey read. Out on March 6th.
Other favorite lines:
“I’ve spent the majority of my life pretending to understand things I do not—Jackson Pollock, 401(k) plans, Buddhism, euthanasia”
A teacher, Dale, says: “These boys, the scared the shit out of me. They’re shrewd, they’re exacting, and given the opportunity, they’re scarily influential.”
Other favorite lines:
“I’ve spent the majority of my life pretending to understand things I do not—Jackson Pollock, 401(k) plans, Buddhism, euthanasia”
A teacher, Dale, says: “These boys, the scared the shit out of me. They’re shrewd, they’re exacting, and given the opportunity, they’re scarily influential.”
April 15, 2018
NOPE. Indecent tells the story of Imogene, a 22 year-old teaching apprentice at an all-boys boarding school, who starts a sexual relationship with one of the students. I read this because I wanted to see how the topic was going to be handled. I was curious if it would be presented as a crime and a relationship the readers shouldn’t root for or some ~sexy, illicit~ romance. Unfortunately I wasn’t happy with the outcome.
It seemed like the author was trying to take the EXTREMELY WRONG situation of a teacher/student relationship and make it more of a morally gray situation. Like having other characters bring up the age of consent and how it’s technically not statutory rape. But regardless there’s still an unhealthy imbalance of power.
Generally speaking I have no problems with unlikeable characters, they can be extremely fascinating. However Imogene was so boring, annoying, and immature in addition to just being unlikeable. Reading from her point of view had me rolling my eyes at pretty much everything. I mean:
And did I mention that the book opens up with Imogene walking in on a student jerking off? So… GREAT START!
There are just so many lines and comments in this book that rubbed me the wrong way. Imogene describes her roommate as “the poster child for palatable exoticism” and says that the school boys “appeared as deferential as geishas.” And not to mention “our sticky sweat-dried bodies stuck together like two slabs of deli meat.” Excuse me while I run my brain through the washing machine.
Ultimately I don’t think the author was creating this as some sort of sexy romance but… I just really did not like any aspect of this book.
It seemed like the author was trying to take the EXTREMELY WRONG situation of a teacher/student relationship and make it more of a morally gray situation. Like having other characters bring up the age of consent and how it’s technically not statutory rape. But regardless there’s still an unhealthy imbalance of power.
Generally speaking I have no problems with unlikeable characters, they can be extremely fascinating. However Imogene was so boring, annoying, and immature in addition to just being unlikeable. Reading from her point of view had me rolling my eyes at pretty much everything. I mean:
”It was gross, but unapologetic in its grossness, the noisy release of gas - rude or embarrassing or immature in any other circumstance - was made cool, funny, because it came from him.”
And did I mention that the book opens up with Imogene walking in on a student jerking off? So… GREAT START!
There are just so many lines and comments in this book that rubbed me the wrong way. Imogene describes her roommate as “the poster child for palatable exoticism” and says that the school boys “appeared as deferential as geishas.” And not to mention “our sticky sweat-dried bodies stuck together like two slabs of deli meat.” Excuse me while I run my brain through the washing machine.
Ultimately I don’t think the author was creating this as some sort of sexy romance but… I just really did not like any aspect of this book.
January 19, 2018
I won an ARC of Indecent in a Goodreads giveaway. I wanted to like this book but I didn't enjoy it at all. You could even say I hated it. The book was very different from what I expected it to be. Based on the blurb I thought it would be about a young awkward, albeit taboo, love story. I imagined a young teacher "accidentally" falling in love with her student. But what I got was not it, I don't know exactly what I got! It seemed to me that most of Imogene's actions were deliberate and predatory. She didn’t even want to be a teacher, she became a teacher so she would have a chance to work at boy's boarding school. When she got to Vandenberg school she singled Kip out from other boys and started to spy on him and obsess over him. Imogene was such an unlikable character. She was dour and boring. She wasn't nice to any of her so-called friends, co-workers, or her family. The only person she liked was Kip. Her obsession with him and her neediness were just bizarre. The longer I read the book, the less I liked her. By the end I just couldn't stand her.
I skimmed the last few chapters because I was getting bored and wanted the torture to end. This book is not even that long but it dragged on and on. The writing style just didn’t work for me. The book is written in first person POV (Imogene's). Sometimes first person POV works, other times it doesn’t, and it was the case with Indecent. It had the bad case of telling the story, not showing the story. The best thing about Indecent is the cover, I loved it. Other than that I can’t find any positive things to say about the book.
I skimmed the last few chapters because I was getting bored and wanted the torture to end. This book is not even that long but it dragged on and on. The writing style just didn’t work for me. The book is written in first person POV (Imogene's). Sometimes first person POV works, other times it doesn’t, and it was the case with Indecent. It had the bad case of telling the story, not showing the story. The best thing about Indecent is the cover, I loved it. Other than that I can’t find any positive things to say about the book.
October 16, 2017
I won this book in a goodreads giveaway. I was quite excited to read it, and now I have a lot of thoughts, which I'll try to keep concise.
Indecent tells the story of Imogene, a 22-year-old who's serving as a teaching apprentice at an all-boys boarding school, who has an affair with one of the students.
This isn't something I would normally rush to read, but it sounded pretty fun and had great reviews. I will say the latter were definitely deserved and it was kind of fun. But the reason I gave it three stars and not five is because, at times, Indecent also felt sort of... exhausting.
Corinne Sullivan is a talented writer and the narrative wove together nicely. We got glimpses of the near past intertwined with Imogene's nostalgia about college or even high school. Everything fit well together and held my attention. I was curious to see how she struck up a relationship with a student, and I was interested to learn how it would unfold.
The characters and actions all unfolded in a way that was fascinating and worthwhile. The book is a good one, and it earns its praise thanks to Sullivan's techniques.
However, the one big road block for me was the protagonist. I didn't hate Imogene by any means, or even dislike her, but I was constantly tired of how convinced she was of her poor decisions.
Some aspects of her personality were completely forgivable. I'm pretty sure everyone has trouble feeling confident at least once in a while, and as someone who spent almost a decade at a single sex private school in New England, I do understand they can have a sort of cult-like appeal for people outside of the little bubble. Imogene is insecure, and she just may be depressed, even if she refuses to acknowledge it. These and other parts of her make her the true human you always want your leading ladies or men to be.
Nonetheless, she was also tiresome. I get that you can't help who you're attracted to. In fact, she even ignores Kip's texts and deletes his number at first.
But none of that makes up for how she spent almost all of the book in a total delusion, pushing people away, believing she was doing the right thing even when some part of her brain started to tell her otherwise. Life is hard, and relationships are tricky, but that hardly felt like an excuse when she hid in her bed for the 79th time and talked herself into believing she played some huge, important role in Kip's life.
Imogene was attracted to Kip because he embodied what she wanted from the boarding school: he's elite - otherworldly, in a way. Yet the obsession she has drives her to make stupid late night visits and act as if everyone is her enemy, to the point that everyone starts filling that role because she forces them into it.
All of my complaining aside, I did really enjoy how Sullivan arranged the theme of power in Indecent. Though Imogene is an authority figure, she's still only 22, she's not a full teacher, and Kip isn't even in her class. It's the teenage boy who holds all of the sway and allure. He's the one who texts her, he's the one who decides what they'll do and when they'll do it. Imogene is just enthralled and ready to cooperate. That part of the book made it far more interesting than it could have been.
This was not a Lolita retelling (thankfully their relationship was a legal one, even if it was morally unacceptable), but at times I found myself feeling similarly to how I did when I read that book. I wasn't disgusted because there were no scenes of an old person raping a child. Instead, I drew the comparison because, just as I was not persuaded by Humbert Humbert's testimony, Imogene's weak excuses and clear delusions failed to draw me in, too.
What I'm saying here is that, all in all, I did like Indecent, and I recommend giving it a try if it's your kind of book. Corinne Sullivan has crafted a great narrative and subverted some common threads to keep her story apart from the majority. It's also a fast read, taking only several hours (interrupted on my part by days of activities that didn't allow for reading time). But in the end, I couldn't move past how ridiculous Imogene often sounded to my skeptical and unconvinced mind in order to delve deeper into her world.
Indecent tells the story of Imogene, a 22-year-old who's serving as a teaching apprentice at an all-boys boarding school, who has an affair with one of the students.
This isn't something I would normally rush to read, but it sounded pretty fun and had great reviews. I will say the latter were definitely deserved and it was kind of fun. But the reason I gave it three stars and not five is because, at times, Indecent also felt sort of... exhausting.
Corinne Sullivan is a talented writer and the narrative wove together nicely. We got glimpses of the near past intertwined with Imogene's nostalgia about college or even high school. Everything fit well together and held my attention. I was curious to see how she struck up a relationship with a student, and I was interested to learn how it would unfold.
The characters and actions all unfolded in a way that was fascinating and worthwhile. The book is a good one, and it earns its praise thanks to Sullivan's techniques.
However, the one big road block for me was the protagonist. I didn't hate Imogene by any means, or even dislike her, but I was constantly tired of how convinced she was of her poor decisions.
Some aspects of her personality were completely forgivable. I'm pretty sure everyone has trouble feeling confident at least once in a while, and as someone who spent almost a decade at a single sex private school in New England, I do understand they can have a sort of cult-like appeal for people outside of the little bubble. Imogene is insecure, and she just may be depressed, even if she refuses to acknowledge it. These and other parts of her make her the true human you always want your leading ladies or men to be.
Nonetheless, she was also tiresome. I get that you can't help who you're attracted to. In fact, she even ignores Kip's texts and deletes his number at first.
But none of that makes up for how she spent almost all of the book in a total delusion, pushing people away, believing she was doing the right thing even when some part of her brain started to tell her otherwise. Life is hard, and relationships are tricky, but that hardly felt like an excuse when she hid in her bed for the 79th time and talked herself into believing she played some huge, important role in Kip's life.
Imogene was attracted to Kip because he embodied what she wanted from the boarding school: he's elite - otherworldly, in a way. Yet the obsession she has drives her to make stupid late night visits and act as if everyone is her enemy, to the point that everyone starts filling that role because she forces them into it.
All of my complaining aside, I did really enjoy how Sullivan arranged the theme of power in Indecent. Though Imogene is an authority figure, she's still only 22, she's not a full teacher, and Kip isn't even in her class. It's the teenage boy who holds all of the sway and allure. He's the one who texts her, he's the one who decides what they'll do and when they'll do it. Imogene is just enthralled and ready to cooperate. That part of the book made it far more interesting than it could have been.
This was not a Lolita retelling (thankfully their relationship was a legal one, even if it was morally unacceptable), but at times I found myself feeling similarly to how I did when I read that book. I wasn't disgusted because there were no scenes of an old person raping a child. Instead, I drew the comparison because, just as I was not persuaded by Humbert Humbert's testimony, Imogene's weak excuses and clear delusions failed to draw me in, too.
What I'm saying here is that, all in all, I did like Indecent, and I recommend giving it a try if it's your kind of book. Corinne Sullivan has crafted a great narrative and subverted some common threads to keep her story apart from the majority. It's also a fast read, taking only several hours (interrupted on my part by days of activities that didn't allow for reading time). But in the end, I couldn't move past how ridiculous Imogene often sounded to my skeptical and unconvinced mind in order to delve deeper into her world.
November 29, 2018
I LOVED this novel! Corinne Sullivan has written a masterful character in Imogene, the new teaching apprentice at an all-boys boarding school. She develops an inappropriate crush on one of the senior students and from there, we watch her life get turned upside down in the course of a semester.
I have never read anything that so fully understands, describes, and feels like an unrequited crush. Everything is extremely realistic, and i makes you both feel and fear for Imogene. The heartache, the longing, the anxiety all jumps off the page and I so appreciated a look into this internal phenomenon of the crush. It is both nostalgic, and a warning. It also has the perfect ending, and perfect last line.
I love stories set on campuses, and this one might be one of my favorites so far. I cannot wait to see what else Sullivan has in store, especially in regards to full and dynamic female characters.
I have never read anything that so fully understands, describes, and feels like an unrequited crush. Everything is extremely realistic, and i makes you both feel and fear for Imogene. The heartache, the longing, the anxiety all jumps off the page and I so appreciated a look into this internal phenomenon of the crush. It is both nostalgic, and a warning. It also has the perfect ending, and perfect last line.
I love stories set on campuses, and this one might be one of my favorites so far. I cannot wait to see what else Sullivan has in store, especially in regards to full and dynamic female characters.
July 15, 2023
I am crying. Crying 😢.
I never expected when I started this "naughty" teacher/student lovin book to feel like I've been on an emotional roller coaster. And I do. I felt EVERYTHING Imogene felt...
Her excitement.
Her nervousness.
Her importance.
Her loneliness.
Her betrayal.
Her desperation.
And her hopelessness.
Because I have went through all those just like most everyone else.
I really loved this book. It's different than others like it. I'm sure I won't read anything quite like it again. A perfect debut by Corinne Sullivan.
I should probably be honest and shamefully admit
I never expected when I started this "naughty" teacher/student lovin book to feel like I've been on an emotional roller coaster. And I do. I felt EVERYTHING Imogene felt...
Her excitement.
Her nervousness.
Her importance.
Her loneliness.
Her betrayal.
Her desperation.
And her hopelessness.
Because I have went through all those just like most everyone else.
I really loved this book. It's different than others like it. I'm sure I won't read anything quite like it again. A perfect debut by Corinne Sullivan.
I should probably be honest and shamefully admit
June 16, 2019
I'm genuinely shocked at the high ratings for this book. To be perfectly frank it's the biggest piece of white feminism garbage I have ever read. I have notes so I may do a rant review.
June 20, 2018
What seemed like a funny/taboo read about a young teaching apprentice falling for a senior student, upon actually reading-turned into the struggle of a woman whose mental health and insecurity lead her into a place she never could have imagined.
Where to start....
Imogen as a character however, I did not enjoy. I found her to be so immature for her age and lacking in so much self-esteem. She managed to somehow become an educated, well rounded adult who lacked the critical common sense to behave as one. Imogen's lack of experience and self-worth drives her choices throughout this novel in many ways.
I thought this novel did a great job at making you feel inside the head of the main character, and how the depiction of the events could have easily been manipulated or interpreted to Imogen's perspective and perhaps not the true reality.
I agree with other reviews that this book should not be considered a "romance" novel at all. However, to suggest it fits in with the same category as "Lolita" might not be totally fair either, as the relationship with a grown man and a 11/12 year old can not be compared to that of a 17/18 year old and a 22 year old. I felt like the inappropriateness of the relationship was more to do with the "taboo" teacher/student relationship than with the age.
Mainly for me, I found this book to be slightly hard to read as I found that Imogen was all my worst fears and qualities personified. This is a personal interpretation of the novel (but I guess you could say this with every review!) but I really felt like her negative qualities were things that a lot of people have thought of doing (or secretly did do!) but would never admit it to others or even themselves.
The beginning was slightly slow, however after the 1/2 way mark it was a captivating read, one that I found I could not put down. I will definitely be thinking about this book for a while!
Where to start....
Imogen as a character however, I did not enjoy. I found her to be so immature for her age and lacking in so much self-esteem. She managed to somehow become an educated, well rounded adult who lacked the critical common sense to behave as one. Imogen's lack of experience and self-worth drives her choices throughout this novel in many ways.
I thought this novel did a great job at making you feel inside the head of the main character, and how the depiction of the events could have easily been manipulated or interpreted to Imogen's perspective and perhaps not the true reality.
I agree with other reviews that this book should not be considered a "romance" novel at all. However, to suggest it fits in with the same category as "Lolita" might not be totally fair either, as the relationship with a grown man and a 11/12 year old can not be compared to that of a 17/18 year old and a 22 year old. I felt like the inappropriateness of the relationship was more to do with the "taboo" teacher/student relationship than with the age.
Mainly for me, I found this book to be slightly hard to read as I found that Imogen was all my worst fears and qualities personified. This is a personal interpretation of the novel (but I guess you could say this with every review!) but I really felt like her negative qualities were things that a lot of people have thought of doing (or secretly did do!) but would never admit it to others or even themselves.
The beginning was slightly slow, however after the 1/2 way mark it was a captivating read, one that I found I could not put down. I will definitely be thinking about this book for a while!
March 24, 2018
Indecent indeed! I’m really divided on this one. “Imogene” - a recent college graduate who has snagged a position as a teaching apprentice at a posh, elite school for privileged from birth boys. It is here she loses her mind just about once she allows the under 18 student “Kip” to seduce her and thus the Indecent affair begins. As you can guess this is a HUGE “no-no”.
Imogene is really hard to feel empathy for because she’s such an pathetic soul on a straight road to self-destruction. Imogene’s behavior made me question if I’d ever been so silly, desperate, and an embarrassment when I was her age. I mean seriously? The affair between Imogene and Kip appears to be sexually driven and Kip isn’t sending signals to Imogene that would lead her to think she’s the great love of his life. Yet somehow Imogene has become profoundly delusional believing what her and Kip have is comparable to a modern day Romeo & Juliet. Reading passages about a woman lowering herself to the level Imogene does is just sad. It is clear from the start that Imogene needs to invest in several “self-help” books and lots of therapy. Or find a cult to join.
Yet I couldn’t stop reading this until I got to the very last page. I don’t think it had anything to do with wanting to see how far gone Imogene would go. Or to read about another crying spell she has on the grass outside Kip’s dorm. In all honesty, I think it was because despite what I say, I did see glimpses of myself - albeit not anywhere close to what I saw in Imogene - but still, I think it is safe to say that many of us have briefly lost ourselves in our quest to feel loved.
Imogene is really hard to feel empathy for because she’s such an pathetic soul on a straight road to self-destruction. Imogene’s behavior made me question if I’d ever been so silly, desperate, and an embarrassment when I was her age. I mean seriously? The affair between Imogene and Kip appears to be sexually driven and Kip isn’t sending signals to Imogene that would lead her to think she’s the great love of his life. Yet somehow Imogene has become profoundly delusional believing what her and Kip have is comparable to a modern day Romeo & Juliet. Reading passages about a woman lowering herself to the level Imogene does is just sad. It is clear from the start that Imogene needs to invest in several “self-help” books and lots of therapy. Or find a cult to join.
Yet I couldn’t stop reading this until I got to the very last page. I don’t think it had anything to do with wanting to see how far gone Imogene would go. Or to read about another crying spell she has on the grass outside Kip’s dorm. In all honesty, I think it was because despite what I say, I did see glimpses of myself - albeit not anywhere close to what I saw in Imogene - but still, I think it is safe to say that many of us have briefly lost ourselves in our quest to feel loved.
September 23, 2017
Dang. It's been a while since I've obssessed over a book like I have this one. Whenever I picked it up to read, it was hard to put back down, and for the last two work days, I couldn't wait to get home to read more. It was addictively written. I haven't read a lot of fiction about teachers...honestly, I'm not even sure there are many novels with a teacher main character out there. That's kind of a bummer for me since I am one! The aspiring teacher featured here, Imogene Abney, doesn't make wise choices, but her story captivated, and I related to her in many ways. Like me, Imogene is an introvert, and there were a couple of experiences she had while on the job that were kinda eerily similar to things that have happened to me. The author did a good job of capturing what a struggle it can be for new teachers to earn the respect of students.
I loved the elite New York boarding school setting, and the fact that the events took place in the fall was an added bonus! There's just something magical about autumn on campus. The setting is complemented nicely by interesting secondary characters, including Imogene's co-apprentice teachers, and several Vandenberg students. They entertained and horrified simultaneously!
The plot of this book will be controversial; the ick factor of student-teacher relationships is high, of course, and the book doesn't shy away from the ickiness. You WILL cringe and want to knock some sense into Imogene the way her co-apprentice/frenemy Chapin does. But really, this novel is a powerful character study of a young woman on a journey to discover her own self-worth. No, you won't be left with a warm fuzzy feeling at the end, but you will feel something.
I won this ARC in a giveaway from Goodreads and St. Martin's Press. Thanks to both!
I loved the elite New York boarding school setting, and the fact that the events took place in the fall was an added bonus! There's just something magical about autumn on campus. The setting is complemented nicely by interesting secondary characters, including Imogene's co-apprentice teachers, and several Vandenberg students. They entertained and horrified simultaneously!
The plot of this book will be controversial; the ick factor of student-teacher relationships is high, of course, and the book doesn't shy away from the ickiness. You WILL cringe and want to knock some sense into Imogene the way her co-apprentice/frenemy Chapin does. But really, this novel is a powerful character study of a young woman on a journey to discover her own self-worth. No, you won't be left with a warm fuzzy feeling at the end, but you will feel something.
I won this ARC in a giveaway from Goodreads and St. Martin's Press. Thanks to both!
December 28, 2017
*I won this book from the Goodreads Giveaways*
Indecent is extremely well written story about a young woman named Imogene who begins her apprenticeship at a boarding school for boys and develops an inappropriate relationship with a student who attends the school. Imogene is the classic example of a girl with low-confidence who I think a lot of readers can identify with. It's when Imogene's obsessiveness towards the student increases when you can finally stop relating towards her and start panicking towards her inevitable downfall. I loved everything about this book. It is an original story and it is a realistic story. I highly recommend reading Indecent.
Indecent is extremely well written story about a young woman named Imogene who begins her apprenticeship at a boarding school for boys and develops an inappropriate relationship with a student who attends the school. Imogene is the classic example of a girl with low-confidence who I think a lot of readers can identify with. It's when Imogene's obsessiveness towards the student increases when you can finally stop relating towards her and start panicking towards her inevitable downfall. I loved everything about this book. It is an original story and it is a realistic story. I highly recommend reading Indecent.
September 10, 2017
Damnnnn this was a good read.
I have never felt so much second-hand embarrassment and anxiety while reading a book. Reading this in public made me feel, dare I say...indecent.
Character development was absolutely spot on. Everything was so messy and raw and real that I simultaneously felt disgusted by Imogene, pitied her, wanted to just give her a good wake up slap and then just a soft pat on the head. Felt pretty emotionally exhausted after reading this. That is definitely a good thing.
Excellent debut!!
I have never felt so much second-hand embarrassment and anxiety while reading a book. Reading this in public made me feel, dare I say...indecent.
Character development was absolutely spot on. Everything was so messy and raw and real that I simultaneously felt disgusted by Imogene, pitied her, wanted to just give her a good wake up slap and then just a soft pat on the head. Felt pretty emotionally exhausted after reading this. That is definitely a good thing.
Excellent debut!!
April 24, 2018
I read this book so quickly that I didn't even mark I was reading it and yet I can't figure out how to rate it. That's pretty typical of me when I read something with a taboo and or icky subject matter. If I'm rating it highly, am I appearing to condone it? If I'm rating it low, am I being unnecessarily harsh because of the subject matter? I last truly struggled with this kind of dilemma when I finished All the Ugly and Wonderful Things. "Indecent," isn't anywhere close to being as well written as that one and not identical in theme but I'm still finding it hard to form a rating.
Book blurbs and the sexy cover would lead one to believe that this is a naughty, sexy, lighthearted story. It isn't. This is an extremely sad novel about a really messed up young woman. Imogene is 22 but emotionally and socially, she's years below that. Fresh out of college, she gets a job at a boarding school where she quickly begins a sexual relationship with one of the students. Sullivan has crafted a complex character with Imogene. I felt equal parts exasperation, pity, disgust and sadness. My skin would crawl and yet I felt her loneliness acutely. My heart hurt for her in places even as I cringed at her actions. To make such a character shine, even briefly, in a sympathetic light is a credit to the author. I suppose for all of that, I can't give it less than 3.5 stars and I will round up for this one.
Book blurbs and the sexy cover would lead one to believe that this is a naughty, sexy, lighthearted story. It isn't. This is an extremely sad novel about a really messed up young woman. Imogene is 22 but emotionally and socially, she's years below that. Fresh out of college, she gets a job at a boarding school where she quickly begins a sexual relationship with one of the students. Sullivan has crafted a complex character with Imogene. I felt equal parts exasperation, pity, disgust and sadness. My skin would crawl and yet I felt her loneliness acutely. My heart hurt for her in places even as I cringed at her actions. To make such a character shine, even briefly, in a sympathetic light is a credit to the author. I suppose for all of that, I can't give it less than 3.5 stars and I will round up for this one.
November 6, 2017
Corinne Sullivan is masterful at crafting complex and vivid characters with flaws and neuroses, dreams and disappointments.
Being, ahem, older than the 22-year-old main character (Imogene), I found Sullivan's view into contemporary young adulthood--including the normal challenges of life exacerbated by the toxicity of social media--enlightening. I can still feel the sense of dread that filled my gut as the illicit affair between the apprentice teacher and high school student drew on. While I did not like Imogene, she was sympathetic enough that I knew I would feel bad for her if she were caught. When I was done with the book (which kept me up to the wee hours because I couldn't stop reading it), I couldn't help but wonder if I would have felt different had the genders been reversed.
This book is coming out at an interesting time, with renewed discussion about sexual harassment and abuse of power. INDECENT offers some interesting elements for debate.
Being, ahem, older than the 22-year-old main character (Imogene), I found Sullivan's view into contemporary young adulthood--including the normal challenges of life exacerbated by the toxicity of social media--enlightening. I can still feel the sense of dread that filled my gut as the illicit affair between the apprentice teacher and high school student drew on. While I did not like Imogene, she was sympathetic enough that I knew I would feel bad for her if she were caught. When I was done with the book (which kept me up to the wee hours because I couldn't stop reading it), I couldn't help but wonder if I would have felt different had the genders been reversed.
This book is coming out at an interesting time, with renewed discussion about sexual harassment and abuse of power. INDECENT offers some interesting elements for debate.
September 5, 2017
Wow.....What a book! There wasn't a point in the book where I didn't want to reach through the pages to slap Imogene upside the head....and giver her a hug. Her bad decisions while working at an all-boys boarding school are absolutely painful, but the book is so well-written that you truly understand her character and feel that you are right there with her throughout all of the highs and lows. A must read.
I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.
I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.
February 8, 2018
Really interesting read. Got through it pretty quickly too which is always a good sign.
January 20, 2018
Out 3/6/18, I received this Advanced Readers' Copy in exchange for... NOTHING. I just have an awesome friend who gave it to me.
The premise for this one is simple. Our 22-year-old female protagonist takes a job as a teaching apprentice at an all-male boarding school. She begins to sleep with a senior student; tale as old as time. This was slow burn. For awhile, although I enjoyed the writing, I wasn't sure what the point of it all was. To my surprise, this ended up being a close look at a slow unraveling, the play-by-play of a young woman experiencing a mental breakdown. By the time I got off the ride of the novel, I was impressed.
The premise for this one is simple. Our 22-year-old female protagonist takes a job as a teaching apprentice at an all-male boarding school. She begins to sleep with a senior student; tale as old as time. This was slow burn. For awhile, although I enjoyed the writing, I wasn't sure what the point of it all was. To my surprise, this ended up being a close look at a slow unraveling, the play-by-play of a young woman experiencing a mental breakdown. By the time I got off the ride of the novel, I was impressed.
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