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Sharp Edges
For readers of My Dark Vanessa and Lullabies for Little Criminals, this important, electrifying novel about the agony and exhilaration of being a teenage girl will challenge you, unsettle you and ask you to look at your own experiences with perversions of power.
Katie is used to being let down. Her best friend abandoned her for a boy, her mom is a hypochondriac who spends most days on the couch, and the guys at school can do whatever they want while the girls are stuck following the rules.
All Katie wants is to be seen. So when she finds an online world where women aren't ashamed of what they want and consent doesn't feel like the grey area she's used to, she thinks she's finally in control. But as Katie becomes more and more enmeshed in this virtual playground, she begins to realize her newfound power may just be an illusion.
Sharp Edges is the story of a girl lost in a grown-up world far darker than she could have imagined—searching for someone to guide her to a place where she can be sixteen again.
Katie is used to being let down. Her best friend abandoned her for a boy, her mom is a hypochondriac who spends most days on the couch, and the guys at school can do whatever they want while the girls are stuck following the rules.
All Katie wants is to be seen. So when she finds an online world where women aren't ashamed of what they want and consent doesn't feel like the grey area she's used to, she thinks she's finally in control. But as Katie becomes more and more enmeshed in this virtual playground, she begins to realize her newfound power may just be an illusion.
Sharp Edges is the story of a girl lost in a grown-up world far darker than she could have imagined—searching for someone to guide her to a place where she can be sixteen again.
289 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 23, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 63 reviews
February 17, 2023
teenagers scare the living shit out of me or whatever those very famous ancient philosophers said
September 15, 2022
If you played “Angsty Teen Girl Novel Bingo” with this book, you’d get Bingo within the first fifty pages. It’s all here: the insecure and lonely protagonist, the absent fathers, the drug and alcohol abuse, the self-harm, the miserable parties, the obsession with body image, the friends that drift apart. The narrative drags on and on as repetitive incidents occur over and over again; there’s little rising action or conflict, and the changes the protagonist undergoes aren’t quite distinct enough within the genre to merit this as a character-driven novel.
The parts where she gets drawn into the world of online sex work do depict an interesting perspective about the relationship between power and desire, and they call into question whether women really do experience power and agency while exploring their sexualities, or if the protagonist is simply too young and uneducated to have a healthy relationship with kinky sex, but in the rest of the narrative, nothing really notable or original happens, nothing striking enough to make this book stand out from the many others like it.
At one point, one of the protagonist’s friends has some kind of medical emergency while mixing drugs. I expected she’d die or go into a coma or something to raise the stakes of the narrative, but it just sort of happens, and nothing follows from it; the characters don’t have to reassess their reckless drug use, because there’s almost never real, lasting consequences for their actions.
The protagonist’s self-pity fills every page, and there’s no humour or stylistic ambition to make the self-pity bearable or interesting. But I know this book will sell relatively well in Canada, because everyone loves gawking at an edgy story about teen girls. It’s basically an industry at this point.
The author dedicates the book to her teenage self, which should tell you everything you need to know about this solipsistic chore of a novel.
(Also, if you’ll let me get nitpicky for a second, the amount of flashbacks and section breaks in this novel is insane.)
The parts where she gets drawn into the world of online sex work do depict an interesting perspective about the relationship between power and desire, and they call into question whether women really do experience power and agency while exploring their sexualities, or if the protagonist is simply too young and uneducated to have a healthy relationship with kinky sex, but in the rest of the narrative, nothing really notable or original happens, nothing striking enough to make this book stand out from the many others like it.
At one point, one of the protagonist’s friends has some kind of medical emergency while mixing drugs. I expected she’d die or go into a coma or something to raise the stakes of the narrative, but it just sort of happens, and nothing follows from it; the characters don’t have to reassess their reckless drug use, because there’s almost never real, lasting consequences for their actions.
The protagonist’s self-pity fills every page, and there’s no humour or stylistic ambition to make the self-pity bearable or interesting. But I know this book will sell relatively well in Canada, because everyone loves gawking at an edgy story about teen girls. It’s basically an industry at this point.
The author dedicates the book to her teenage self, which should tell you everything you need to know about this solipsistic chore of a novel.
(Also, if you’ll let me get nitpicky for a second, the amount of flashbacks and section breaks in this novel is insane.)
September 16, 2022
4.5☆
SHARP EDGES is a cleverly written debut by Leah Mol. This coming of age novel follows 15 year old Katie as she spirals down a dark and disturbing path of drugs, sex, and power after a falling out with her best friend.
Dark, dark and darker. This novel is one of the more grotesque and provocative books I have read this year and I couldn't look away! Katie isn't stable to begin with and she quickly goes so far into the darkness that I almost lost sight of what Mol was offering. A character study of girlhood unhinged, of a troubled teen with not enough resources and ultimately of power. The way Mol has Katie discover her own sexual potential and the range of things it can do I think was written brilliantly. I don't recall reading anything quite like this in terms of innocence blossoming into sexual power. This is being compared to My Dark Vanessa, which I haven't read, but I found this book, the drugs etc reminded me of the famous Go Ask Alice. But in terms of everything else Mol does here she is in a league of her own. Content warnings up the wazoo on this one, but if you can get past thoes underneath is an acute study of emotional pain, an exploration of shamelssness, of mental health, desire, need and the blurry overwhelmingness of girlhood teetering on adulthood converging via early internet adult chat rooms. The millennial in me definitely connected with the setting and I saw parts of my own girlhood in these pages at times.
I will absolutely be watching for what Mol does next because dam her writing is a welcomed addition to Canadian literature. I underlined so many passages.
Thank you @penguinrandomca for sending me this one opinions are my own.
For more of my book content check out instagram.com/bookalong
SHARP EDGES is a cleverly written debut by Leah Mol. This coming of age novel follows 15 year old Katie as she spirals down a dark and disturbing path of drugs, sex, and power after a falling out with her best friend.
Dark, dark and darker. This novel is one of the more grotesque and provocative books I have read this year and I couldn't look away! Katie isn't stable to begin with and she quickly goes so far into the darkness that I almost lost sight of what Mol was offering. A character study of girlhood unhinged, of a troubled teen with not enough resources and ultimately of power. The way Mol has Katie discover her own sexual potential and the range of things it can do I think was written brilliantly. I don't recall reading anything quite like this in terms of innocence blossoming into sexual power. This is being compared to My Dark Vanessa, which I haven't read, but I found this book, the drugs etc reminded me of the famous Go Ask Alice. But in terms of everything else Mol does here she is in a league of her own. Content warnings up the wazoo on this one, but if you can get past thoes underneath is an acute study of emotional pain, an exploration of shamelssness, of mental health, desire, need and the blurry overwhelmingness of girlhood teetering on adulthood converging via early internet adult chat rooms. The millennial in me definitely connected with the setting and I saw parts of my own girlhood in these pages at times.
I will absolutely be watching for what Mol does next because dam her writing is a welcomed addition to Canadian literature. I underlined so many passages.
Thank you @penguinrandomca for sending me this one opinions are my own.
For more of my book content check out instagram.com/bookalong
February 24, 2023
Um.. okay so this is a heartbreaker. This is the “I’m currently staring at the wall for a few hours” kind of book.
Idk, I feel like a lot of the stuff that was written, are thoughts that are thought a lot but never shared out loud Yk? It’s cool.
To be honest, this is definitely one of the most fucked up, yet most sincere, genuine, and from the heart, kind of book that you don’t get that often.
Also, it was deep. Like some of the scenarios were really personal for me and I feel like Leah Mol has a way of feeling her characters issues as if they were her own if that makes sense.
So good.
Idk, I feel like a lot of the stuff that was written, are thoughts that are thought a lot but never shared out loud Yk? It’s cool.
To be honest, this is definitely one of the most fucked up, yet most sincere, genuine, and from the heart, kind of book that you don’t get that often.
Also, it was deep. Like some of the scenarios were really personal for me and I feel like Leah Mol has a way of feeling her characters issues as if they were her own if that makes sense.
So good.
October 11, 2022
Did not like. Ew to the max.
June 15, 2022
3.5 stars!
I liked Katie. I liked this book. Her mom is a hypochondriac, her dad’s out of the picture, and she starts selling her used underwear online. I did feel it dragged a bit and the drug use was repetitive, all their nights out felt the same (maybe that’s what nights out on drugs are?), but she was very relatable and it was well written.
I liked Katie. I liked this book. Her mom is a hypochondriac, her dad’s out of the picture, and she starts selling her used underwear online. I did feel it dragged a bit and the drug use was repetitive, all their nights out felt the same (maybe that’s what nights out on drugs are?), but she was very relatable and it was well written.
March 14, 2023
This was an intense look at a teenaged girl in really messed up situations. Wow. Lots of things to process. At times it felt a bit voyeuristic and I felt uncomfortable. I imagine that was intentional. Anyway, glad I read this piece of Canadian lit.
April 10, 2026
Being a teenage girl is so hard. This is a dark, disturbing coming of age novel about 15-year-old Katie. There is probably almost every trigger warning in this book so go in with caution. It explores the depths of mental health, shamelessness, sexuality, desire and growing up. It’s about that brink of thought where you see people/things for what they truly are and you lose your innocence.
I wanted to stare at the wall when I finished. It’s visceral and difficult but also real and raw. My heart stings were pulled, and it brought me back to that time. Thank you to @samifineprint and @kelseyliftsanddips for putting it on my radar. I cannot believe this was a debut. If you are a fan of the movie Thirteen, this is for you.
I wanted to stare at the wall when I finished. It’s visceral and difficult but also real and raw. My heart stings were pulled, and it brought me back to that time. Thank you to @samifineprint and @kelseyliftsanddips for putting it on my radar. I cannot believe this was a debut. If you are a fan of the movie Thirteen, this is for you.
September 5, 2022
I only picked this one one up because of Heather O’Neills endorsement on the front cover. I don’t recommend going into it blind like I did. The main character was a very sad, very lost girl. Think Euphoria meets My Dark Vanessa. I don’t have issues with dark/sad books (they are some of my favourites!), but this was over the top and disturbing. Maybe I’m too naive to believe these things young people do actually go on in the world. The writing was ok but the subject was too icky. It took me over 10 days to get through it.
November 21, 2022
3.5 Stars.
People from my generation will remember the movie "Thirteen" it felt exactly like the movie.
The drugs, the sex and the bad decisions.
I really wanted to like this book, because I felt connected to everything Katie did. But the main character is not the smartest and there's absolutely no character development or ending to this book.
Transgressive is one of my favorite genre of book, sadly this one was boring. The most interesting part (The doctor) was cut pretty short.
People from my generation will remember the movie "Thirteen" it felt exactly like the movie.
The drugs, the sex and the bad decisions.
I really wanted to like this book, because I felt connected to everything Katie did. But the main character is not the smartest and there's absolutely no character development or ending to this book.
Transgressive is one of my favorite genre of book, sadly this one was boring. The most interesting part (The doctor) was cut pretty short.
November 19, 2024
Literary novel, that reads like the diary of a troubled unsupervised teenager. There were some parts that were very relatable. However, I do think the sexual content was a bit over done as well as the drug scenes.
Had I read this back in the day (as a teen myself) I think I could have stomached it more. But now reading about teenagers having graphic sex and having weird taboo sexual fantasies just felt strange and uncomfortable.
At one point they did so many drugs I started to feel physically sick myself. I don’t hate it or love this book. But I’m glad I read it.
Had I read this back in the day (as a teen myself) I think I could have stomached it more. But now reading about teenagers having graphic sex and having weird taboo sexual fantasies just felt strange and uncomfortable.
At one point they did so many drugs I started to feel physically sick myself. I don’t hate it or love this book. But I’m glad I read it.
October 14, 2022
DNF around 45%…. I am so sorry. I just couldn’t get through this one. The whole time I was waiting for a real plot line and just couldn’t find one. Also, definitely look up the trigger warnings for this one. Pretty graphic self harm within the first few pages.
July 8, 2022
“The worst thing about being a daughter is your mom can read all your movements because they were her movements first. She knows you deep in her blood because she gave you pieces of her. But you gave her pieces of you, too, and sometimes she’ll choose to believe you when you lie.”
——————
Sharp Edges is a visceral, beautiful, and disturbing coming-of-age novel that follows Katie as she navigates the landscape of being a teenage girl. Sexual exploration, drugs, and the wonders of the internet help Katie explore her identity—and her body—in new and, oftentimes, unsettling ways, forcing the reader to question their own ideas of sex, gender, and their formative teenage years.
A gripping read from start to finish, Leah Mol is a raw talent whose writing will disturb and provoke you long after the story is over.
——————
Sharp Edges is a visceral, beautiful, and disturbing coming-of-age novel that follows Katie as she navigates the landscape of being a teenage girl. Sexual exploration, drugs, and the wonders of the internet help Katie explore her identity—and her body—in new and, oftentimes, unsettling ways, forcing the reader to question their own ideas of sex, gender, and their formative teenage years.
A gripping read from start to finish, Leah Mol is a raw talent whose writing will disturb and provoke you long after the story is over.
September 27, 2022
I’m trying to decide if I blazed through this over the course of one day/night because it was compelling as hell or if I was so miserable I just wanted it to be over. And no, that’s not a knock on the writing – it’s just such bleak, uncomfortable, often nauseating subject matter.
SHARP EDGES is the kind of book I would never recommend to my friends who have preteen or teenage kids. Or kids at all, really. Kind of like how I warn the hell out of them before they watch EUPHORIA. Imagine that show and all of its drugging and sleeping around, but…younger. Yeah. Yikes.
Knee rehab continues for poor Hendrix.
It’s weird how I vacillated between not being able to relate at all to Katie, to whose depressing story we get a front row seat, and then feeling a sudden agonized pang of recognition when her teenage insecurities come through. I’m lucky that I can’t relate to her life – a really messed up relationship with her parents, a lot of shitty friends, endless drug intake and horrifyingly risky, degrading sexual activity, all at the age of 15 – but those moments where she describes being hurt as her best friend withdraws from her, or the way she used to think she was “pretty enough” but now knows she mustn’t be because every girl hates herself and she’s a girl… Ugh. Yeah. Ouch. I remember those days.
I don’t really know who the audience for this book would be. It’s kind of a masochistic undertaking, really – there’s not a lot of Point A to Point B plot movement, reading more like a deeply sad slice of life than a regular novel with a regular story – and I wouldn’t liken it to MY DARK VANESSA the way the blurb does. It actually made me feel more like I did when I was reading MY ABSOLUTE DARLING, or Heather Lewis’s NOTICE, replete with many of the same content warnings (seriously, there’s not a whole lot that doesn’t happen in this book, so please be wary if you’re not looking to explore the depths of addiction and sexual debasement and child neglect). I’m a bit stymied, to be honest. Leah Mol has written a solid book here…but to whom would I recommend it??
SHARP EDGES is the kind of book I would never recommend to my friends who have preteen or teenage kids. Or kids at all, really. Kind of like how I warn the hell out of them before they watch EUPHORIA. Imagine that show and all of its drugging and sleeping around, but…younger. Yeah. Yikes.
Knee rehab continues for poor Hendrix.
It’s weird how I vacillated between not being able to relate at all to Katie, to whose depressing story we get a front row seat, and then feeling a sudden agonized pang of recognition when her teenage insecurities come through. I’m lucky that I can’t relate to her life – a really messed up relationship with her parents, a lot of shitty friends, endless drug intake and horrifyingly risky, degrading sexual activity, all at the age of 15 – but those moments where she describes being hurt as her best friend withdraws from her, or the way she used to think she was “pretty enough” but now knows she mustn’t be because every girl hates herself and she’s a girl… Ugh. Yeah. Ouch. I remember those days.
I don’t really know who the audience for this book would be. It’s kind of a masochistic undertaking, really – there’s not a lot of Point A to Point B plot movement, reading more like a deeply sad slice of life than a regular novel with a regular story – and I wouldn’t liken it to MY DARK VANESSA the way the blurb does. It actually made me feel more like I did when I was reading MY ABSOLUTE DARLING, or Heather Lewis’s NOTICE, replete with many of the same content warnings (seriously, there’s not a whole lot that doesn’t happen in this book, so please be wary if you’re not looking to explore the depths of addiction and sexual debasement and child neglect). I’m a bit stymied, to be honest. Leah Mol has written a solid book here…but to whom would I recommend it??
August 30, 2022
3.5 Stars
This book focuses on the difficulty of being a teenaged girl, especially if she has no support or supervision.
Katie, the narrator, is fifteen. Her father is absent and her mother is a hypochondriac who focuses on herself, so provides her daughter no support or supervision. When Katie’s friend Lil becomes pre-occupied with a boyfriend, Katie feels totally alone. She mentions more than once how she feels invisible and wants to be seen. Typically for her age, she is curious about sex. She ends up joining an online group where she sells her underwear and takes part in virtual sexual acts. Just as she explores the dark side of the internet, she increasingly turns to drug usage
The portrayal of a teenaged girl is very accurate. Katie’s concern about fitting in is typical of most girls her age. Because she has low self-esteem, she will do anything to be accepted. Unfortunately, she starts hanging around people who regularly use drugs, so her life soon spirals out of control. Naturally, she is also curious about sex. Though she has some sexual experiences in real life, they are largely unsatisfactory because the boys are the ones who are in charge of such encounters: “I know the sex is good because he always comes, and he always kisses me on the forehead before he pulls out. He’s never given me an orgasm – I don’t know if he’s tried.” On the online site, she feels she has control since she can express her desires and can set parameters for what is acceptable to her.
The reader will certainly feel sympathy for Katie; she talks about “wanting someone to hold [her] and keep [her] from falling apart.” She thinks she is alone in her feelings, not realizing that she’s “exactly the same as other people . . . [needing] the same things as everyone else.” Katie’s behaviour takes her down some dark paths which cannot but leave the reader feeling uncomfortable. I did find that some of her choices were extreme. Katie herself thinks she is crazy.
As expected in a coming-of-age novel, Katie does eventually experience growth. Unfortunately, her change comes quickly at the end. One conversation changes everything? There is a comment about everything not being okay immediately, but since the novel concludes a page later, the ending seems abrupt.
To be honest, I found the novel a tedious read. Katie goes from one party to another and from one online encounter to another. At each party she attended, I knew to expect more extreme drug usage; during each online exchange, I knew to expect more extreme sexual behaviour. The repetitive nature of events becomes tiresome.
I’m not certain about the target audience. Is the book intended for teenaged girls? Some might be able to relate to Katie, but I wonder whether it would actually positively influence troubled girls. As a former teacher who taught teenagers for 30 years, I found much of the depiction of Katie to be realistic; however, the book became monotonous for this adult reader.
Note: I received a digital galley of the book from the publisher via NetGalley.
Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/) and follow me on Twitter (@DCYakabuski).
.
This book focuses on the difficulty of being a teenaged girl, especially if she has no support or supervision.
Katie, the narrator, is fifteen. Her father is absent and her mother is a hypochondriac who focuses on herself, so provides her daughter no support or supervision. When Katie’s friend Lil becomes pre-occupied with a boyfriend, Katie feels totally alone. She mentions more than once how she feels invisible and wants to be seen. Typically for her age, she is curious about sex. She ends up joining an online group where she sells her underwear and takes part in virtual sexual acts. Just as she explores the dark side of the internet, she increasingly turns to drug usage
The portrayal of a teenaged girl is very accurate. Katie’s concern about fitting in is typical of most girls her age. Because she has low self-esteem, she will do anything to be accepted. Unfortunately, she starts hanging around people who regularly use drugs, so her life soon spirals out of control. Naturally, she is also curious about sex. Though she has some sexual experiences in real life, they are largely unsatisfactory because the boys are the ones who are in charge of such encounters: “I know the sex is good because he always comes, and he always kisses me on the forehead before he pulls out. He’s never given me an orgasm – I don’t know if he’s tried.” On the online site, she feels she has control since she can express her desires and can set parameters for what is acceptable to her.
The reader will certainly feel sympathy for Katie; she talks about “wanting someone to hold [her] and keep [her] from falling apart.” She thinks she is alone in her feelings, not realizing that she’s “exactly the same as other people . . . [needing] the same things as everyone else.” Katie’s behaviour takes her down some dark paths which cannot but leave the reader feeling uncomfortable. I did find that some of her choices were extreme. Katie herself thinks she is crazy.
As expected in a coming-of-age novel, Katie does eventually experience growth. Unfortunately, her change comes quickly at the end. One conversation changes everything? There is a comment about everything not being okay immediately, but since the novel concludes a page later, the ending seems abrupt.
To be honest, I found the novel a tedious read. Katie goes from one party to another and from one online encounter to another. At each party she attended, I knew to expect more extreme drug usage; during each online exchange, I knew to expect more extreme sexual behaviour. The repetitive nature of events becomes tiresome.
I’m not certain about the target audience. Is the book intended for teenaged girls? Some might be able to relate to Katie, but I wonder whether it would actually positively influence troubled girls. As a former teacher who taught teenagers for 30 years, I found much of the depiction of Katie to be realistic; however, the book became monotonous for this adult reader.
Note: I received a digital galley of the book from the publisher via NetGalley.
Please check out my reader's blog (https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/) and follow me on Twitter (@DCYakabuski).
.
August 16, 2025
I felt really uneasy while reading this, and it overall put me in a bad mood. It’s a “coming of age” story, but I hope it doesn’t get in the hands of any teen because the message is terrible. Pretty much just painted a picture of a disturbing group of kids and their sinister/ deranged thoughts. The vibe: 🚬💊🍬👤💅🏻🔪🎉
Pros: The writing was actually decent, but it almost made the story feel too real and disturbed me more🫣. It was engaging at some points, even though kind of all over the place. Cool indie cover✔️
Pros: The writing was actually decent, but it almost made the story feel too real and disturbed me more🫣. It was engaging at some points, even though kind of all over the place. Cool indie cover✔️
August 21, 2024
Honestly I couldn’t put it down. This really had me in my feels multiple times, probably one of the most accurate teen books I’ve read to date. As a former “online SW” who started at a young age , I can 10000% relate and confirm so much in this book.
LOVED IT.
there is self harm & sexual assault mentioned so don’t read if you’re not into heavy morbid shit lol
LOVED IT.
there is self harm & sexual assault mentioned so don’t read if you’re not into heavy morbid shit lol
September 9, 2022
Beautiful and disturbing. I wouldn't read this book without understanding its content as the subjects are heavy, sad and unsettling.
May 5, 2024
It’s been a while since I’ve been a teenager & this book brought back so many reminders & memories of how absolutely unhinged that time of life was. Very raw, diabolical & real.
May 25, 2024
3.5
The girls who get it (being a teenage girl in small-town northern Ontario) get it…
The girls who get it (being a teenage girl in small-town northern Ontario) get it…
June 1, 2024
Wow, I have a lot of thoughts but don’t know how to put them to a review. But this makes me scared for when my daughter is a teenager.
Read
June 2, 2023Well if this book isn’t the definition of going to high school in Kitchener-Waterloo I don’t know what is, lol.
August 22, 2022
Sharp Edges by Leah Mol is a gut wrenching story of fifteen year old Katie. We watch as she navigates friendships and relationships, all while needing to fit in and feel wanted.
I've never read a book like this before, and the only thing I can think to compare it to is the movie Trainspotting. This novel had me holding my breath, shaking my head and left me with an understanding of just how easy it could be to fall in with the wrong crowd.
Mol transports the reader so effectively back to a time of MSN messenger, chat rooms, flip phones, Myspace and early sexual relationships. Having been a teenage girl when the internet was becoming mainstream, I was instantly put back into the newness and excitement it held.
This book is being compared to My Dark Vanessa, and I can appreciate the similarities in tone; think stale cigarettes, old beer cans and the gritty blur that comes from a wildly unsupervised adolescence. The comparison is also in an adolescent thinking they're more mature than they are; thinking that they can handle events that they shouldn't even know about.
Although the narrator is a fifteen year old, the topics discussed are not ones I would want our daughter reading at that age. Please know it is a book for adults, with a focus on very dark subjects.
Overall, this is a novel that is spiraling in atmosphere, darkly disturbing and left me unsettled and questioning my own experiences.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the complimentary copy to read and review.
I've never read a book like this before, and the only thing I can think to compare it to is the movie Trainspotting. This novel had me holding my breath, shaking my head and left me with an understanding of just how easy it could be to fall in with the wrong crowd.
Mol transports the reader so effectively back to a time of MSN messenger, chat rooms, flip phones, Myspace and early sexual relationships. Having been a teenage girl when the internet was becoming mainstream, I was instantly put back into the newness and excitement it held.
This book is being compared to My Dark Vanessa, and I can appreciate the similarities in tone; think stale cigarettes, old beer cans and the gritty blur that comes from a wildly unsupervised adolescence. The comparison is also in an adolescent thinking they're more mature than they are; thinking that they can handle events that they shouldn't even know about.
Although the narrator is a fifteen year old, the topics discussed are not ones I would want our daughter reading at that age. Please know it is a book for adults, with a focus on very dark subjects.
Overall, this is a novel that is spiraling in atmosphere, darkly disturbing and left me unsettled and questioning my own experiences.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Random House Canada for the complimentary copy to read and review.
December 27, 2022
As someone who grew up in southern Ontario this book feels so familiar it could be any small- to mid-sized town here. I couldn’t put this book down, I read almost all of it within one sitting. The author is able to create a vivid and real picture of girlhood and is refreshing. Definitely recommend this book!
August 1, 2023
Whew. This book terrified me, and not in a spooky fun way. It terrified me because I have a daughter, and this is a coming-of-age novel about a teenager who is struggling her way through life as a female. Sharp Edges by Leah Mol is about a lot of things, but it’s mainly about growing up, and how hard it can be. It doesn’t shy away from the gory discomfort of being a girl uncomfortable in her own skin, and the dark paths this can lead if there aren’t trusted adults around to help navigate this difficult time. I requested this debut novel knowing it would be uncomfortable, but that didn’t make it any easier to read.
Plot Summary
Through her first-person perspective, we meet Katie. She’s fifteen, and she’s struggling with lots of things. Her father left her and her mother awhile ago, and she doesn’t know where he went. Her mother is a hypochondriac who can’t manage to work or get off the couch, her best friend Lillian has a new boyfriend who she’s obsessed with, and Katie doesn’t have many other friends to rely on. She secretly cuts herself with a small razorblade, savouring the feeling of her secret, and indulging a fascination with what she sees are her ‘insides’. Although a cliché, she falls in with the wrong kind of guy at school who introduces her to doing all kinds of drugs, only drawing the line at crack (!) Looking for different kinds of control and companionship, she begins chatting with people online, selling parts of her wardrobe and videos of herself for money. She makes new friends with people who also do a lot of drugs, and she eventually begins skipping school and spending more time at various parties around town than at home. As her behaviour becomes increasingly dangerous, she loses touch with most people her age, relying on her contact with a man many years older than her that she meets online. The book ends shortly after she turns 16, with a glimmer of hope for what her future may hold.
My Thoughts
I bet you cringed at least once or twice during the summary above, and I don’t blame you. It’s difficult to read because you know things can’t end well for someone who is participating in those things, especially when they aren’t capable of distinguishing between healthy and unhealthy influences. The more I write, the more I realize how obvious my lens of being a parent skews my viewpoint of this book, so I’ll try to come at it from another few angles; that of a teenage girl, and then that of an adult woman. If I continue to write this review as a parent only, I’ll end up increasing both mine, and other parents anxiety levels, which isn’t a very helpful book review.
How would a teen approach this book? Would they find things to relate to? Most likely. The precariousness of friendships at that age is a big theme, and it’s the shifting of Katie’s friendships that act as a trigger to the dark path she begins to tread. Katie is aware of this though, and constantly thinks back to her oldest and best friend Lillian when she reaches these new milestones; doing a new drug, having sex for the first time, interacting with strange guys on a chat room. The constant pressure of situating oneself in the social order of high school weighs on Katie, which is a major factor in her harmful actions. New friendships form that offer solace to Katie, but in some ways these connections only encourage her new behaviours. For example a friend of hers is bulimic, and when she notices that Katie cuts herself, they make a pact to stop together, but then continue to do it anyway.
Approaching this book as simply an adult woman (actively trying to ignore all my fears as a parent), it’s a brutally honest look at the different ‘rules’ for girls and boys, made all the more obvious when in high school:
“Now that I’m fifteen, things are even harder. Boys want you to do things, but they hate you when you do them. The rules are: never say no and never say yes. Marcy said no to a guy who wanted a hand job and he told everyone that she gave him a blow job and he was embarrassed because she’s so ugly. If you say yes, you’re a slut. Always do something, but never do as much as they want.”
-p.21 of Sharp Edges by Leah Mol
Much of the book is written in the style above, internal dialogue running constantly, observing Katie’s position on things while also admitting to her darkest thoughts. She struggles to interpret those around her, but also with her own sense of self-esteem and confidence. Her spiral of self-destruction is difficult for anyone to read about, and I’m still struggling to process it.
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Plot Summary
Through her first-person perspective, we meet Katie. She’s fifteen, and she’s struggling with lots of things. Her father left her and her mother awhile ago, and she doesn’t know where he went. Her mother is a hypochondriac who can’t manage to work or get off the couch, her best friend Lillian has a new boyfriend who she’s obsessed with, and Katie doesn’t have many other friends to rely on. She secretly cuts herself with a small razorblade, savouring the feeling of her secret, and indulging a fascination with what she sees are her ‘insides’. Although a cliché, she falls in with the wrong kind of guy at school who introduces her to doing all kinds of drugs, only drawing the line at crack (!) Looking for different kinds of control and companionship, she begins chatting with people online, selling parts of her wardrobe and videos of herself for money. She makes new friends with people who also do a lot of drugs, and she eventually begins skipping school and spending more time at various parties around town than at home. As her behaviour becomes increasingly dangerous, she loses touch with most people her age, relying on her contact with a man many years older than her that she meets online. The book ends shortly after she turns 16, with a glimmer of hope for what her future may hold.
My Thoughts
I bet you cringed at least once or twice during the summary above, and I don’t blame you. It’s difficult to read because you know things can’t end well for someone who is participating in those things, especially when they aren’t capable of distinguishing between healthy and unhealthy influences. The more I write, the more I realize how obvious my lens of being a parent skews my viewpoint of this book, so I’ll try to come at it from another few angles; that of a teenage girl, and then that of an adult woman. If I continue to write this review as a parent only, I’ll end up increasing both mine, and other parents anxiety levels, which isn’t a very helpful book review.
How would a teen approach this book? Would they find things to relate to? Most likely. The precariousness of friendships at that age is a big theme, and it’s the shifting of Katie’s friendships that act as a trigger to the dark path she begins to tread. Katie is aware of this though, and constantly thinks back to her oldest and best friend Lillian when she reaches these new milestones; doing a new drug, having sex for the first time, interacting with strange guys on a chat room. The constant pressure of situating oneself in the social order of high school weighs on Katie, which is a major factor in her harmful actions. New friendships form that offer solace to Katie, but in some ways these connections only encourage her new behaviours. For example a friend of hers is bulimic, and when she notices that Katie cuts herself, they make a pact to stop together, but then continue to do it anyway.
Approaching this book as simply an adult woman (actively trying to ignore all my fears as a parent), it’s a brutally honest look at the different ‘rules’ for girls and boys, made all the more obvious when in high school:
“Now that I’m fifteen, things are even harder. Boys want you to do things, but they hate you when you do them. The rules are: never say no and never say yes. Marcy said no to a guy who wanted a hand job and he told everyone that she gave him a blow job and he was embarrassed because she’s so ugly. If you say yes, you’re a slut. Always do something, but never do as much as they want.”
-p.21 of Sharp Edges by Leah Mol
Much of the book is written in the style above, internal dialogue running constantly, observing Katie’s position on things while also admitting to her darkest thoughts. She struggles to interpret those around her, but also with her own sense of self-esteem and confidence. Her spiral of self-destruction is difficult for anyone to read about, and I’m still struggling to process it.
To read the rest of my reviews, please visit my blog:
https://ivereadthis.com/
Sign up for my newsletter here: https://ivereadthis.com/subscribe/
Or follow me on social media!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Ivereadthis/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCD6E...
December 18, 2022
Whoa. I’m not sure if I would recommend this book because it’s extremely dark, disturbing and deeply unsettling but Leah Mol has an intense and searing talent that, whew, did things to me. I feel changed after reading this.
Sharp Edges is about 15-year-old Katie who has a slow falling out with her best friend which spurs her into a series of bad decisions, first in discovering a seedy online world of selling her underwear and then new “friends”, drugs, heavy amounts of self harm, crashing into her limits over and over and then through. Every trigger warning in the world will be on this book. And damn it was just so thoroughly upsetting, queasy the whole way through. But, under that, a study on girlhood, sexuality, friendship, obsession, need and what we do with it, where it goes and what it turns into when you have nowhere to put it. Katie’s mom is having a mental health crisis, her dad just left them, her best friend seems to be too busy for her and the only answers she has for herself are ones that have to hurt to dull the buzz in her head. Every single insecurity is heightened and on the surface, add the early internet use of an elder millennial’s youth and you have a recipe for neglect and disaster. Poor sweet girl.
Like I said, I don’t think I would recommend this book to many people, you have to like dark disturbing stories and then steel yourself, more. But, I thought it was amazingly well done. And I’m excited to read whatever Leah Mol writes next.
For fans of the movie Thirteen.
Sharp Edges is about 15-year-old Katie who has a slow falling out with her best friend which spurs her into a series of bad decisions, first in discovering a seedy online world of selling her underwear and then new “friends”, drugs, heavy amounts of self harm, crashing into her limits over and over and then through. Every trigger warning in the world will be on this book. And damn it was just so thoroughly upsetting, queasy the whole way through. But, under that, a study on girlhood, sexuality, friendship, obsession, need and what we do with it, where it goes and what it turns into when you have nowhere to put it. Katie’s mom is having a mental health crisis, her dad just left them, her best friend seems to be too busy for her and the only answers she has for herself are ones that have to hurt to dull the buzz in her head. Every single insecurity is heightened and on the surface, add the early internet use of an elder millennial’s youth and you have a recipe for neglect and disaster. Poor sweet girl.
Like I said, I don’t think I would recommend this book to many people, you have to like dark disturbing stories and then steel yourself, more. But, I thought it was amazingly well done. And I’m excited to read whatever Leah Mol writes next.
For fans of the movie Thirteen.
June 4, 2023
3.5 stars, rounded down.
“Bad decisions always seem like good ones until after you’ve made them, until you can’t take them back.”
Not ready to write a full review; instead, a series of (disjointed) thoughts...
* Reads as if it were written with razor blade dipped in acid.
* Not the kind of book that one might say they “enjoyed.”
* Like viewing a car crash in slow motion: hard to look away, even as the outcome seems clear and inevitable.
* Sharply observed, vivid, maybe even a little frightening.
* A window into a dark soul seeking light.
* How it feels to be someone who: wants to be wanted, wants to be seen, wants to be known, fully and completely, inside and out.
* What runs through your mind when the most basic human needs threaten to consume you: wanting someone to know your every dirty secret and ugly truth, wanting someone who will reassure you that you aren’t so dirty or ugly, that you are still worthy of existing and worthy of another person’s love.
“Online, I’m different, new, with every single person.”
“Most of school is people telling you what to do and when to do it. But then as soon as you leave, they expect you to know how to make all the right choices on your own.”
“I could feel the string holding everything together pulling taut.”
“Sometimes people just need you to pretend you’re following their rules.”
Maybe on another day, would round up to 4 stars. But not today.
“Bad decisions always seem like good ones until after you’ve made them, until you can’t take them back.”
Not ready to write a full review; instead, a series of (disjointed) thoughts...
* Reads as if it were written with razor blade dipped in acid.
* Not the kind of book that one might say they “enjoyed.”
* Like viewing a car crash in slow motion: hard to look away, even as the outcome seems clear and inevitable.
* Sharply observed, vivid, maybe even a little frightening.
* A window into a dark soul seeking light.
* How it feels to be someone who: wants to be wanted, wants to be seen, wants to be known, fully and completely, inside and out.
* What runs through your mind when the most basic human needs threaten to consume you: wanting someone to know your every dirty secret and ugly truth, wanting someone who will reassure you that you aren’t so dirty or ugly, that you are still worthy of existing and worthy of another person’s love.
“Online, I’m different, new, with every single person.”
“Most of school is people telling you what to do and when to do it. But then as soon as you leave, they expect you to know how to make all the right choices on your own.”
“I could feel the string holding everything together pulling taut.”
“Sometimes people just need you to pretend you’re following their rules.”
Maybe on another day, would round up to 4 stars. But not today.
May 9, 2023
The weirdly apathic tone of the narrator resonated with me a lot in a weird way I cant explain. I so badly wish I had decided to highlight this when I read the first relatable sentence, because there were so many. A very strange and disturbing, yet very accurate exploration of girlhood and teen angst. Glad I read this, I loved it. I flew through it in a day and I didnt find myself frustrated or annoyed. Was it hard to read sometimes? Yes. But because the subject matter was rough, not because the writing was bad in any way. I think the evolution of the main character is realistic and very well written. An extremely character driven book; there isn't much of a plot and there doesn't need to be.
Most men and guys suck in this novel, none of them have a center role. This book is for the girlies. And it depicts parts of girlhood that are ugly as hell, but exist. Makes me wish sex ed was a thing. Makes my heart ache for all the girls with bad self esteem, all the girls who fold themselves to the rules when the guys dont have to, all the girls without good adult figures in their lives. The girls I knew, the ones I didn't and the girl I was.
Also enjoyed the way the author chose to end this.
Most men and guys suck in this novel, none of them have a center role. This book is for the girlies. And it depicts parts of girlhood that are ugly as hell, but exist. Makes me wish sex ed was a thing. Makes my heart ache for all the girls with bad self esteem, all the girls who fold themselves to the rules when the guys dont have to, all the girls without good adult figures in their lives. The girls I knew, the ones I didn't and the girl I was.
Also enjoyed the way the author chose to end this.
November 29, 2022
I don't know what to say about this one.
Was it repetitive? Yes
Did it go anywhere? No
Could I relate to anyone? No
Could I recommend this to anyone? No
Should I have DNF'd it? Probably
That's it...
It wasn't even that the main girl had many personal issues (alcohol, drugs, self-harm), everyone one else seemed to have issues in this book. I just wanted someone to feel good about. Or something to happen to create some sort of change. The ending just didn't give me any sense of things are going to be ok. I don't necessarily need everything to work out or be ok but this one needed something to happen. The tone pretty much was the same throughout this book and it got pretty tiresome.
Oh well....just didn't work for me.
Was it repetitive? Yes
Did it go anywhere? No
Could I relate to anyone? No
Could I recommend this to anyone? No
Should I have DNF'd it? Probably
That's it...
It wasn't even that the main girl had many personal issues (alcohol, drugs, self-harm), everyone one else seemed to have issues in this book. I just wanted someone to feel good about. Or something to happen to create some sort of change. The ending just didn't give me any sense of things are going to be ok. I don't necessarily need everything to work out or be ok but this one needed something to happen. The tone pretty much was the same throughout this book and it got pretty tiresome.
Oh well....just didn't work for me.
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December 22, 2022 "I don’t know how other people always know what they’re feeling when it seems like I always feel everything at the same time."
A coming of age story about a 15-year-old girl who loses her best friend and tumbles down the dark rabbit whole into internet porn, BDSM, drugs and sex. Different power dynamics and relationship dynamics are explored as Katie tries to navigate this world and figure out what she wants. Or doesn't want. Definite trigger warnings, do your research, but it's a sharp look at the gray areas between girlhood and adulthood, asking some of the difficult questions no one asks out loud.
A coming of age story about a 15-year-old girl who loses her best friend and tumbles down the dark rabbit whole into internet porn, BDSM, drugs and sex. Different power dynamics and relationship dynamics are explored as Katie tries to navigate this world and figure out what she wants. Or doesn't want. Definite trigger warnings, do your research, but it's a sharp look at the gray areas between girlhood and adulthood, asking some of the difficult questions no one asks out loud.
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