Jenny Lee (2) (1971–)

CW: set aside a few minutes for this one lots of detailed sex scenes, self-harm, statutory rape of minor, heavy teen drug use, death by unintentional overdose, death of loved one, parental neglect, marital affairs, cheating, child pornography through release of sex tape of minor (revenge porn), non consensual sex tape, underage drinking, slut and sex shaming, misogyny, animal death, depression, horse being hurt and dying due to poor horse riding, suicidal ideation including planning and show more discussion of method, mention of eating disorder

Well I don't really know where to begin but I think I'll start with ... Oh Dear.

Let me also start off by saying I could not stop listening to this. You know those horrific situations where you just can't look away? This was like that for me. I enjoyed the narration style and seeing into the minds of multiple characters. Sometimes it almost felt like a documentary and I imagined David Attenborough, in his gentle voice, describing the fascinating mating rituals of privileged rich brats in their natural habitat. At the end of the day though, it is a story about a very wealthy group of entitled teens and their gossip girl type dramas. I have not read Anna Karenina but from my understanding it is a reasonable modern reimagining of that classic piece of literature but without the social commentary. The characters are all very melodramatic and there is an 'end of days' type attitude if your love is not reciprocated. I'm talking Gothic literature levels of woe. Romeo and Juliet was also referenced so by that you can gauge the tone of this lengthy novel. The parts I had real issues with were the lack of acknowledgement of the fact that there was a statutory rape that went completely unchallenged, the normalisation of serious drug and alcohol use, and the comments about girls being sluts and boys likened to studs if they bed lots of girls. FYI, the cast is all between the ages of 15 - 18. The parents also seemed mostly absent during all this partying, drug taking and sex scandals. It felt like trash. Highly addictive trash. There you go. I don't know if I liked it or hated it to be honest, but it was gripping regardless. Absolutely senior fiction in a high school.

I've just remembered the name of the movie I think it is very similar to. Cruel Intentions. Yeah, it's exactly like that. show less

I have received an Advance Reader's Copy of this book through a giveaway hosted by the publisher. This has not affected my rating in any way.

Trigger Warnings: Incest, self-harm, rape of a minor, underage drug usage, graphic underage sex scenes, child and revenge p0rnography.

This is what Anna K. should’ve started with.

Don’t get me wrong, this book was somewhat enjoyable. Maybe someone who has actually read Anna Karenina (or at least watched the movie) would’ve enjoyed this more than me. show more Maybe all of the things I listed above actually happen in Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, but if it is I think it’s fucked up for the author to include these things in a novel published in 2020 for God’s sake.

Let me get the most upsetting thing out of the way. The author wrote a whole page about Vronsky’s “sexual awakening” being an adult woman raping him after a party when he was 13. Then it’s never brought up again. Like it never happened.

HELLO JENNY LEE, you cannot casually write a whole page about a minor being RAPED and then move on for the ENTIRE BOOK. What the FUCK.

Second thing I need to talk about: the sheer amount of incestuous shit that goes on in this book with Vronsky’s family. First, he shamelessly watches his brother have sex with a woman. Then his cousin Bea is all into him and wants him sexually?? Like what the fuck is wrong with this family???? I don’t know if this happens in the original book, but once again, IT’S 2020. THIS NASTY SHIT COULD’VE BEEN LEFT OUT.

Kimmie’s self-harming scenes hurt a whole lot. She needed help and her parents were too prideful to give her what she needed the most?? Like come on, rich people! And don’t get me started on the obscene amount of sex and cheating and drugs going on with these kids. Is that all rich people do?? Trust me, I wouldn’t know.

Lastly, the UNDERAGE revenge porn. FUCK ELEANOR. God bless America, these sorry kids.

Now, why did I give this book two stars instead of one? Partly because this book kept me interested enough to the end. Another part, I liked Dustin and Kimmie’s love story. Anna and Vronsky, or Steven and Lolly, not so much. Though, I felt for Anna when Vronsky died. I know what it feels like to lose someone you love, so I understood what she was feeling.

Call me a prude or whatever. If all of the bullshit had been left out, retelling or not, this would’ve been a much more enjoyable story. show less

Wow what a fun read! All the juicy drama of Anna Karenina, but it happens to teens so no long-lasting implications. I was so impressed with this author’s pace and wit! You can totally tell she has written for TV. Gosh, I’ll be thinking about this one for a while!

“This story starts in a hospital, but don’t freak out. No one died.” Benji feels almost at home in hospitals because he’s been in them so much. Born prematurely, he’s had many ailments, but he’s used to it at the ripe old age of ten. He even has a “personal” nurse named Dino who made him a punch card. After ten hospital visits, he gets a cool prize.

He’s in the hospital again because he passed out. Benji faints a lot, but he usually wakes up seconds later. This time he show more didn’t, so Dr. Helen is more concerned and proceeds to ruin Benji’s fourth grade life by telling him he must wear a dorky green helmet to cushion future falls. Benji is scandalized. He is already the top target of the school’s worst bully, Billy Thompson, he doesn’t have any friends, and his Mom still calls him “My baby” in front of everyone. Isn’t there another alternative?

Enter Parker Elvis Pembroke IV, Newfoundland extraordinaire, trained as the President’s – yes, THAT president, the White House one - perfect companion. Smart, bossy and full of himself, Elvis mistakenly becomes Benji’s therapy dog. And no ordinary therapy dog, at that. Elvis talks, in human, but only Benji can understand him.

The humor seldom falters in Lee’s first book for children, especially in the voice of Benji, smart and articulate, small and wimpy, kind of heart. I laughed out loud more than once and cheered for Benji and his growing “pack.” Other characters are well-developed, too, including Benji’s Mom and friends, Taisy and Alexander, and of course, Elvis.

The first conversation between Benji and Elvis does not go well. Though they both speak and hear English from one another, they have trouble understanding each other’s worlds and start arguing. Elvis, in his English-butler-like voice, finally says, “Perhaps we should start over. Clearly, we’ve gotten off on the wrong paw, you and I. I was born on a farm in Tennessee and have been trained for the last two years to be the president of the United States’s new dog.” Elvis is obviously a superior being!

Taisy, super athlete and girlie-girl, spouts pearls of wisdom from her sport star father and goal-oriented outlook. “Less talking, more doing!” she says to the hesitant Benji and Alexander as the trio approaches the bully’s turf in search of Benji’s lucky lug nut. “… if he doesn’t have it, we’ll keep looking. But at least we can say we tried. Life is about trying!” And my favorite, Taisy’s motto when she doubts herself, “Breathe and believe. I know it sounds simple, but it works. You have to believe you can do anything, and that everything will work out how it’s supposed to. Just believe. Breathe and believe. Breath and believe.” Sage words, and ones that I would do well to heed in my own moments of doubt.

Alexander’s photographic memory both helps and hinders, but it is his loyalty and budding sense of adventure that gives him substance. Explaining his boring, over-structured life to Benji, he, too, offers some astute words: “Having you guys think my freaky brain is useful for our super-awesome adventure? Well, this is stuff I only dreamed of doing.” Maybe we won’t find your lucky lug nut, he continues, but hopefully we will. “Did you know it’s a known fact that people who are optimists live longer?” His spirit helps Benji to realize that he needs an attitude adjustment. “Maybe I did need a pack of friends to give me a whole new perspective on the world.”

One thing that disturbed me was Benji's assumption that Billy Thompson was a hopeless case and would end up in jail when he was older. Yes, Billy was a bully, but he did help save Benji’s life. The fact that he played music so well and was more sensitive than Benji ever thought bodes well for him. I would hope that, over time, and with continued respect from Benji and his friends, that Billy's behavior would improve. I don't like to assume that someone that young is already a lost cause.

Benji’s Mom is overbearing, but understandably so; her child almost died as an infant. She is also hilarious, and though Benji doesn’t always appreciate being called “my baby” and kissed tens of times, he understands her: “Here’s what you need to know about my mom. She’s blond, she’s got big hair, and she’s loud. She tells people that she was a bear in her former life, because she likes to eat, she likes to sleep, and if you threatened any of her cubs, she’ll hunt you down and mess you up.” Her final words to Benji encapsulate key themes of love and courage and bring the novel home.

Highly recommended, as Lee says in her dedication “for every kid who loves to laugh” – and, I would add, for every adult, too. show less