Sweet Sixteen

By: Brenda Rothert

Narrated by: Kirsten Leigh, Chris Ruen

They say roses are the most beautiful....

Gin Fielding is counting the days until she escapes the small-town life of Roper, Missouri, for college at NYU. She prefers to blend in, though she’s far from invisible. But when she protects a younger student from a bully, the spotlight turns on her in ways she never imagined.

I say that every rose has its thorn....

The Friday-night lights shine bright on Chase Matthews. Roper’s golden boy, Chase can do no wrong, enjoying the small-town celebrity being the star quarterback brings. When Gin defends his little sister against a bully, he decides to lend her his star power and change her senior year in ways she never imagined.

But maybe the thorns are part of their beauty.

When Gin declines Chase’s invitation to be part of the elite Sweet 16, the repercussions turn both their lives upside down. But amid the chaos, Gin and Chase find solace in one another. Together, they confront the ugly truth - that sometimes, glory has a dark side.

©2018 Brenda Rothert (P)2018 Audible, Inc.

Hard Lesson to learn.

I read some of the other reviews. Here’s what I think. This was a realistic story of how some high schools are today. Sex is seen as recreational and meaningless and many kids find their “value” in who they sleep with. Is this uncomfortable? Of course it is. Is this how kids should find their worth, male or female? Of course not. That doesn’t make it less true of society today. I liked that Gin was tough and took a stand. I liked that she called Chase on his bs. I like that he learned and grew. I understand some readers finding this upsetting, it is upsetting. It’s also not that far fetched. If a kid does not have someone to show them a better way, the right way, how do they know? They don’t. I think this book has a good message about shaking up what is accepted whether it is fully acknowledged or not and doing better.

A bit unexpected

So I went into this one because the blurb intrigued me. Then I read some reviews after I purchased it and was a little skeptical. Honestly, this is a reason I tend to not look at reviews much. Some gave a much different view of how I perceived this story. Yes, it deals with some difficult subject matter but I did appreciate both sides of the issue and could see with how it was presented the Male POV but also very much fall in line with the FMC. I could also understand why she still crushed on him and was able to give him a chance. It was an interesting listen and I really enjoyed these characters. Narration was done well.

Intriguing

This was intriguing. Not sure i would let my teenager read it but was very insightful, since there is no good with out the bad.

Wow!

After reading the review, I listened to this story with open ears. I love romance and try to avoid stories that contain too much angst. I'm glad I gave this a try. This story contained lots of kids being bullied and I didn't mind as long as the hero or heroine is strong and confident. I loved that the heroine did not take crap from anyone and how she stood up to others. This story had that and I loved it! This was high school story but I didn't feel that way. I loved how the author developed Chase character. I didn't like him at the beginning but I can understand his POV. That said, I loved the narrators and they did a superb job! They are also my two favorite readers. I highly recommend!

Awful message

Why would anyone write a teen romance, or any romance with a male MC who’s involved in repeated gang raped?

Chase is supposed to be a Good Guy because he stops gang raping girls who want to be popular after Gin calls him out on it. Prior to her reaction, he thought being *chosen* to be part of the SWEET SIXTEEN, an initiation to popularity by having coerced sex/rape with sixteen football players.

Apparently the outcast Gin is so desirable, she turns on the lightbulb in Chase’s head and he realizes the error of his ways, thinks the other guys can go ahead and do their things, but he’s out. What a profile in courage (insert rolling eyes emoji).

Gin is supposed to be a champion of the little guy, a feminist, yet she still has a crush on Chase, after he asks her to be one of the SWEET SIXTEEN.

SWEET SIXTEEN sends the wrong message about actions and consequences, the ease of going from rapist to nice guy and feminism.

Good narration

I was not thrilled by this story. I stopped listening for a while. Spoilers: I stopped listening when it was revealed that the male main character was involved choosing virgins for the football team to gang bang. W.T.F. The high school football team had this “tradition” that adults in the town were aware of, so it had been happening for a long time.

The rest of the story was all over the place. It almost felt like looking at a photo album - the main female character is an outcast, she paints sets, her mom is an author, the male main character plays football, his sister is attacked, he is the football captain, he leads his team to gang bang virgins, his dad is abusive. The story was all over the place and felt disconnected. The issues felt unresolved to me.

Virgin Sacrifice? You mean Gang raped?

This horrified me! This is High School? On what planet is it OK for 16 football players to take turns having sex with ONE teenage girl who "willingly" gives up her virginity while the others cheer? This is sick! Especially considering this is supposed to be a book for teens! WTF? What kind of image does that give girls? Is this what we want our daughters to think women are for? Another trophy to score!! I thought we are trying to teach our young girls that we need to stand up and be more that a "piece" for boys!

PLEASE! Lets write better, stronger women! Especially High school! Let's not just write for what sells!