Tampa

The fact is, this book is not a look into the mind of a psychopath, it is a graphically sexual look into the hunting, grooming, sexual assault and rape of children. The fact that the victims happen to be boys (not "young men" or "underage men" as some have characterized them) and the offender is an adult female does not make one iota of difference under the law. This book makes a hero out of a child rapist. Period. If it were simply a look into that type of offender's mind, then the writer would not have erotically described in detail the sexual activities and inner workings of the minds of her victims. She would not have made sexual fantasy material that will most certainly drive the masturbatory sessions of many female and male child sex offenders. It's disgusting. Don't bother reading it. At least not if you care that millions of boys who have been abused are suffering because of society's labeling of their victimization as a "sex romp with a teacher" or worse.

Okay, let's get this part out of the way first:
This is not for everyone. The subject matter is intense. The details are.... detailed. You're probably going to hate what it's about.
And that's good. That's the point.
Hate the book. Hate Celeste. Hate all her thoughts and views.
That's what you should do.

Society views female teacher/male student relationships that cross a line in completely different ways. Don't believe me? Look up any article where a male teacher was involved, and you have comments about that poor girl, how disgusting, he should be locked up for life, "let me just get a few minutes alone with him", "string him up, don't waste taxpayers dollars on him". If it's a female teacher, you may find the same, but there are many comments about her attractiveness, how people wished they had that option in school, how that's one way to get good grades, "he's such a stud", "what male wouldn't take that opportunity".

My partner asked me why I liked books like this. I told him because they're interesting. "Sure, I like interesting too, but I'm not going to go read Mein Kamph."
But I would. Books are education. Even fiction about sociopathic females who are sexually attracted to 14 year old boys. I am never going to relate to that. I do not understand how someone can find that appealing, and do everything to go after a teenager, acting in ways to not get caught. Knowing that it's not right, but having such a desire to do it anyway. Reading about it gives a knowledge to something that then gains some form of understanding.
Understanding doesn't mean I'm going to agree with it. It just means I have more knowledge to discuss my opinions.

This book's goal is to say, women are predators also. Just because she's female, doesn't mean she should be treated differently than a male. That could not be more obvious than at the end, with what ultimately happens to Celeste. Events that really aren't that far-fetched from what happens in these real case situations.

If you're going to read this, read it with the understanding that you will feel uncomfortable. You may feel sick. I did, considering I have a child the same age as Jack. Read it knowing these things really happen, people really think this way, and this book shines a light on that in a way that you can't ignore.

Yeah, it'll be taboo to many readers, but I'm amazed and encouraged that someone took on this topic and is able to treat it with such humor and directness. The satire is well handled and the writing deft, though things get more than a little complicated and convoluted in the last quarter of the book. I'm not going to speculate on the motivations of the author in taking on this topic, and she may deny that she intended to write an erotic book, but it often is that. It certainly offers some insights not often taken on or discussed, even if it ends on a somewhat bleak note. It's a book I'm glad I read and may come back to from time to time.

Okay. I need to take a moment and gather my thoughts on this one. An interesting look into a subject rarely covered in literature (meaning FEMALE sexual predators), this book has great potential. I found myself drawn in by the main character, a horrible, conniving sociopath with a penchant for teenage boys, not because I liked her (good god, no!), but because I was so fascinated by her condition. I can only liken this fascination to the clichéd idea of not being able to look away from a car accident; you really don't WANT to look, but something (curiosity?) pulls you in. This book will make you uncomfortable, and it's supposed to, so the Ms. Nutting did a really good job in that respect. She makes you feel dirty just reading it.

The problem with Ms. Nutting's first novel, however, is believability. I had a hard time believing that A.)the main character was actually able to function in daily society, what with how turned on she always was. The woman is ALWAYS focusing on sex and her next orgasm. Fine; I am sure that is how some people think and feel, but the way Nutting has Celeste so Focused on sex, it is impossible to believe that she can focus on anything else. Teaching is a difficult job; you have to be able to multitask and keep kids in line all while actually teaching a cohesive lesson. What we see of Celeste's class is quite unrealistic; Celeste is teaching Romeo and Juliet all while nearly orgasming behind her desk? I don't buy it.

And B.) (and this could be just my nitpicking, I suppose) The debilitating nature of Celeste's sexual need was just so over the top. At one moment, Celeste finds a way to situate herself between two teenagers roughhousing under the guise of breaking up the fighting. She is so turned on by her position that she literally doubles over and crouches on the floor. This doesn't seem to really bother the dozens of spectators (one of the boys says "you okay?" and she just replies "yup" and that's it). There are plenty of examples of this exact thing happening again and again. She continually has these moments where she is brought to her knees (some times literally) by sexual want. I am not sure that is how desire works, and I certainly think that people would question her health after the first few instances.

And C.) which is the biggest caveat for me, nobody guesses at her nature. Okay, I understand that the nature of the character, the very Point of the character, is to illustrate that women can be just as deceiving as men and just as dangerous and conniving. The problem is, Celeste isn't that good at hiding her true nature. She is not half as clever as she thinks she is and there are Dozens of times where she should have been caught out. I understand the point is Oh she's pretty so she couldn't be a psychopathic sexual predator, but I have to believe that her personality MUST have shown through to SOMEBODY. She may as well have been rubbing her hands together maniacally for all of her obviousness. I don't know we as the reader are seeing a completely different side of her because we are hearing the story from inside her head or if the people around Celeste are just...stupid. But to me, I feel as though she should have been caught long before now (it is indicated that she has been trolling for teenage boys before the story begins).

The bottom line for this book is that it is an interesting read. The premise is somewhat unique and the writing is good, but it is difficult to suspend the disbelief necessary to completely buy it. The sex scenes serve a purpose to a point, but they become excessive quickly. If you didn't have a few of these scenes, the subject would be sterilized, I get that, but it gets to be a bit too much after you turn the page onto the third sex scene within one chapter. Okay, we get it, enough.

I suppose I should say that I probably wouldn't recommend this book to, say, my mom, but I might tell a friend about it if I thought they could handle the twisted nature of the story and take it with possibly a gallon of salt. But for the most part, I would say, no, this is probably not the best book. Entertaining at parts, you want to know how it ends, but I am not sure that it is worth it to get through the middle part to get to the ending.

It’s hardly shocking to see in the news yet another female teacher, often in her twenties and attractive, involved with a teenage male student. It is puzzling behavior that defies all rationale. In this case, the very youthful looking, twenty-six year old Celeste Price has long been obsessed with younger teenage boys. Her plans to get herself in position to select and seduce someone begin before school starts and accelerate once school is in session. She knows exactly how to exploit naiveté and surging hormones.

The author hardly ignores the huge risks involved: discovery, parents, immaturity, etc. Yet those matters seem to recede for the sexual addict, including Celeste. What to do when such a scenario collapses should be a top priority but gets shoved aside.

The book is realistic to a degree. However, the author really makes no effort to explain the origins of sexual addiction. But the calculated steps to a seduction are certainly detailed. The book is hardly without a great deal of explicitness which is in keeping with the mindset of Celeste; however she does seem a bit hastily drawn. One wonders where the author came up with the idea for this book.

A good looking woman teaches an 8th grade English class. She has looks, smarts, and a handsome cop husband who comes from a very wealthy family. She has it all. What no one around her realizes is that she has acquired all of these things, the wealthy husband, teaching degree, and her well maintained looks to reach her ultimate goal... having sex with the 14 year old boys in her English class. Everything she does is to make her sexual fantasies about these young boys into a reality. It is the thing first and foremost in her brain at all times. It's not just one boy she happened to find herself attracted to, but that age of boy in general. She will manipulate everyone around herself to get to them. And people tend to let her get away with more, mostly because of her good looks and money connections.
I was a little unsure about this book because of the very explicit nature of the fantasies this teacher has about 14yr old boys, but it really ended up being worth the read. The underlying implications about our society and what you can get away with if you're considered attractive enough or have enough money are really worth the thought. At the end of this book, I really did begin to wonder.. if Celeste were a real person, how much could she get away? Would anyone actually ever notice or care to notice her proclivities towards the young men she's been asked to educate..? If they did notice, would it be glazed over because she's a woman, an attractive one, and these are young men with growing sexual appetites (instead of a headline that would be made if it were a man with 14yr old girls)..?
Point being, it is a thought provoking, well written, interesting and entertaining book. Well done.

All writers write from experience, whether actual or from a deeply imagined preoccupation with the subject matter and, in the case of Tampa, no writer could describe the lusting after fourteen year old boys, as Ms Nutting does in great detail on almost every page, without having personal experience of being a hebephile. But then Nutting tries to distance herself from that by making Celeste a detestable monster, and this is where the book falls apart. It is hard to like a book when the main character never deserves any sympathy or understanding. In reality, hebephiles are not necessarily selfish, lust-driven vamps like Celeste. On the contrary, they are usually loveable relatives or friendly professionals, popular and much-loved, which is why they often remain undetected for many years.
Celeste’s pursuit of her targets, and her constant preoccupation with sexual gratification is sickening, and would be just as sickening no matter what the age of her quarry. She cares only about herself, and has no redeeming features. I only stuck with this tiresome book to see her downfall. But here, Nutting’s experience is woefully inadequate. A predatory hebephile in a position of trust, committing the offences described, would get a sentence of eight to twelve years in the UK, and a life sentence in the USA, where the story is based, and never get away with probation. The whole judicial process is glossed over by Nutting, with Celeste continuing to be preoccupied with carnal imaginings despite her life and career being destroyed by the legal process going on around her. In reality, those accused of crimes like these lose everything, but this is never properly described.
In conclusion, I found this to be a one dimensional, lurid, and unlikable book. If the main character was a man lusting after fourteen year old girls, it is unlikely that any publisher would have taken it on, especially given that it lacks literary merit.

I am a bit leery about rating a book with such disturbing content so high, but this book was gripping. And not in an enjoyable way, but kind of when you have just have to take a glance at a really bad car accident.

The writing was superb and I definitely want to check out more of this authors work. Not going to bore you with a lengthy summary of the book but essentially this book invites readers into the mind of a disturbed teacher that has a nasty obsession with her teenage students. What I found particularly compelling is that the story is told only through the lens of a disturbed mind and readers are forced to explore the dark and twisted narrative of a teacher that clearly should not be around students, but because she is beautiful, blonde, young she is seen as nonthreatening. My jaw was on the floor and I could not believe how detailed this story got. I was not prepared.

I would highly recommend this to readers who are looking for a read that explores the psychology of a disturbed mind. This was unflinching and bold. Be warned and please look up CW as this is not an easy read, but if you have read books like "My Dark Vanessa", "Lolita" I would suggest you check this one out.

Don't even worry about the subject matter. This book is a threat only to mediocre writing. Such anemic drivel would be rejected by a "To Catch A Predator" scriptwriter with a hangover and a missed deadline. The writing style is about the only junior high school thing about it.

It is not erotic, it’s not even anatomically correct in some places. Entirely devoid of detail, descriptively barren, and wholly unconvincing. The author doesn't seem to have gotten out of bed to write this, let alone explored her subject. She’s not Nabokov, she’s not Nin, she’s not even Judy Blume. Simply contrived rubbish that I wouldn't spit my gum into. She's wasted her time, yours, and probably her husband's with this book.

I got this book from my library but wouldn't dare purchase it from Amazon. If it doesn't ruin her career, she can always write for social media where everything is as terse and forgettable as this book.

I don’t usually write reviews, but this book came in really bad condition for a “new” book. The cover is bent, dented, scratched up, and has sticky stains on it. Yuck! A sticky brown sludge is all over one side of the cover and another yellow mark is on the front that is also sticky. The cover is bent and has dents all over it as well as the corners of the pages are bent. This book just came in absolutely awful condition! I was willing to chalk the damage up to the the mail carrier but the stains can not be explained by my mail carrier! Not to mention I order books all the time and have never had a book arrive in this condition before.