Today I’ll be taking a step back to look at The Teacher, the first Freida McFadden book I ever read a few years ago. One of her more well-known works, this one is so dark and twisted it got a lot of mixed reviews. Here’s why.

The main character, Eve, and her husband Nate are both teachers at the local high school where she was once a student. A student named Addie is rumored to have had an affair with one of the teachers at the school, and Eve is starting to suspect that Addie is getting too close with Nate.

As a teacher, this premise alone is already horrible. If the book had been honestly believable at all, I would’ve put it down right then and there because the concept of teachers abusing their students is entirely sickening to anyone with half a brain. But that said, it thankfully reads as obviously fictional and over sensationalized given some of the twists it takes. It’s definitely more of a popcorn thriller than a literary work.

There are plenty of other things about this book that just didn’t do it for me, from every character being so hateable to the twists feeling very over the top. It’s also less of a book to analyze and more one to read and discuss for entertainment value.

For those reasons, it did serve its purpose as a Kindle Unlimited beach read – something quick to pass the time while hanging out by the water. I just remember feeling gross about every character and their actions. It’s not McFadden’s best book by a long shot, but thankfully I still read more of her better work afterwards, like The Tenant and The Housemaid.

If you’re into popcorn thrillers then this one could be worth checking out, but if you’re an actual teacher like I have been, you might want to pass because of the major ick factor. I usually enjoy McFadden’s thrillers, but I felt too uncomfortable about this one. On the other hand, maybe that was meant to be the point of it all along.