The Teacher by Freida McFadden review: Get ready to hate all the characters

If you’re in the mood for a thriller, Freida McFadden never really disappoints. It’s time to dive into The Teacher. This is one of those where you won’t like any of the characters, though.

I love authors who bring characters with flaws. There is so much of a focus on protagonists that are somewhat perfect, that it’s hard to view them as real people. Well, McFadden doesn’t have that problem. The issue I have is that sometimes I just can’t stand the protagonists I’m supposed to want to see succeed.

I found that a problem with The Coworker, and I’m finding it against with The Teacher. That being said, it was still a fun story to read and I loved the twist at the end.

What is The Teacher by Freida McFadden about?

The Teacher follows two main POVs. We see Eve, a high school math teacher, and Addie, one of Eve’s students. Then there’s Eve’s husband, Nate, the English teacher at the school. There are a few chapters toward the end form his POV to help further the story.

Eve is supposed to have it all. However, she’s unhappy in her marriage but doesn’t really want to do anything about it. That is except to have an affair.

Meanwhile, Addie is a 16-year-old girl with a lot of secrets, a problem fitting in, and a history of lying. Well, sort of lying. She manages to get a teacher fired by not telling the truth. All she’s interested in is poetry, and Nate Bennett.

One thing is certain: nobody in this book can be trusted.

The Teacher is a fast-paced thriller

Let me get the bad out of the way. None of the characters are likable. Eve is miserable in her marriage, but rather than do something about it, she opts to have an affair. Wouldn’t it be better to actually talk to her husband?

Well, it’s soon clear that her husband just isn’t interested in her, and there’s a reason for that. He’s interested in girls rather than women. Everything about him is awful.

Then there’s Addie. Now, I always have to remember that Addie is a 16-year-old girl. Her feelings as a teenager are valid and understandable. So, while she becomes whiny at times and I just want to knock some sense into her, I can completely understand why she is the way she is. That’s her age. I do love that other characters see that in her later in the book. That doesn’t make her likable, though.

Now for the good: this is a fast-paced thriller. The only reason I kept putting it down was because life got in the way. If I didn’t need to, I wouldn’t have. There is something happening in each chapter that makes me want to know why.

I think having the prologue with a female talking about carrying a dead body is a great way to start. I wanted to know which of the female characters it was, and I wanted to know who the body was. There were a few plausible options throughout the book.

The twist at the end was just perfect for McFadden’s books. Look, McFadden’s twists are always out there. You have to suspend beliefs at times. There was one moment that had my jaw dropping to the floor with the reveal. It reminded me of how much bias we tend to have, and I had to go back to see if there was a description for a particular character that led to my own thoughts. Now that’s good writing.

Overall, though, this isn’t a book I’ll read again. The characters just annoyed me too much. The story was a fun ride, though.

Rating: 3 out of 5.

The Teacher by Freida McFadden is available on Amazon.