Reminiscent of the classic Stephen King work, Carrie, Tamara by Jeffrey Reddick takes high school bullying to another level completely. .Although similar to King’s cult classic movie/book, Reddick gives readers a tale that most certainly surpasses its predecessor when it comes to a tale about a crazy, mistreated, vengeful teenage girl.
Tamara is your stereotypical loner, or outsider. She’s praised by her teachers for her academic ability and ridiculed by her peers for everything. Tamara lives in deplorable conditions with her widowed, alcoholic father.
As if life wasn’t hard enough her peers continue to find ways to shame and humiliate Tamara. But this time the joke was deadly and those responsible will not walk away laughing.
Tamara was a quick and easy read. Although not my favorite book ever, it was entertaining. Although slightly predictable, Tamara struggled for some sort of surprise for readers – which I feel it achieved slightly.
Reddick does tangle some touchy subject matter but not in too grave detail. The most concerning is sexual content that some might find difficult to read. In addition the overall cruelty Tamara was treated with could cause readers to have an uncomfortable feeling in one’s gut.
I feel Tamara is a decent read that will tickle anyone’s paranormal/horror fancy. If you were a Carrie fan, the similarities are enough you’d most likely enjoy this. If you weren’t a Carrie fan the differences are substantial enough that I’d recommend giving Tamara a try.