With all the events surrounding the “Jared Fogle” situation, it brought me back to thinking about of this book, “Tampa” by Alissa Nutting. Now I’m going to say this now this book is very controversial, and many people will not feel comfortable reading it because of the content. I understand it completely but besides that I loved reading this book, and I took a lot from it. It’s a lot about double standards, image, and what beauty portrays in society. You will see how one woman’s obsession leads her to a trail of fire that ultimately changes her life forever. 

Celeste Price is a teacher in a middle where she teaches 8th grade. She appears to be this beautiful woman, very intelligent, genuine, and attractive. For these reasons, people will find it hard to believe that Celeste has a sick and twisted mind that centers only around her satisfactions and her happiness. Her self centered way of being ultimately becomes her undoing. 

Behind Celeste closed classroom doors, lives the secret that sets her apart from people from society. She has a strong sexual desire to be with fourteen year old boys. She loves them before they go into puberty and starting growing facial hair and their deepening voices. Celeste begins a sexual relationship with this shy boy in her class named Jack. Celeste and Jack form a relationship, and Jack ends up falling in love with Celeste. This is when things begin to be difficult for Celeste because after Jack starts going through puberty she no longer is interested in him and is looking to find someone new. 

Now I can’t say much more without telling you the whole story but let’s just say the ending is going to piss you off. I know I was. It just made me realize the power of beauty in society. How even though there are very strong women, there are weaker ones that use their beauty and sexuality to their advantage. 

This is the very society that we live in, and we can’t front and say that it isn’t true. There are many that are put on a pedestal in the public eye just to let them get away with murder. It’s time to hold people accountable for their actions no matter where they come from. 

It’s really hard to rate this book without being bias. Your opinion on the topic can make you dislike the book. I am going to rate it on the quality of the novel so I will give it a 5 star rating. Everything was written brilliantly and even witty. I really felt like I was in Celeste’s mind. The wording felt so real to me. Even though Celeste is a sociopath, the story shows you parts of her that made her a likable character. When people seem so close to being human, it’s hard to dislike them regardless of their defaults. That would explain how many gulity people get away with it all.