"Let's Be Friends" and What that SHOULD Mean

Title: The Actor and the Housewife
Author: Shannon Hale
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Publication Date: June 9, 2009

Synopsis (from Goodreads) -

What if you were to meet the number-one person on your laminated list—you know, that list you joke about with your significant other about which five celebrities you’d be allowed to run off with if ever given the chance? And of course since it’ll never happen it doesn’t matter…

Mormon housewife Becky Jack is seven months pregnant with her fourth child when she meets celebrity hearththrob Felix Callahan. Twelve hours, one elevator ride, and one alcohol-free dinner later, something has happened…though nothing has happened. It isn’t sexual. It isn’t even quite love. But a month later Felix shows up in Salt Lake City to visit and before they know what’s hit them, Felix and Becky are best friends. Really. Becky’s husband is pretty cool about it. H er children roll their eyes. Her neighbors gossip endlessly. But Felix and Becky have something special…something unusual, something completely impossible to sustain. Or is it? A magical story, The Actor and the Housewife explores what could happen when your not-so-secret celebrity crush walks right into real life and changes everything.

My Review:

It's Saturday night, I'm home with my parents and siblings. We're all cooking pork ribs in preparation for Sunday's potluck after church. Dad's specialty for these church parties is barbecue pork - browned to perfection, drenched in KC Masterpiece BBQ sauce and baked overnight in his campfire-precision Dutch ovens. Put those on a plate with a hearty side of roast potatoes and a green salad - and you have the gloriousness of a post-Sunday meetings feast (as long as nobody forgets the chocolate cake).

The phone rings and Dad checks the caller ID. He smiles at me and says "It's for you."

Let me backup. I'd been dating this guy - I'm gonna call him Spongebob for reasons that will become clear later - for about a month. In my dating-starved social life, that was an eternity. And I will be the first to admit that I really liked the guy. As in, I liked the guy. As in, I was ready for a serious relationship. Sure, it had only been three actual dates, but we'd talked on the phone, we'd texted and we'd chatted online. We'd met when a young couple from our church set us up on a blind date and (I thought) we had hit it off. He'd asked me out on two more dates and I was ecstatic about the whole thing. Spongebob was a wonderful guy - he had a great job, he treated me well and he seemed to like me a lot. So, I was thrilled when he'd called me.

In order to have some privacy, I took the cordless phone and walked to the bottom of the stairs away from the kitchen and the family (who were certainly whispering excitedly amongst themselves). I said hello and Spongebob said hello back. We talked for a minute - and then he dropped in this little nugget:

"Well, you know I like you" (heart skips a beat) "and I think you're a nice girl" (okay… where is this going?) "but I think we'd be better off as friends."

Poo.

I'm really not sure what happened at this point… I think I tried to be polite, even though it might be just as likely that I swore at the bugger. I hung up the phone and sat on the stairs for another minute, trying to remember where I left my legs because I certainly couldn't feel them attached to my body. I must have found them again because the next thing I remember was coming face-to-face with my family, who were all eagerly anticipating my next news - surely I would be going out with him again. I started to cry and my mom took me in her arms and hugged me tight.

The story doesn't end there. The next day at church, I had to face the people who had set me and Spongebob up. I didn't want to be rude or anything, but I certainly didn't want to recount the phone call. When the couple asked me how things we going with Spongebob, I said "fine," but then my dear, sweet 7-year-old cousin piped up and said "I thought he broke up with you!"

Turns out that was the best thing that could have happened there because the couple said something to the effect of "Oh, he does this to every girl we set him up with!"

Number one - I wasn't the only one these two had set Spongebob up with? Number two - What do you mean every girl? Turns out that Spongebob breaks it off with every girl he's had three dates with. Evidently, he takes seriously the old adage in the movie "Hitch" - "Three dates … will tell [you] everything [you] need to know about the relationship." And evidently, if he doesn't feel "it" in three dates, then it's adios - friend.

I tell this humiliating tale to get a glimpse at how I came to the book The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale. The premise of this story is that Becky, an average housewife from Utah, meets Felix, a sophisticated, flashy, famous actor from Hollywood, and they become best friends in every sense of the word. At first, it's a little weird because Felix is one of those "heartthrob" actors that women are supposed to go ape-nuts for (which, who the crap even knows what a "heartthrob" really is) and people think that Becky - who is a happily married mother of four - is about to run off with Felix. But that never happens. Becky and Felix are able to have a mature and fun (and funny - oh my gosh, these two are HILARIOUS!) friendship while still being committed and faithful to their spouses.

Personally, I think that it's possible for men and women to have platonic friendships - and not any of this bogus "Oh, we dated once, but I got bored of you so I'm going to cast you off and call it being a friend" BS. Yes, I know this is a work of fiction (how many people in this lifetime meet their celebrity crushes and become friends with them in real life? Some people might, but not very many), but this is a truly refreshing story in the vein of a romantic comedy.

I actually listened to the audiobook and I have to give major props to Christina Moore for her reading. Sometimes when a female does voices for male characters, it just sounds like a woman doing a man's deep voice (and not very well). But I love Moore's Felix voice and I love her voice for Mike (Becky's husband) and the other male characters. It actually sounds like a man's voice - if that doesn't sound too terribly weird. Also, her French accented Celeste (Felix's wife) isn't too shabby either (dear heaven, I love Celeste!)

Anyway - The Actor and the Housewife is more than a fluffy comedic read. There are a lot of lovely little moments between Becky and Mike in that you never for a second believe that Becky would leave Mike for Felix. You even get angry when Becky's friends and family (and the media, at one point) suggest otherwise. Because, you know, men and women are completely and utterly incapable of self-control and never, ever, EVER know when they're about to cross a line and simply cannot wait to jump into bed with one another because - seriously - what else is there to do with a member of the opposite sex? They certainly wouldn't have entertaining and enjoyable conversation and share life's ups and downs with this wonderful friend. No, no, no - life is all about getting into someone else's pants.

This book actually justifies that sarcastic rant and how stupid people's assumptions about male-female friendships are (both in and out of the story). More than that - it's about sharing life's joys and heartbreaks with that one true bosom buddy that you can turn to (and boy howdy, are there plenty of joys and heartbreaks in Becky's and Felix's lives. I almost didn't want to get out of the car at a few points because I was just so emotionally invested in the story).

I love this book because it represents so many things that I want in my life - I would totally love a friend like Felix. Not necessarily a drop-dead gorgeous Hollywood actor, but someone to bounce humorous ideas and thoughts off of - someone who understands all of my life's peaks and valleys and who would trust me with their own ups and downs. The best metaphor actually comes from the story - Becky says that Mike has her heart and soul and she is totally in love with him and he's totally in love with her. But Felix is her liver. She still needs her liver and it's required for life, but he's not her heart (Felix responds to this by having liver-shaped gold pendants made for both of them. It is blankety-blanking adorable).

I realize that this story is very much steeped in a fantasy - and Becky even admits in-story that there are way too many coincidences in this situation and there's no way this could have happened just on a whim. But the lightness and joy of the story makes you suspend disbelief long enough to love and appreciate what Shannon Hale was aiming for with this book. So, if you want a book that will make you laugh and make you cry and make you find joy in your family and friend relationships, I would wholeheartedly recommend The Actor and the Housewife!

(And I will sit here and bemoan the fact that "Twilight" is a popular novel about relationships, but Shannon Hale remain relatively unknown. It is my sworn mission to make Shannon Hale even more popular than Stephenie Meyer because heaven knows that Shannon Hale's books deserve it a thousand times more than that "Twilight" idiocy does.)

Call-Back Review: "Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging" by Louise Rennison

Note: This has been a really busy week between my new job and my internship that I didn't get a new review written (or posted on time either...)  So, I have some older reviews from my YA Lit class that I can post here, so here's something you may have read already - or you maybe you haven't. Either way - I'll get more new ones ready for next week. Enjoy.

Title: Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging: Confessions of Georgia Nicolson
Author: Louise Rennison
Publisher:  HarperCollins Publishers
Date of Publication:  April 2001

Awards:

Nestlé Children's Book Prize (NOMINATED) 1999

Bluegrass Award (NOMINATED) 2002

Book Sense Book of the Year (NOMINATED) 2002

Evergreen Young Adult Book Award (NOMINATED) 2003

Garden State Teen Book Award (NOMINATED) 2003

Virginia Reader's Choice Awards (WON) 2003

Synopsis: (from Books in Print) -

Angus:
My mixed-breed cat, half domestic tabby, half Scottish wildcat. The size of a small Labrador, only mad.

Thongs:
Stupid underwear. What's the point of them, anyway? They just go up your bum, as far as I can tell.

Full-Frontal Snogging:
Kissing with all the trimmings, lip to lip, open mouth, tongues ... everything.

Her dad's got the mentality of a Teletubby (only not so developed). Her cat, Angus, is trying to eat the poodle next door. And her best friend thinks she looks like an alien -- just because she accidentally shaved off her eyebrows. Ergghhhlack. Still, add a little boy-stalking, teacher-baiting, and full-frontal snogging with a Sex God, and Georgia's year just might turn out to be the most fabbitty fab fab ever!

My Review:
I read this book per recommendations from my students.  I was a little wary because of the title (and other titles in the series), but I gave it a shot and I’m glad that I did (to be truthful, the title’s probably just for shock value).  This is a perfectly hilarious book poking fun at a typical teenage girl’s hopes and fears and all the drama that she gets pulled into (as teenage girls are wont to do).  The book is written as Georgia’s diary and she’s as honest as any girl would be if she knew nobody would ever read what she wrote.  There are so many funny parts, but I think my favorite is when she’s spying on a classmate and how horrified she is when she finds out what a thong really is.  Plus, I adore the wonderful “Britishisms” that pepper the narrative (there is a glossary at the back of the book – which is funny in its own right – for readers who don’t quite know what Georgia is referring to in some instances).

The only complaint I could really have is that it’s a little far-fetched to believe that a girl would have her diary on hand to detail every little stray thought every five minutes as though Georgia were on Twitter (some of the entries do that) – but it ultimately adds to the humor.  Since it’s written as Georgia’s diary, there isn’t much of a “plotline” other than following her through a school year, but that didn’t bother me.  It was nice to have a light, fluffy read after some of the heavier stuff I’ve been reading and I’d like to tackle the rest of the series.

"Pure" by Terra Elan McVoy

Note: I know I said I'd review "Incarceron" next, but I got caught up in moving and it's been a wild week (plus my available internet is rubbish - hence, no picture - but I'm getting that fixed.  Yes, I said "rubbish").  So, that review will come next week (I promise!) For now, here is an oldie but goodie.

Title: Pure
Author: Terra Elan McVoy
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Date of Publication: 2009
Reading Level: Ages 14 and up

Synopsis: (from Goodreads) –
Tabitha and her four best friends all wear purity rings, symbols of the virginity-until-marriage pledge they made years ago. Now Tab is fifteen, and her ring has come to mean so much more. It's a symbol of who she is and what she believes—a reminder of her promises to herself, and her bond to her friends. But when Tab meets a boy whose kisses make her knees go weak, everything suddenly seems a lot more complicated. Tab's best friend, Morgan, is far from supportive, and for the first time, Tabitha is forced to keep secrets from the one person with whom she's always shared everything. When one of those secrets breaks to the surface, Tab finds herself at the center of an unthinkable betrayal that splits her friends apart. As Tab's entire world comes crashing down around her, she's forced to re-examine her friendships, her faith, and what exactly it means to be pure.

My Review: This was a very interesting read. I’m not a real fan of Christian fiction in general because the authors are sometimes a bit heavy-handed about the point they’re trying to make and that gets in the way of the actual story. Even though I consider myself a religious person, I sometimes feel like the characters and the stories in religious fiction are often blown out of proportion. The genre is not how I would want religious people to be portrayed, but that’s what the stereotype has become. So, I was a little nervous about reading this book, but it turned out not to be the typical Christian fiction.

When they were twelve, Tabitha, Cara, Morgan, Naeomi and Priah all made promises to themselves and to God to keep themselves pure and abstain from sex until marriage. They all wear purity rings to symbolize this promise. Three years after making that promise, things have changed in each girl’s life, but they are still committed to their promise. However, when Cara breaks her promise and has sex with her boyfriend, Michael, that’s when things spiral out of control.

Tabitha is the narrator of the book and she is easily my favorite character. Tabitha finds great strength in her faith and loves going to church, even though her parents are overly religious, though they still support her. Her relationship with God is a very personal one and she doesn’t like to make a big deal about her faith in public. When Cara tells Tabitha that she broke her promise, Tabitha is the one that’s the most supportive and caring toward Cara. Morgan and Naeomi completely shun Cara for her actions to the point where Morgan (whom Tabitha describes as her very best friend) even shuns Tabitha for still being friends with Cara. In the meantime, Tabitha meets Jake at a church function and they start dating and their relationship starts getting really serious. It makes her take a look at her own promise and what she’s going to do about it.

There is a lot to love about this book and I could probably gush about it on and on, but I want to focus on one scene in particular – after Morgan finds out about Cara, she starts protesting outside the school and calling for prayer circles in defense of purity. Tabitha is completely embarrassed for Morgan because Morgan’s display is very over-the-top and people start laughing at her. Other groups start to protest for various reasons (some for a joke, but some are actually serious) and it gets so out of hand that the principal has to ban all protesting in front of the school because it disrupts regular school activities. Later, Tabitha’s dad starts ranting about how there’s no place for conservative Christian views in public school, which Tabitha does not take kindly to. She gives one of the best lines in the book when she says:

“…[T]hey made her [Morgan] stop. Made everybody stop. And besides, it didn’t work. You don’t have to worry. The world is still safe from too many stupid Jesus freaks. There are still plenty of nonbelievers out there. Your ability to have an intelligent conversation with someone is still intact… I know what you think, Dad. That people who believe in God are just idiot brainwashed zombies. But to some of us, it actually does mean something: Something really special and important we can’t talk about except in certain places and with certain people, because otherwise everyone thinks we’re freaks who’re all out to recruit more zombies into our coven. So go ahead and call the school… but when you do, thank them. Because in spite of what Morgan tried to do, she got stopped. She can’t do it anymore. And neither, for that matter, can anybody else, whether they believe in Allah or the Purple Donkey from Kathmandu… Now nobody can talk about religion at school at all.”

I love Tabitha’s response because it is so realistic in that she stands up to her dad when he starts insulting her faith. Tabitha is a great representation of how most Christian teens really are. She struggles with her own faith, the choices her friends make, how other people (including her parents) react to her faith and she does it in a very non-preachy way. In fact, religion in this story is treated as just one more aspect of Tabitha’s life – it’s not the only thing that she does. God is referred to in a very matter-of-fact way – without the subject being overblown. The story makes it quite clear that being judgmental of other people because of their choices is not right, but that it is good to stand up for your own beliefs. Tabitha continues to love Cara and Morgan even though she doesn’t agree with what they’ve done. In the course of the story, Tabitha grows in her relationship with God and learns a great deal about herself and what she wants in her own life.

This is a fantastic book for any Christian teen no matter the denomination. Tabitha especially sticks up for her beliefs, but she is not the caricature of the prudish and holier-than-thou Christian teen that gets mocked in popular culture. The story takes a realistic look at what it’s like to be a person of faith and hold on to those beliefs when people around you aren’t and, especially, how to get along with everyone no matter their convictions. This is a very refreshing take on the subject and it’s something I think many teens would benefit from reading.

"Dairy Queen" by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Synopsis:

"When you don't talk, there's a lot of stuff that ends up not getting said."

Harsh words indeed, from Brian Nelson of all people. But, D. J. can't help admitting, maybe he's right. When you don't talk, there's a lot of stuff that ends up not getting said. Stuff like why her best friend, Amber, isn't so friendly anymore. Or why her little brother, Curtis, never opens his mouth. Why her mom has two jobs and a big secret. Why her college-football-star brothers won't even call home. Why her dad would go ballistic if she tried out for the high school football team herself. And why Brian is so, so out of her league. When you don't talk, there's a lot of stuff that ends up not getting said. Welcome to the summer that fifteen-year-old D. J. Schwenk of Red Bend, Wisconsin, learns to talk, and ends up having an awful lot of stuff to say.

Comments:

I enjoyed this book a lot. The story is told from DJ’s first-person POV and her voice radiates through the whole narrative. Murdock doesn’t shy away from sarcasm or snark – but the story has a down-to-earth tone that seems more genuine than some YA books that are supposed to be about real-life teens.

DJ Schwenk is basically running her family’s dairy farm in Red Bend, Wisconsin by herself after her two older brothers get in a fight with her dad. Her younger brother, Curtis, is busy with little league baseball and her mother is about to get a position as the principal of the school where she’s been teaching sixth grade. Jimmy Ott, a family friend who coaches football at Red Bend’s rival school, Hawley, suggests that the Schwenks have Brian Nelson, a second-string quarterback for Hawley, work on their farm during the summer to train up for football season so he can be the starter. In the course of this, DJ ends up being Brian’s athletic trainer (her brothers always had her run after their passes and she became a pretty good player just from practice). Along the way, she decides to go out for Red Bend’s football team because it’s something nobody would expect her to do. And, of course, she develops a crush on Brian.

This book is nothing like the usual high school, Romeo-and-Juliet-esque YA romance. First off all, the romance plot is secondary – the main crux of the story is DJ dealing with work on the farm, issues with her family, issues with her friends and keeping people from finding out about her plan to try out for the football team (until tryouts actually begin, that is). It’s an authentic look at a strong female character who is truly a tomboy and doesn’t even dawn on her that she would like boys (it’s the revelation that her best friend, Amber, is a lesbian and has a crush on DJ that gets DJ to start thinking that she does like boys). The unspoken conflict between DJ and her father is so believable and real. I loved the contrast between the Schwenks, who never bring any kind of family conflict out in the open until it becomes a big blowup, and the Nelsons, who talk about everything (DJ often refers to Brian’s mother as Oprah Winfrey and she sometimes imagines the Schwenks going on Oprah to talk about their problems. The scenarios DJ imagines bring a tone of levity to an otherwise emotionally burdensome situation).

The small-town dynamics are wonderful, especially the wrench of the Red Bend vs. Hawley rivalry (I speak from experience when I say that small-town high school rivalries are SERIOUS BUSINESS – nothing about this rivalry is exaggerated). DJ’s older brothers played football for Red Bend and they lost a big game to Hawley, so the fact that DJ would even consider being friends with Brian (never mind dating him) is a major factor in her self-discovery. She feels a great loyalty to her family and her team, but she also wants to be friends with Brian (after he quits being a whiny brat about working on the farm).

There are two other follow-up books after “Dairy Queen” – “The Off Season” and “Front and Center,” both of which are very good and I recommend them.

Publication Info: 

ISBN: 0-618-86335-4

Publisher:  Houghton Mifflin

Date of Publication: June 2007

Reading Level: ages 12-17

Keywords:

From Books in Print –

JUVENILE FICTION / General

JUVENILE FICTION / Lifestyles / Farm & Ranch Life

JUVENILE FICTION / Sports & Recreation / Football

CHILDREN'S FICTION

FOOTBALL-FICTION

FARM LIFE-FICTION

Awards and Recognition:

Original Voices Award (NOMINATED) 2006

Great Lakes Book Awards (WON) 2007

Beehive Young Adults' Book Award (NOMINATED) 2007

Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award (WON) 2007

Young Reader's Choice Award (NOMINATED) 2009

Maine Student Book Award (NOMINATED) 2007

Volunteer State Book Award (NOMINATED) 2007

Teen Buckeye Book Award (NOMINATED) 2008

Nutmeg Children's Book Award (NOMINATED) 2009

Iowa Teen Award (NOMINATED) 2008

"The Truth About Forever" by Sarah Dessen

Title: The Truth About Forever

Author: Sarah Dessen

Synopsis: (from Books in Print) –

In this contemporary romance, Dessen ("This Lullaby") gracefully balances comedy with tragedy and introduces a complex heroine worth getting to know. While recovering from her father's sudden death, Macy clings to things that are safe and predictable, notably her brilliant, oh-so-steady boyfriend Jason. ("Anything he did, he did well," Macy explains. "A lot of people might find this annoying, even loathsome. But not me. He was just what I needed.") When Jason goes off to "Brain Camp" for the summer and announces (via e-mail) that he wants to put their relationship on hold, Macy must find happiness and reassurance on her own. Much to her sensible mother's dismay, Macy impulsively takes a job at a disorganized catering company, working for very pregnant Delia, a woman who thrives on chaos. As a caterer's assistant, Macy endures flying meatballs, spilt wine, irate clients, inebriated guests and, at the same time, feels more alive than she has since her father's death—especially when she's around Wes, the sensitive, artistic bartender who seems to understand Macy better than anyone else. On one level, the novel traces the growing intimacy between Macy and Wes; on another, it examines the healing process as Macy allows herself to grieve. Readers will cheer Macy on as she tentatively reenters the world of the living by taking risks and relearning how to act spontaneously, embracing change rather than avoiding it.

Comments: I. Love. This. Book. When I first picked it up, I thought it was going to be the typical whiney-piney story about a high school girl that develops a crush on a boy that she meets during a summer job and the plot would only get as complex as wondering if their relationship could make it after the summertime.

How wrong I was (and Sarah Dessen really ought to have a talk with the person who writes the summaries for the back of her books).

Very much like “Dairy Queen” – which I also enjoyed – this story deals with changes in Macy’s life and how she copes with them. She has a number of choices: either do what everyone else thinks is best for her (including her sort-of-but-not-really boyfriend Jason) or latch onto this new group of friends that really are the ones helping her deal with her father’s death.

I love that Macy falls in with the Wish Catering crowd almost by accident, but that they are the ones that help her out the most. It goes along with the theme of the book that amazing things in life are typically the things that you don’t plan for. As I read the book – especially the climax of the story where Macy and Jason finally meet up again when Jason comes home from camp – I realized a lot of things about myself and how my life has gone the past year and a half. Without getting too personal, I experienced a change very much like Macy in that things I thought were solid and secure really weren’t and I wound up latching onto something rather unconventional, but it was exactly what I needed at that time. My point is that this book resonated with me and that’s probably why I enjoyed it so much.

I suppose that’s why we want teens to read a variety of things. You never know what is going to change a kid’s life – even if it’s just a moment when they need something to take their minds off whatever problems they have. There are a lot of good things out there to read and experience – many in the most unlikely places. Just take the time to get out of your comfort zone to find it.

Publication Info:

ISBN: 9780142406250

Publisher:  Speak

Date of Publication:  May 2006

Reading Level: 14 and up

Keywords:

Books in Print:

Grief -- Fiction.

Death -- Fiction.

Caterers and catering -- Fiction.

Interpersonal relations -- Fiction.

Young adult fiction.

My additions –

Life Changes

Friendship

Decision Making

Emotional Depth

Family Relationships

Awards:

ALA/YALSA Teen’s Top Pick

Iowa Teen Award (Nominated) 2008

"Something Happened" by Greg Logsted

Title: Something Happened  

Author: Greg Logsted

Synopsis:  (from Books in Print) –
"All around me I see people laughing, joking, and walking around with these huge, goofy smiles plastered on their faces. I've begun to wonder how they do it, and more important, will I ever be able to be like that again?" Five months after his dad's unexpected death, Billy Romero is still struggling with the loss. Billy's mom spends more time talking to her Bluetooth than to him, and his best friend, Ziggy, just doesn't get it. There's no one who understands how alone Billy feels...except his new English teacher, the young and beautiful Miss Gate. Miss Gate offers support and friendship, even giving Billy extra help with his writing outside of school. Billy isn't really sure how he feels about spending so much time with his teacher. It's a little weird, but it's also kind of exciting that someone like Miss Gate wants to hang out with him. But the closer they get, the more Billy wonders what kind of friendship this really is....

Comments: “Something Happened” was a very intriguing book to read.  It deals with Billy Romero, a boy whose father died five months prior to the beginning of the story.  He’s become withdrawn and shy.  He’s somewhat resentful to his mother, who has buried herself in her job as a real estate agent, and toward his therapist, Dr. Bragg.  Billy’s English teacher, Miss Tess Gate, reaches out to Billy saying she wants to help him because her father died when she was Billy’s age and she remembers how difficult it was for her.
Early on in the story, it’s evident that Tess’s actions toward Billy are very inappropriate.  To say that it takes some time for Billy to realize this is an understatement - he doesn’t realize until Tess is chasing him down the street in her Mustang wearing nothing but a bathrobe.  Even though on some level I find that ludicrous, on another level it must realistic in these situations.

As someone who works around high school kids, I cannot imagine what would compel a teacher to try to seduce a student.  I’ve seen news reports of these things happening and every time I see them, I really don’t understand why.  I did enjoy the way Logsted told this story from Billy’s point of view, but it would be interesting to read it from Tess’s point of view.  Also, it would be interesting to read a story where the student reciprocated the teacher’s feelings, because that happens in the news as well and it’s another thing that I just don’t understand.

This was a nice, short read – nothing terrible happened in the book, but the situation still wasn’t good.  I wouldn’t recommend this to someone dealing with a death of a loved one, but it was a fluffy, guilty-pleasure sort of story.

Up Next: “The Truth About Forever" by Sarah Dessen

Publication Info:

ISBN: 9781416950783
Publisher:  Simon Pulse
Date of Publication:  November 2008
Reading Level: Age 13 and up
Keywords:
from Books in Print:
JUVENILE FICTION / General
JUVENILE FICTION / Social Issues / Dating & Sex
JUVENILE FICTION / Social Issues / Death & Dying
JUVENILE FICTION / Social Issues / Values & Virtues
CHILDREN'S FICTION
DATING (SOCIAL CUSTOMS) - FICTION
DEATH - FICTION
SEX - FICTION
VALUES - FICTION

My additions –
Teacher/Student Relationships
Coping with Death
Family
Friends