Book Thoughts: And Then Things Fall Apart

Title: And Then Things Fall Apart
Author: Arlaina Tibensky

I read this book after hearing the author speak at a conference last November and thinking that she sounded like me. I had no real idea what to expect from the book. Even so, it managed to be not what I expected.

Keek (short for Karina) is sick. Heartsick, and also chicken-pox-sick. Her parents are splitting up, she and her boyfriend had a Fight, and her baby cousin is in the NICU on the other side of the country, and on top of all that she's covered in itchy pox. The novel is essentially Keek's diary as she tries to come to terms with the insanity in her life.

What surprised me, really, is that Keek is fourteen or fifteen. I've gotten used to reading about older teens (probably because I am an older teen - I'll be twenty in less than a year). It is from older teen protagonists that I look for internal struggles about virginity, not from a narrator my baby brother's age (high school freshman). But I think that, in part, is why Keek's story is important.

These are issues that real young teens face. As much as the idea of losing my virginity at fourteen would have terrified me, that's a legitimate question. And I loved that Keek was honest with herself about it and not afraid to be afraid. I think it's great to have a character encouraging young teens to do what's best for them rather than what someone else wants them to do.

ATTFA isn't one that I would have picked up had I not heard the author speak, and it's not one that I would give to someone my age, but for someone in 8th-10th grade, I would definitely give them this book. Honest and clever and funny and thoughtful, Keek is a narrator that makes me want to be her friend.

Book Thoughts: Bumped

Title: Bumped
Author: Megan McCafferty
Series: Bumped #1

I just recently finished this book and I went into it having read a number of mixed reviews. People either loved it because it was an excellent social commentary or hated it because the slang was over the top and the science didn't make any sense. I fell in with the first group, despite thinking after the first chapter that I would be in the second group.

Bumped is set in a future world where a virus has made most people over the age of 18 or so infertile, so teenage girls are paid to get pregnant and have deliveries (can't call them babies, that would imply emotional attachment) for wealthy couples who can't have their own children. Melody's adoptive parents know she's gorgeous, smart, and talented and have set her on the path to being a RePro (reproductive professional). Harmony, Melody's identical twin sister, was adopted by the church. She finds the whole "pregging" culture unthinkable.

In a lot of ways, the premise of the novel was over-the-top. The first chapter made me almost not want to finish the book. But I kept going and I ended up really engaged in the characters and the way they felt about their environments. There really is a fascinating commentary on the way we oversexualize women, both in the secular and religious worlds. Also, some of the marketing stuff hits a little too close to home.

Short version: I didn't expect to like this book, but I ended up thoroughly enjoying it and am definitely planning to look for the sequel.

Book Thoughts: The Purity Myth

Title: The Purity Myth
Author: Jessica Valenti

I don't read nonfiction very often. Frequently I find it kind of dry and dull. The Purity Myth, however, is an exception.

Written with passion, snark, and extensive research, Jessica Valenti writes about "how America's obsession with virginity is hurting young women." She discusses much of the existing literature about women's sexuality and describes in alarming detail the state of sex ed across the nation.

Kids are being taught that condoms don't work to scare them out of having sex? Seriously? All that's going to do is stop them from being safe when they have sex. It's not going to prevent teen sexuality.

Valenti has a very obvious feminist bias, but not the kind of feminism that makes people roll their eyes and say "oh, one of those." She's feminist in the sense that she truly wants social equality for everyone regardless of gender, and this book is a very compelling argument as to why.

If you're looking for a well-written nonfiction book about something that is directly relevant to your life, definitely give this one a shot.