Taylor, Whitney Definitions of Indefinable Things 326 pages.
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017. $17.99. Language: R (24 swears, 3 “f”) Mature
Content: PG-13; Violence: G.
When Regina, aka Reggie, and Shark meet at the pharmacy
counter to pick up their respective depression medications, neither one has a
clue that their lives are about to become hopelessly entangled. As fate would
have it, Shark is the new hire at the ice cream shop where Reggie works. Even
worse, he’s the unfortunate guy who knocked up the boss’ daughter, Carla.
Reggie views her relationship with Shark as a certain path to disaster and
tries to convince him to return to Carla. Although Shark is willing to step up
and be a father, Carla knows that he and Reggie are better suited for one
another. Despite all her determination to reject Shark, Reggie finally realizes
that each may be the antidote to the other's depression.
This story is full of teen issues: teen pregnancy, dating,
depression and adolescent/parent relationships. Teens who crave books about
real life issues will enjoy this one. Even though the issues are deep, the
language of the characters keep it on the lighter side. Nearly all the
conversations are full of sarcasm, contradictions and intellectual wordplay.
Teens will relate. Adults will roll their eyes. The one drawback to the story
is that teen pregnancy is represented in a flippant way. The teen parents have
no clue of the responsibility about to be placed on them, and in some ways, are
looking forward to it.
HS – OPTIONAL. Reviewer: Valerie McEnroe, Media Specialist
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