We Can Work it Out by Elizabeth Eulberg - OPTIONAL

Eulberg, Elizabeth We Can Work it Out. 320 Pages.  Point (Scholastic), 2015.  $18.  Language: PG-13 (46 swears, 0 ‘f’); Mature Content: PG-13 (off page sex); Violence: G.  

The Lonely Hearts Club is booming and Penny Lane loves being with her new boyfriend Ryan.  Juggling boyfriend and a club for girls who are choosing not to date is not easy, but for the moment Penny seems to be doing just fine.  When girls from other schools close by are interested in spreading the club to their areas, when Penny finds out that her former boyfriend is coming to her sister’s wedding with his family, and when Ryan’s best friends increase their anger at Ryan for dating Penny, things swiftly start to fall apart.  Penny’s naivete leads her to dumping Ryan, causing all kinds of heartache and friction.  

Unfortunately for me this feels like a manufactured second in a series.  Penny and her friends are in high school and talking about whether to have sex or about having sex.  They also act as if your high school boyfriend is the person you are going to marry and be with for the rest of your life.  The conflict between Ryan and his friends seems manufactured to break up Penny and Ryan.  And the principal’s disdain for Penny’s non-school club feels far-fetched.  Wait and buy this in paperback for your high school, but don’t add it to a middle school.  

HS - OPTIONAL.  Cindy, Middle School Librarian, MLS.