The Right Side of Reckless by Whitney D. Grandison, 416 pages. Inkyard Press, 2021. $17.
Language: R (170 swears, 37 “f” + Spanish swears); Mature Content: PG13; Violence: PG
BUYING ADVISORY: HS - OPTIONAL
AUDIENCE APPEAL: AVERAGE
Sixteen-year-old Regan pretends to be happy as she obediently walks down the path her parents have laid out for her with the perfect boyfriend and the perfect future career. Seventeen-year-old Guillermo is on probation after his third arrest, and he is determined to do nothing else to disappoint his family -- even if that means sacrificing happiness now. Are lines meant to be crossed, or is it better to stay within them?
Regan and Guillermo are on opposite sides of the same struggle as they try to find ways to be happy while also pleasing their loved ones. I was excited to see how Grandison would illustrate balance between their extreme mindsets, but the resolution was not as powerful as I wanted it to be. The main characters set good examples for readers, but they didn’t connect to me, especially when they made choices that felt contrived. The mature content rating is for underage drinking, mentions of drug use, innuendo, groping, and mentions of sex and sexting.
Reviewer: Carolina Herdegen
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment