Language: R (100+ swears, 100+ F's); Mature Content: R (sexual content, sexual language); Violence: R (sexual assault, kidnapping)
BUYING ADVISORY: NEW ADULT - PUBLIC ONLY
APPEALS TO: SOME
17yo Jo-Lynn had a confrontation with a boy at a beach bonfire, his response, revenge porn - he sent her nudes (stolen from her phone) to his contacts. Suddenly she went from popular to pariah. The girls all stepped away from her, the boys thought she was easy, and acted on it. She spiraled at school. Then, her ex-best friend Maddie disappears - some say she ran away, others that she's dead. Maddie had been awful to Jo, but the day she disappeared, Maddie had told Jo she was in trouble and needed her help. Was this a set up, or could Jo figure out what really happened?
This debut novel is a Morris award winner. An intriguing mystery with a lot going on. A school cheating scandal, academic rankings drama, college acceptance, mentors, mean girls, mean boys, as well as family drama. Jo starts fake dating Hudson, (his suggestion to help her get back in with the popular crowd) and the relationship grows and becomes physical. The sexual content is also a lot, I would describe it as explicit, and there's not a nice build to it either - it doesn't feel romantic, also there are several scenes. While the intended audience is high school, I would suggest New Adult as a more appropriate audience. Characters default white.
Lisa Librarian
No comments:
Post a Comment