by Julie Anne Peters follows Alyssa, a girl who has been sent to live with a mother she does not know after being caught in bed with a girl by her father who is a homophobe. Alyssa takes a job in a diner, starts a relationship with a girl and has to get to know a mother whom she has never known and whom works various sketchy jobs including at a strip club. The author also reveals the details of the relationship that Alyssa had that caused her father to disown her.This was a very good contemporary novel for older teens. There were several layers to the plot and it was a very engrossing read. Alyssa's two romantic relationships, the one that happened before she move and the one that happened in the present both felt real. The relationships she has with her Father, Step Mother and Biological Mother are all very complex and gritty and the ending is not picture perfect. I appreciated that the author developed a main character who did not question her sexuality and who did not have a perfect life where everyone accepted her. This is a book that some will dislike because they can't relate to the characters sexuality, some will like because of the ability to step into a new world and some will love because they will be able to relate to things in Alyssa's life that ring true for many gay teens. Her struggles with coming out to her friends, her fathers homophobia and her girlfriend and friends bisexuality and controlling or disinterested parental figures that don't understand what she needs will ring true to many.
Appropriateness: This is a book that's going to give conservatives fits. It's got quite a bit of sex, one or two sections that is fairly descriptive (although nothing that resembles anything you'd find in adult romance novels), some drinking and talk of strip clubs and prostitutes (Alyssa's mom works in a strip club which Alyssa visits and Alyssa accuses her mother of being a high priced call girl) . Alyssa's destructive behaviors are not viewed positively and the book is about a girl whose life has fallen apart. The book is appropriate for its intended audience of high schoolers (who are frequently reading adult books) and is the type of book that will be read by kids who need to read a story like this to know they are not alone in their struggle to find themselves. While I certainly would not give this book to a middle schooler I would not tear it away from one either but rather be sure to discuss the many issues that are found in the book.
Review copy obtained from publisher
Release date in early June
