Sex, sex, and more sex

Let's see if that headline gets us blocked on any filters! Since Karen seems to think she has all the power of blogging, I figured it was a good time to jump in and correct her...So I'm on PPYA, right? And man I am soooooo behind in my reading. ALA conference is a week away and I still have 18 books to read. I've acknowledged that I will not finish all of the titles to discuss them at this conference. Luckily, the voting doesn't take place until January!

Anyway, I'm on the Sex is a Touchy Subject committee. This requires me to find and read books for teens about sex--both fiction and nonfiction. So far we have 20 titles nominated. I'll be honest, I reall need to nominate more books. I've been slacking off this first 6 months of the year. I'll have to work harder after summer reading ends. There's some newly published books that have been nominated that I really have enjoyed--much more than I thought I would too!

The Making of Dr. Truelove by Derrick Barnes

This novel focuses on Diego's secret efforts to win back the girl of his dreams, Roxy. After a humiliating sexual incident, Diego brushes Roxy off. When he sees the consequences of his actions, which has led Roxy to only be his friend and to give her affections to a hot-shot basketball player, he is devestated. His best friend comes up with a plan--an online love columnist complete with a secret identity, promotional posters, t-shirts, and appearances. While Diego loves writing the column and gains some valuable romantic confidence, he worries that his friend takes things with Dr. Truelove too far.

Diego is real. He has many different layers that come out in Dr. Truelove. His columns are filled with double entendres that will make the readers chuckle and think "Man, that's a line I could use!" The beginning chapters detail his embarassing incident, and Barnes keeps it genuine. There's no tip-toeing around the sex talk here! This urban title hasn't seen alot of circs at Foothills, but I think once word gets out about it, there will be plenty of readers for Dr. Truelove.

Lost It by Kristen Tracy deals with Tess and her ridiculous life. Her parents abandon her to attend a survival camp, leaving her cigarette smoking, lottery winning grandmother to stay with her; her best friend is trying to build a bomb to kill a poodle; and she thinks she wants to lose her virginity. A lot to pack into a 276 page book. One of my PPYA committee members said that this is like an episode of a beloved sitcom. I definitely agree that it's sitcom worthy, but not just one episode--maybe half a season. The other half would take care of the things left behind at the end of the book.

Tess has always had her best friend and vica versa, but when Tess gets a boyfriend, she forgets for awhile that she's supposed to be a friend too. It's hard to be a friend to a friend in need, especially when you're trying to figure out these other things on your own. How scary would it be to have your parents just leave you behind while they tried to figure out their own lives? Sure it'd be great the first bit, but what about food? the Bills? Help with your own problems?

The first chapter tells the ending of the love story and then the rest is told in a long flashback, so you know that the boy she thought would always love her and possibly give her a wedding ring one day, isn't speaking to her anymore. Even with all these bad things happening to her, the book is still absolutely hilarious and real. Try it out, girls; you won't be disappointed!

And finally, my favorite of the three books: Pop! by Aury Wallington. First of all, I love the author's first name. How cool is that? Second, check out this cover. It's bright and cheery and totally plays on the title! In this book, Marit discovers that she always breaks up with her boyfriends when it gets a little too physical. She freaks out. At first, she thinks that she'll be able to move past this on her own now that she knows about her
"fault", but then on the beach with Noah, the hot new guy in school, she totally freaks after accidentally grabbing his, you know what, when she loses her balance. Her older sister, Hannah, suggests that she should have sex with someone she feels safe with--just to get her virginity out of the way. Then, she probably wouldn't freak out with her boyfriend! great advice, right? Marit decides that her best boy friend Jamie fits that bill perfectly. And quickly learns the consequences of Friends with Benefits.

Wallington has an ear for dialogue, which makes perfect sense since she wrote for Veronica Mars and Sex in the City. While the ending may be looking through the world with rose colored lenses, it is definitely enjoyable. The realistic depictions of sex aren't as blushworthy as in Truelove, but curious readers will find enough about the emotional and physical side to romance to fulfill most of their curiousity.

So now Karen, there's proof that other people are reading. Maybe my next post will be on fantasy since that's the other committee reading I'm doing!