The blaring contrast between stable kids from loving families versus lost kids from dysfunctional families oversimplifies a complex subject. Caleb's single mother is the novel's moral center. Each, of course, comes from a stable family. The plot of this novel is tired, but Corinne and Caleb, at least, are mercifully convincing and thoughtful. Ellie's and Josh's families are filled with stock dysfunction-from Ellie's shrill, uptight mother and perfect-on-the-outside home to Josh's washed-up, hard-drinking father and hapless mother. The next nine months are narrated by four charaters-Ellie, Josh, and their best friends, Corinne and Caleb. It turns out the condom "slipped off" (?) and she gets pregnant. Even seemingly decent Josh, a virgin, leaves right after their tryst and never speaks to her again. Grade 9 Up-Ellie has sex with boys who make her feel wanted and beautiful and then never call again.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |