Lyga's controversial new young adult novel was creating quite the stir on my librarian listserv, so I figured I needed to see what the fuss was all about. My findings? This is a great YA problem novel that needs to be high schools. Basically it's about a teenage high school boy who has trouble dating girls. He's cute, a great athlete, and extremely smart. So why does he have trouble? When he was 12 years old his social studies teacher seduced him. Yep, that's right. This novel tells his story in flashbacks. Sure, he thought his teacher was hot and was pleased when she started inviting him over to his house. But now he has to deal with her getting out of prison. And the flashbacks every time he tries to touch another girl. He knew how to act with a twenty-four year old woman. But he's not sure what to do with a teenage girl. His shrink helps. But his parents had a difficult time recognizing his abuse earlier, and they aren't much help now. Baseball helps. His best friend Zik helps. And his returned closeness with Rachel helps, too. Some librarians are skeptical about placing this novel in their library, but I think it needs to be here. Sometimes teachers abuse students, and this book shows what happens to students after the abuse.
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