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Re: Sex and Y.A. Lit: Books!
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From: Amanda Coppedge Bosky <abosky_at_scls.lib.wi.us>
Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2014 13:37:23 -0500
I appreciated "Uses for Boys" by Erica Scheidt. Neglected Anna learns at a young age that attention from boys makes her feel cherished. She mistakes sexual attention for love and being in a sexual relationship with a boy for making him her "family." Toward the end of the book she starts dating a boy who doesn't just want her for sex, whose family is interested in getting to know her for herself. I liked that the author stayed firmly in the main character's pov--as far as she is concerned, she is using, not being used (hence the title). She is figuring out how relationships work based on her mother's bad example and her own limited experience. And I feel there is some hope for her at the end of the story, to live a happier life and gain a more balanced perspective of relationships.
Imho this is a subtle story about character growth, about a girl with a troubled past learning to make sense of the world. It does not spell out a "moral" but lets the reader look at the story and take from it what s/he will.
One Goodreads reviewer called Anna "a slut with major mental issues, with no one to blame but herself" :(
Date: Fri, 14 Mar 2014 13:37:23 -0500
I appreciated "Uses for Boys" by Erica Scheidt. Neglected Anna learns at a young age that attention from boys makes her feel cherished. She mistakes sexual attention for love and being in a sexual relationship with a boy for making him her "family." Toward the end of the book she starts dating a boy who doesn't just want her for sex, whose family is interested in getting to know her for herself. I liked that the author stayed firmly in the main character's pov--as far as she is concerned, she is using, not being used (hence the title). She is figuring out how relationships work based on her mother's bad example and her own limited experience. And I feel there is some hope for her at the end of the story, to live a happier life and gain a more balanced perspective of relationships.
Imho this is a subtle story about character growth, about a girl with a troubled past learning to make sense of the world. It does not spell out a "moral" but lets the reader look at the story and take from it what s/he will.
One Goodreads reviewer called Anna "a slut with major mental issues, with no one to blame but herself" :(
--
Amanda Coppedge Bosky
Head of Youth Services
Stoughton Public Library
304 South Fourth St.
Stoughton, WI 53589
608-873-6281
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Received on Fri 14 Mar 2014 01:37:49 PM CDT
