Chaste

by Angela Felsted

When he steps into his physics class on the first day of senior year, Quinn Walker is too exhausted from staying up all night with his three-month-old nephew to deal with moral dilemmas. As a devout Mormon who has vowed to wait until marriage for sex, the last thing he needs is a very hot and very sexy Katarina Jackson as his physics partner. Regrettably, he has no choice.

Kat feels invisible in her mansion of a home six months after losing her older brother in a fatal car crash and will do anything to get her parents? attention. Since her pastor father has no love for Quinn?s ?fake? religion and her ex-boyfriend refuses to leave her alone, she makes an impulsive bet with her friends to seduce her holier-than-thou lab partner by Christmas.

Genres: Young Adult, Romance, Fiction

367 pages, Paperback

First published November 22, 2012

About the author

Writer. Musician. Mom.

Reviews

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wrote this. So I might be a tiny bit biased.

[Lindsay Lock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic YA book. Bad girl meets good boy. Will bad boy give into the pressure of the bad girl or will the bad girl turn out to be not such a bad girl after all? Great read for any young lady or young adult books enthusiast. Loved the main characters and their parallels, but yet differences all the same time [in how they see things/ approach things]. Themes of different forms of relationships, grief/loss, repentance, love, trust, betrayal, facades... so many themes so deeply hit in such an easy read. I cannot recommend this book highly enough!

[Katharine · Rating 4 out of 5]

What I liked about Chaste was that it dealt with chastity. (Duh! It's right there in the title!) Like I said, it deals with chastity. As an issue. In a YA book. In many YA books to-have or not-to-have sex is kind of glossed over. It seems that this question-- to have or not to have-- is either THE MAIN ISSUE or is mostly avoided. There are stories about YAs who are having sex, some heart-wrenching stories about those unwillingly having sex, or stories where sex is never part of the landscape, so to speak.

I think that makes perfect sense, because it probably reflects reality to a degree. But if people are NOT having sex in YA books, there is not often a reason given. I don't think that accurately reflects reality. Because in high school (at least in the deep South 20 years ago when I was in HS... which, granted, may not reflect reality then or now), there are people who are not having sex, and when that's the case it's often because of their faith.

So I loved that the author created this character, Quinn, who is so sincere, so likable, who is trying so blessedly hard to do what he believes is the right thing. And that he's challenged. And that it's not easy. And that he's able to be a true friend to the very, very broken Katarina who has used her sexuality in the past in a way that doesn't end up making her feel that great about herself. The author doesn't hesitate to deal with this issue head-on, and I'm so glad she didn't.

[Laurel Garver · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's fairly rare to find stories for teens with the conflict built around faith to portray that faith in a mostly positive and nuanced way. Though I'm Presbyterian myself, I always enjoy reading about what it's like living inside other faith traditions.

The author gives us a "good boy" Quinn, who struggles to discern where his Mormon faith is genuinely calling him to live selflessly, and how much his family manipulates him, using that faith as a weapon to beat him into submission. When he collides with a preacher's-kid-gone-wild, Kat, sparks fly--and it's not simply the usual opposites-attract trope at play here.

Kat acts out because her dead brother's ghost haunts her home, rendering her invisible to her parents. The pastor-dad's withdrawal is sadly all too common in Christian ministry. It's less painful to pour energy into the congregation than one's crumbling family.

So while on the surface, Quinn is Mr. Clean-cut Nice Guy and Kat is the vamp-style mean girl, underneath they're both victims of families who live their faith hypocritically, stuck in the shadow of an older sibling's tragedy. What begins as another of Kat's ploys to become less invisible becomes an eye-opening experience for both characters.

Lots of layers here. Complex characterization with realistic tension and stakes kept me turning pages.

[Jodie · Rating 4 out of 5]

www.booksforcompany.com
In Short
- A slow start but worth the wait.
- Brilliant and strong characters
- Loved the religious side of the book, unique and different.

In Long

Chaste takes quite a common storyline and turns it into a unique and refreshing read which tackles subjects that not many other authors seem to tackle. I always admire an author for doing this.


I really enjoyed the religious side of the book. I'm not religious myself so it was kind of a learning curve for me and I found this side of it very interesting and was definitely a factor in what kept me interested as it really did effect the characters day to day lives.

Something else which I found really interesting was that Chaste involved a bad girl and a good guy, crazy right?! But it totally works! I found myself loving the sweetness that is Quinn and everything about him. I was glad he did show his not just a robot though and that he does find things hard to resist.

Chaste is really made special by the characters. They are all very strong and well built and developed characters. You know where you are with them and I felt like I got to know them very well. Like best friends do.

Final Thoughts
Chaste had a slow start but once I got that bond with the characters I found Chaste enjoy a lot.

[Beth Fred · Rating 4 out of 5]

So I have to admit this had a slow start, but it's worth reading. I point that out, because if you get deterred in the beginning stick it out. It's worth it. This book gets really good. Quinn is rather selfless almost to a fault and Kat is exactly the opposite. But the character transformation Kat makes by the end of the book is beautiful. This is a beautiful story. One thing I really love about it is the way Quin and Kat communicate--necessary for a relationship and the kind of thing you don't see a lot of in YA. I loved that they were able to put reasonable boundaries on their own relationship with no adult interference. Sure, in the beginning Kat agrees to this hoping to gain his trust and win her bet, but by the end she accepts it. This is the kind of thing, I think should be required reading for young people.

It does get heated at moments, so I have some friends who like clean romance that I'm not sure would like this, but I find it to be completely appropriate with a valuable message.

[Margie Palmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

My approach for reading this book was to try to see it through the eyes of a young adult. Within a very short time I realized that the writing style and the story were quite sophisticated and I was hooked. I was suddenly reading because the grown-up me, who usual eschews teen romantic fare, could not wait to find out what was going to happen to the characters. I especially liked the even handed treatment of human beings that Angela shows in her writing. Reasons for behavior are explored without judgment or promotion. The author seems to sees the world with clarity and compassion and that is infused in her writing. While the book is character driven the lively pace of events and action keep the reader engaged to the end. I think that Chaste will appeal to intellegent, older young adults as well as young at heart adults.

[Jobie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Review of Goodreads "First Reads" edition:

I feel like this book needs a little more time in the oven. My approach was to read it with the high-schooler in me in mind...I just couldn't get into it. I had a very hard time following it. Even with the character names as each title, they sounded like one another and I kept finding myself pausing trying to figure out who was who. They are a boy and a girl, and I was getting confused. Weird. There are good scenes, but they need a better lead and finish.

[Ariana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was given to me by the author. I enjoyed the book very much. I loved reading it and look forward to reading more of your books. I did not not expect for him to get back with the girl but I'm kind of glad that he did. I wish there are more boys out in the world that are like Quinn. Willing to protect the one that they love even if it means they may get harmed. This is a must read book. :D

[Spunky N Sassy · Rating 4 out of 5]

SNS Rating: 4.0

~~~~~~~~~~Lindsey's ★★★★✰ Review~~~~~~~~~~

This book was a sweet mix of romance and religious conflict. I found the religious conflict between the two principal characters very intriguing and it made it hard for me to put the book down. I have always enjoyed a book with a lot of conflict brewing between the two main characters as they fall in love. It's usually boring for me if the couple resolves things too quickly. Very intriguing read

[Michelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing was pretty good, but needs some polishing. There were way too many mistakes overlooked by editors, which distracted me as well.

Otherwise, the story is compelling enough to propel the reader. I feel like the ending is very Mormon-y; everyone is happy, and the non-Mormon agrees to live by Mormon standards.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not what I typically read, but I consider the author a friend. I found the subject matter interesting, and from growing up Mormon I found the portrayel of Mormons accurate.

[Shelli Howells · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although the book was flawed, I felt drawn into the story and it kept me hooked throughout.

[Phannie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a bit of a slow start for me, but I found myself continuing to read because I wanted to know what was going to happen next. Overall, if was a pretty good book.