Pure

by Terra Elan McVoy

Tabitha and her four best friends all wear purity rings, symbols of the virginity-until-marriage pledge they made years ago. Now Tab is fifteen, and her ring has come to mean so much more. It’s a symbol of who she is and what she believes—a reminder of her promises to herself, and her bond to her friends.

But when Tab meets a boy whose kisses make her knees go weak, everything suddenly seems a lot more complicated. Tab’s best friend, Morgan, is far from supportive, and for the first time, Tabitha is forced to keep secrets from the one person with whom she’s always shared everything. When one of those secrets breaks to the surface, Tab finds herself at the center of an unthinkable betrayal that splits her friends apart. As Tab’s entire world comes crashing down around her, she’s forced to re-examine her friendships, her faith, and what exactly it means to be pure.

“I love this book. Like, love it love it. My heart expanded when I read it—yours will too!” --Lauren Myracle, bestselling author of ttyl and ttfn

Genres: Young Adult, Fiction, Romance, Realistic Fiction, Teen, Contemporary, Religion

352 pages, Paperback

First published April 4, 2009

About the author

I have been reading and writing, basically, ever since I learned how to, and everything I've done has pretty much been connected to those two things. I went to college at a small, fantastic school (with a super writing program) called St. Andrews Presbyterian College. I got my Master's degree in Creative Writing from Florida State. I have worked as an event coordinator at a major chain bookstore; as a freelance writer; a composition instructor; an editorial assistant at an NYC publisher; as manager of an independent children's bookstore, in Decatur, GA, Little Shop of Stories (where I still work as a bookseller); and as Program Director of the AJC Decatur Book Festival.

Reviews

[Abby · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read for work. It's about 5 teenage Christian girls who are friends who take the "True Love Waits" vow to preserve their virginity & remain celibate, and they all wear purity rings to publicly proclaim their commitment to the vow and each other. But when one of the girls breaks her vow to go "all the way" with her boyfriend, the bonds of friendship between the girls are severely tested.

I am always on the lookout for teen books that discuss matters of faith & sexuality from an entirely different perspective from my own -- these teens are NOT the teens I was friends with in high school, but they are among the teens I serve as a librarian and I want to be able to find books that speak to their life experiences and struggles. Unfortunately, despite the relevance of the topics explored, I won't be recommending this book to anyone. The teen voices, especially that of the narrator, rang completely false to me, like the author was taking the voices of her 30-something female friends and trying to make them sound like teens by throwing out references to DCFC & stupid slang. Not only does the author constantly punctuate their speech with "Gah" (the most annoying interjection to read, she even throws an "omigah" in there at one point), they just don't sound like teenagers at all. Read M.T. Anderson or E. Lockhart if you want to read a believable teen voice.

The false voices, along with the one-dimensional characters (for example, the love interest of the main character was waaayyy too good to be true) & remarkably boring and bland plotline, make this one to skip. I guess I'm just going to have keep waiting for a well-written book about Christian teens.

[David McD · Rating 5 out of 5]

In all honesty, I bought this to attend a signing, but I don't have kids of my own or any family members that are quite old enough yet for this book (They are 9 and 10; I would wait until 12 or 13). However, I do NOT want to give away something that I have not read myself, and could NOT have been more thrilled at what I hope will someday be a great gift to my nephews and nieces AND their parents.

This is an outstanding, very well-written book aimed at young adults that I believe every family should read together and then discuss. I truly wish that *my* parents could've given me this book, read it for themselves, and then we'd all talked about it. So if you're a parent struggling with how to talk to your teens about dating, sex, morality, promises, friendships, honesty, and betrayal and want them to be able to put their trust in you -- you owe it to yourselves (and your children) to read this book as a family. Otherwise, left to the advice of their friends, there's really no telling what kind of answers they'll come up with before they turn 18.

Wow. Where do I start? Well, I guess for starters, I was hooked on the first page. This, of course, is because of the familiar Atlanta locations mentioned -- but a poorly-written book set around the Decatur/Atlanta area wouldn't have held my interest.

I was compelled to keep reading because I wanted to be sure these kids didn't show up at my house and ask me deep questions about dating and promises and friendship and family and loyalty before I finished the book. I can't BEGIN to tell you how grateful I am that on page 227 Tabitha didn't pick up her phone and text "What should I do??" and then have that text come through on my phone. Because I still had 100 pages or so to go.

Naturally, I had to keep reading. By this point, I was HOOKED on the characters, their friendships, the memories of the awkwardness of dating and praying to EVERYTHING HOLY that I did NOT look like -- and this is a direct quote -- "an epileptic giraffe" on the dance floor.

I also read with a sense of regret, now that I'm well into my 40's, that I never was able to talk with my parents about dating, morality, and sex at that age. I vaguely remember around 12 years old that in health class, we were divided into groups of boys and girls, and one of the male teachers told the boys everything the boys already knew that was happening to their bodies (or about to happen) and that a female teacher told the girls the same thing.

But what all of us REALLY wanted to know about -- What did the OPPOSITE sex talk about that was so secret and so mysterious to us? 30 years on, I think a lot of us are still trying to figure those secrets out.

I'm guessing that in all likelihood, my parents never had "the talk" with me because either (a) They expected the school to answer my questions (b) They expected the church to keep me in line (c) they never got "the talk" themselves or (d) They had no idea how to answer my questions about what they did and what they struggled with when they were growing up and first started to date, and be HONEST that *they* experienced all of the same feelings and questions that *I* did.

Before my father died, we were just reaching the point where we could talk about anything. Then again, I guess since I'd been married for over two years by then, "The Talk" wasn't really necessary. I've pretty much given up hope that my Mom and I are ever going to have "The Talk." Then again -- maybe she's secretly hoping that I will sit down and have it with her because she has been waiting through SEVEN DECADES to get "The Talk." Who knows? Maybe it's not too late for me to give my Mom this book and then see if she wants to talk about it.

This book, however, is brilliantly written and one that I wish that I'd had 25 or 30 years ago. Does it give you all of the answers? No, but there are certain characters that you'll identify with. The characters that *I* identified with and that *you* may identify with may be COMPLETELY different. And in the end -- that is fine.

Whenever you have a family -- or a group of friends that are like family -- no one will ever see anything through your eyes but yourself. Sometimes you have to find your answers in your own way, and realize that it's not always about being "right" or "wrong," but about finding your own voice, your own truth -- and believing in that. Because sometimes your family (or family of friends) may be like a Norman Rockwell painting, and sometimes they're like a Pat Conroy dysfunctional family.

But as Terra so wisely said when she inscribed my book.........Always believe in yourself!

[Janie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ugh, talk about a book that needs an editor! In between every line of a conversation were about three lines analyzing what the other girl said.

And if the plot isn't boring enough,it's pretty unrealistic. The last time I had the "you're not my friend anymore" conversation was in second grade. These characters are unrealistic and need to grow up.

I picked up this book because purity rings seem a bit bizarre to me, and I was hoping to gain some perspective. I was disappointed with the bland little summaries of the ring ceremonies, and I learned nothing new.

If you're looking to gain insight into the purity ring trend or even just looking for a good read, don't bother with this book.

[Ari · Rating 2 out of 5]

IQ "This isn't just a fight. Something has happened between me and Morgan, and it freaks me out that the only person I could really talk to about this problem is the one who's causing it." pg. 142

The reason I didn't like this book is because I had a hard time relating to the characters. The five girls' friendships are severly strained when one of them sleeps with her boyfriend and eventually the friend apologizes for creating such a mess. But I just didn't understand how that friend's personal choice could put such a damper on the girls' friendship, I thought it was ridiculous. I guess it's because my own group of friens is very relaxed, we don't judge each others choices so while I could relate to having friends who held strong beliefs, I could not relate to this particular strongly held belief that did not seem like a big deal to me. I was fine with the girls wearing purity rings, I was not fine with them being so harsh. I could not understand why Tabita agonized over her friendship with Morgan because I would have stopped being friends with her all together. I'm troubled that I was so judgemental towards this book because I usually try to be more understanding. So take my rating with a grain of salt.

All that being said I could relate to Tabita being freaked out at her friendship with Morgan and the other girls potentially ending and not knowing who to confide in. And of course who can't sympathsize with the feelings of happiness and nervousness that come with your first boyfriend? I found the first relationship highs and lows to be easy to understand and relate to along with the difficulties of reexamining friendships, something we will all need to do a few times in our lives.

[Katie J Schwartz · Rating 2 out of 5]

Reasons Why I'm Giving This Book 2 Stars:

1. Morgan. I wanted to drop-kick Morgan. What an awful person. I realize that she's more or less the villain, so she's supposed to be awful, but I wanted her to learn more of a lesson. I wanted her to suffer more than she did. She was a total self-righteous bitch, and the worst thing that happened to her was not getting to renew her purity vows? Not good enough.

2. While in a way I appreciate that Terra Elan McVoy attempted to make this sound like an actual teenager talking, good god, it was obnoxious! The halting, the lame jokes, the awful slang...ugh.

3. All of the cultural references that seriously date the text. Facebook, movies, celebrities, TV shows...the book was published in 2009. It's 2011, and guess what? It already feels out of date.

4. There were so many garbled points attempting to be made here, but I'm left not knowing exactly what it is that the main characters learned from their experiences. But here's what they should have learned: Religion is like a penis. It's fine to have one. It's fine to be proud of it. But don't whip it out in public and start waving it around. And DON'T try to shove it down anyone's throat.

5. The description of Morgan's dad getting down on one knee to give her a purity ring. That's really effing creepy.

[amelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

To me, this novel was a levelheaded take on teenage friendships and the outside pressures that often determine their course.

And while I can see how some may label this book "Christian Lit," I think to do so would be a mistake. Yes, the premise has a religious drive, and yes, the protagonist, Tabitha, is devout. But the discussion of belief was so unique, refreshing, and most importantly to me, two-sided, that it became part of the character's growth rather than A Message.

Other nice things: Jake is a dreamboat, the portrayal of the rollercoaster relationships of teenage girls was spot on, and I want to have dinner with Tab's (seemingly agnostic) parents. It was also a treat to recognize the Decatur and Atlanta locations throughout.

Downside: The few times characters said "The Ultimate" all I could think about was Wet Hot American Summer. A source of inspiration, perhaps?

[Elizabeth Di Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

i don’t really like the writing style but this book would definitely resonate better with the right target audience.

[Navya P✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

The church stuff almost wore me out 😵‍💫, just almost. It was kind of nice tho to see and hear about a different religion.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

The version that I checked out from the library was an advance reviewer's copy, so I hope that a heavy handed editor got to it before it was officially published. There were a few times when the plot just didn't add up. For example, Tabitha would refer to a fight between Cara and Michael, when there had been no previous mention of them fighting. This caused me to doubt whether or not I was really interested in the book, but when I went back to check and couldn’t find any mention, I felt justified in my confusion. I also had a lot of trouble keeping the characters straight, although I don't think I can blame that on it being an advance copy. Again, I hope an editor got to that.

Despite those minor annoyances, I enjoyed this book. I was interested in it because of my own Christian faith journey, and often whenever I read YA books dealing with religion (any religion, not just Christianity), I find them fake, as if they are just an adult author's vehicle for preaching. However, I read an interview with the author (can't remember where I found that now) and her faith seemed similar to my own, so I thought I would check this book out to see what it had to offer.

The main character, Tabitha, has been a believer for much of her life without ever really examining much of the foundations of her beliefs. When life starts to get messy, she starts to really think about her faith. This was similar to my experience growing up in a traditional home and realizing that I had never actually read the Bible for myself until I was in high school. I appreciated that the author included Tabitha genuinely questioning traditions that she had always believed, and that Tabitha looked to the Bible for answers. While I was disappointed that Tabitha didn't truly resolve a lot of her questions in this way, if I think back on my own experience I'd say that this is an accurate depiction of what Christianity is like (or, at least, what it was like for me) when progressing through the teen years. When I first read the Bible cover-to-cover in high school, I didn't all of a sudden have all the answers. I still don't have all the answers, even though I've now read the Bible more than once. It's a continual process of learning and sorting through cultural influences, and I think that this book accurately portrays that. Even though some of the characters and dialogue were teenager annoying I appreciated the portrait of a teenager wrestling with issues of faith and friends.

I will say that I think the purity rings didn't work as a driving force of conflict in the plot. I know some people who had purity rings, but I've never heard of a ring ceremony, a father getting down on one knee to present a purity ring to his daughter, and certainly never heard of people being suspicious/uneasy/judgmental of someone else wearing a ring, especially when you've never met that person before. People wear rings. Why would that cause a problem for you, and why would you need to interrogate the other person about it?

[Sarah]

An interesting YA novel about teenage purity cliques/cults. A few weeks ago I read "Quiverfull" by Kathryn Joyce, a non fiction book about how the impulses fictionalized in this book play out for some of the most hard core believers in this stuff. Also, how the creepy paternalism inherent in this movement assumes that the man makes the decisions for the woman - a dynamic that plays out here in fiction.

It becomes clear in this book that for Tabitha and her friends, these rings are just as much about having their choices made for them as they are about Jesus. Morgan was an interesting character, in fact, I went through almost the whole thing assuming she was a repressed lesbian because she was so apathetic to guys and threatened by Tabitha finding one. I was surprised that it was not the case. Even by the end, its still not clear why she is so creepy crazy nuts for purity... perhaps fodder for a sequel. Overall, I thought Cara was the best character - the most grounded, sane, and real. The message of the book, standing up for what you believe in, was very strong and well written.

My only real complaint is that these teens seem to exist in an alternate reality where their churches are never affiliated with the negative side of these life choices. Churches that push purity are usually really anti-gay, and statistically, teens who have those purity rings are the least likely to use condoms or other forms of birth control. The teen pregnancy rate among teens who take virginity pledges is high. Teen girls who attend "Ring Thing" presentations are often told that they are worthless, like used toothbrushes or gum if they"give it up". They are told that their boyfriends will break up with them if they are too slutty. They are shown unrealistic pictures of STIs to scare them and misinform them. They are told that condoms have holes. These teens never seem to be exposed to this kind of thing, which I find kinda unrealistic. It's like McVoy has written this alternate universe where its just about the good stuff and not the bad. But that is pretty par for the course in Christian fiction, and this book is leaps and bounds better then Melody Carlson or other Christian authors whose works are extremely didactic.

[laaaaames · Rating 2 out of 5]

I vacillated between two and three stars here, but I'm ultimately going with two because I think I liked more about the premise than the execution. That said, I think I mostly disliked that it wasn't the book I wanted it to be, and that isn't the book's fault.

First, the good:

--the friendship stuff, so so solid, so deftly explored, so messy and complicated
--the parents!!!
--how the youth group is all about actually doing really cool community-minded things
--the thought and care put into the faith in this book - I liked Tab's so much (and I'm as secular as they come) and I liked how multi-faceted all of that was - from Morgan's semi-crazy devotion to the nonbeliever parents to the cool youth group leader to Tab's constant exploration of what being moral and good meant

What I didn't like:
--did everything have to end up going so badly for the one girl who broke her purity pledge?
--the stuff about Morgan's dad basically proposing to her was so creepy to me and I was really surprised that angle wasn't explored more
--honestly Morgan seemed way more effed up than we got out of the conclusion
--I never thought anything rose high stakes enough to say this book even had a plot, per se. A lot HAPPENED, and a lot of it was interesting
--I know I seem really hung up on Morgan, but her behaviour was pretty reprehensible to me, and I was surprised things were OKish by the end
--God, Jake was sweet, but bordering on too good to be true. It felt like he was Tab's therapist, with all the listening he did, and not her boyfriend
--I can't believe there wasn't more explored about THEIR relationship and how the purity ring affected THAT
--I know it was a good thing for Naeomi to be on Cara's side again but I think I ultimately found it more interesting for Cara and Tab to both move away from their former best friends

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm confused by this book. I felt it was trying to be about a young woman's personal morality, her sexual purity in particular, but ended up being about friendship. I think that as a book about friendship it succeeds, but as a book about purity it falls short.

The main character's closest friendships changes, and she has to work through that and make hard decisions about where she stands with her friends. Her relationships with her friends, and her parents, are the heart of the book.

But although her one friend's decision to have sex makes the main character question her beliefs, her own abstinence vow is never challenged. The boy she likes is a perfect gentleman. This is praiseworthy of course - I'm a fan of perfect gentlemen, fictional or otherwise - but I thought a book called "Pure" would at some point have the main character being conflicted about her own purity, and I'd looked forward to seeing how that would be resolved. [I realize the title may not have been the author's choice.]

I like that this book made me think about various issues, but I still don't know what I think about the book overall. I suppose this confusion is my own fault for imposing my expectations on the book, but to me it just seems that because purity rings are not a common feature of YA novels (in my experience, anyway), the story tries to promote that one sparkly aspect of itself instead of acknowledging its whole self.

(Oh, and the front cover seriously disturbs me, and I don't even want to think about why. And is "Jesus'ss" really an accepted way to show possession? Shouldn't it be just an apostrophe or maybe apostrophe-s?)

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sometimes you read a book that when you're finished you feel lonely. Lonely because your journey of getting to know those characters is over. This is how I felt when finishing Pure. I loved getting to know Tabitha. I loved seeing her relationship with Cara, Morgan, and Jake develop and grow and find new plains of friendship. I wish I could know what happens to everyone. Like, keeps tabs on their lives, haha!

I love how controversial this novel is. Controversial nowadays almost means rebellious and unconventional. But I think Pure is controversial because it is so conventional. Purity rings, church, and perfect families. Sometimes people are afraid of morals and what the effect of other peoples' morals will have on them.

This novel was brilliant. It was educational but not preachy. The relationship Tabitha had with Morgan was so real and I'm very glad it ended the way it did. This novel shows us that not all things are cut and dry.

The one other thing I enjoyed was something the author didn't do. I'm glad Cara didn't get pregnant in this novel. So many novels about pre-marital sex focus on the consequences of the body but not many focus on what happens to the people around and Pure did just that.

[Stephanie · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were definite pluses to this book, and I think I really would have liked it back when I was in high school and struggling with similar things. As an adult, I found all the characters annoying and self-righteous, even if I did appreciate the main character's perspective. So I guess just not the book for me. I should have remembered to bring my kindle to school, and I never would have gotten sucked in by the pretty cover.

[Tye Lytle · Rating 5 out of 5]

My mom got this book for me many moons ago. Idk what made her choose it, but I was hooked from the very first page. I read and reread this book for years, always taking something new from it. This book sparked my love for the writings of Terra Elan McVoy which led me to read every book I could find by her. I’ve loaned my copy out to sooo many people who all love it.

[Latisha opot · Rating 5 out of 5]

ppure was a really good book and it taught me not to be scared of expressing my beliefs.

[Lily Guthrie]

I will read it. But when I'm 12....

[Tabby {Genie in a Novel} · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tabitha and her friends all wear purity rings. It’s what links them in their friendship as they’ve all made their promise to God to not have sex until marriage. It’s always been a no-brainer for Tabitha, at least, but when one of their circle breaks their promise, they find themselves divided and for different reasons. Placed in the middle of all this, Tabitha has to figure out what being a true friend means, and learns how your beliefs can affect your friendships.

For the most part, I enjoyed this book. It took a while for me to really get into it, and there are times when the narration loses focus on the story itself, but I’m glad I pushed through those first few chapters to get into the grit of the story because it was something I felt deep inside and accessed a little bit of my own 15/16 year old self. Right away when Tabitha was placed in between her friends I knew she was doing the right thing by not judging that one friend for her actions, and instead tried to understand without giving in on her own beliefs.

Everything seemed to happen at once for Tabitha in this book – her first boyfriend, her friends falling apart, trying to figure out where she really stood in her beliefs, and what it means to be a real friend. It’s a lot more drama than I went through in high school as a teenage Christian, but I definitely see how it tore Tabitha apart inside and how she was unsure of what to do, especially since her parents weren’t exactly believers. Honestly, she handled it all much more maturely than a 15-year old normally would, but of course still had her moments and that’s where I saw a lot of my younger self in her. Wanting to do the right thing, but hating to lose friendships along the way, but also knowing that God works things out for the best for those who love Him. It’s a hard lesson, but it’s one of the best.

So, reading this was also a little trippy for me because for the first time ever, I share my name with the main character. The “T” in T.K. does, in fact, stand for Tabitha. I go by T.K. on my blog for a number of reasons, but being ashamed of my name is NOT one of them. I love my name and the fact that it’s so rare (unless it’s on book twitter or bookstagram) but again, I’ve never read my name in a book before (expect for the Bible, obviously). Anyway, that was the weirdest thing for me in the entirety of this book was reading my own name when family or friends were talking to the main character (and writing this review).

Overall, this was a great book and one that I wish I had read when I was a teen (this book was published the year I graduated high school, go figure). Though I would have liked it a lot more if the narration had been a bit less sporadic and if it hadn’t dragged like it did in the beginning. Other than that, I definitely recommend this book, especially to Christian teens out there looking for books they can relate to.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 3.5/5


I realized, while reading this book, that I haven't read a single YA book from the point of view of a religious person, ever. Religion is so rarely dealt with in YA at all, and when religious people are shown, it's often in an extremely negative light. The best example I can think of is What Happens Next, where one character has a very Christian Mom. She's shown entirely as a crazy character, who grounds her daughter and censors what she read because of her Christianity. Considering that every other character in the novel is secular, the message there seems to be a rejection of Christianity, mocking it and calling it irrational. That's just the first example to come to mind - there are a lot of 'religious freaks' like that in YA. (Read any given Julie Anne Peters novel if you don't believe me.) And what else is there - is there anything better? Gone does deal with religion to an extent, but in an ensemble piece with a huge cast, only two characters of around twenty are shown to think deeply about religion. Angelfall talks about religion briefly, but in a fantasy setting, it doesn't share much with real-life ponderings of religion. I can think of a few books where a character casually mentions that they're atheist or agnostic, and then never return to the issue. The only book I can think of that I would say is about religion is Blind Faith, in which the protagonist's mother joins a small, cult-like group that believes they can communicate with the dead. Needless to say, this cult is mostly rejected by the novel's protagonist.

So what I'm saying is, this is a first in my reading experience. I've read a lot of YA, but I've never read a novel about religion from the point of view of a religious person. YA is overwhelmingly secular, which equates to a rejection of religion and the pondering of religious questions. And that doesn't ring true in my life - most of the people I know think about religion, and it's not uncommon to see people whose religion plays a big role in their lives. So while this novel wasn't perfectly executed, I certainly appreciated that McVoy is filling one of the biggest vacuums in YA with this novel. Tabithia is Christian, but she's not a 'religious freak'. McVoy does a very good job of showing how Tabithia's faith is important to her, without letting this define Tabithia. The story, which concerns one of Tabitha's friends, Cara, breaking a 'no sex before marriage' vow, mostly explores the different reactions that Tabithia's other religious friends have to the situation, with some of them being sympathetic to Cara, and others being reluctant to ever forgive her. Tabithia assumed that her friends would be forgiving as she was, but Morgan wasn't, and this makes Tabithia a lot less sure of what she believes in. I don't know how groundbreaking this actually is, but I've never seen anything like it in YA. McVoy did a great job of showing someone who struggles with her faith, but treats God and church as an important part of her life, and who goes through genuine confusion relating to it. That's admirable.

I probably would've given this book five stars if McVoy had written this book a little later in her career. But this was her debut novel, and having read a lot of her later ones... yeah, I can definitely tell this was her first. One of McVoy's strengths as a writer is that she gives her characters very strong, realistic voices. She often seems to reuse the same voice again and again, but it's always struck me as real. But that's not the case here. Tabithia uses a lot more 'teen' slang than McVoy's other protagonists do, and it's not very realistic at all. In fact, a lot of the prose and the dialogue between the girls was very painful. I suppose McVoy was still developing as a writer, and this was a stage she had to go through before she could write really realistic voices. But taking this book on its own, the prose was unbearable at times. The plot here is also kind of flimsy at points. There's definitely not much focus - until about two thirds of the way in, it's not totally clear what the underlying conflict is supposed to be, meaning there's not a lot of drive. And even once the conflict is established, there are a lot of extraneous details. Jake, for example, has no reason to be here. He's not interesting in his own right, and he brings out nothing in Tabithia. But he's here anyway, I suspect because either McVoy or her editor thought that you couldn't sell a YA book without romance in it. But he's obviously tacked on, and there are a lot of smaller plot elements that feel tacked on in the same way.

This could've been a better novel, but it accomplishes its fundamental goal. It's a book with a relatable religious protagonist, that explores religious questioning without being preachy. We need a lot more of that in YA, so I'm going to strongly recommend this book in spite of its flaws. This isn't McVoy's best - that would probably be After the Kiss, where she does the voices of her narrators much better - but this is still solid and entertaining.

This review can also be found on my blog.

[Ellen Jarrard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I honestly don't know why this book has a lower average rating and so many negative reviews. I personally really liked it. It was the perfect book for my interests. I found it entriging because at the time I was thinking about saving sex for marriage (I read this in 8th grade). The cover of the one I read was attractive and simple. I read this in two days. I liked it, and if you are interested in what it's like to save yourself for marriage from a teenager girl's point of view, you might enjoy this book.

[Mamie · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's possible I am judging this more harshly because I disagree so strongly with its premise, but I also think that some of the characters are less than believable. I guess I am glad that they are not such stock characters that they cannot change, but it also felt in some ways like the changes they make are unlikely. I don't think this novel took us on much of a journey from one place to another with the characters and their development.

[Fatimah · Rating 4 out of 5]

what a helpful book. I really recommend this book to those who like books that talks about love and relationship even if you're still young, it's a really enjoying book.my favorite was how she talked about how she never been kissed and never had a boyfriend as well everyone did at the time but she still believes that everything good comes at the right time

[Hadassah Marzano · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like it was a nice book but there didn't seem to be a theme or a plot and there didn't seem to be a climax. At some point it was very vague and didn't give enough detail. Other than that it was a pretty good book.

[Emilia · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was okay. I had a lot to do with church and beliefs and I just don't really care about that type of stuff, so it wasn't the most interesting to me. It was a good book about friendships and mistakes. But there were too many characters sometimes for me to understand what was happening.

[Syd L · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was nervous that this book was going to be cliched, but it was surprisingly nuanced.

[Courtney · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn't like any of the characters (including the main character). Also I wasn't a fan of the writing style.

[Pauline Culley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read. Good book.

[Brandi · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.4☆ I read this as a pre-teen. I’m only logging it bc it popped into my mind and I spent twenty minutes trying to see if the book was a fever dream. A solid read for young, adolescent me.

[Frances · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a rereading of this story for me and i actually got the story's ideas better this time.

[AJ LeBlanc · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm on the fence on this one.

The book is about a group of Christian girl friends who all have purity rings - pledging to wait until marriage before having sex. The main character, Tabitha, and her best friend Morgan made the pledge when they were 12. They're now in high school and things are changing.

Cara breaks her vow. Tabitha is torn between wanting to support her friend and being sad that she gave up the vow. The other girls react harshly, shunning Cara and then Tabitha for supporting Cara through all the confusion.

On top of this, Tabitha has her first boyfriend. He knows what a purity ring is and he's cool with it. The perfect boy.

What I liked about the book was the struggles and questioning Tabitha goes through. She's a Christian, strong in her faith, yet questions exactly what the Bible says about love and sex. She has normal teenage reactions to her parents, friends, and boyfriend. A lot of the story was your basic teenage girl story, just with a Christian protagonist with a purity ring.

It also wasn't over the top preachy. The girls' faith is simply fact, although Morgan comes down hard in the My Faith Is The Only Correct Way To Live. Tabitha's faith is obvious, but she isn't willing to accept everything she's told and wants to know more. She isn't going to give up her beliefs, but she is going to become a stronger Christian by figuring out how the Bible applies to her life in today's world.

What I didn't like about the book was the cookie cutter characters. The girls are your basic mix of teenagers: the protagonist who isn't confident in herself and goes out of her way to make sure her best friend is happy; the snotty best friend with the overbearing personality and perfect life, perfect family, and all the popularity a girl can want; the beautiful but distant friend; the outsider desperate to take the protagonist's place when the best friend shuns her; and the outcast girl that makes the protagonist see the best friend in a different light.

Bleh.

On top of this, the development isn't there. Decisions are made without reason. I felt like I was supposed to go with it because it was just how things were and I didn't need to know why someone made the decisions she did. Yeah, you do get to see Tabitha's thought process and there were parts where you could see changes and development, but there were also parts where her actions didn't fit her personality and weren't explained. Her relationship with Morgan is one of them. They have history together, but from most of their interactions, Morgan is bossy and controlling, and Tabitha willingly goes along with it. Even when she stands up to her, she's still trying to figure out how she can change to fit into Morgan's world.

Cara is the best of the bunch, although her character is the plot device. Still, she felt the most authentic.

The boyfriend situation was ridiculous. She meets the perfect boy, they go out, she worries how he'll react to her ring, he's cool with it, they make out, he stops when it gets too intense, he falls in love with her and does every stereotypical sappy thing boys do for girls in badly written books and they are both content with hand holding and making out until it's too much. Once they've decided that it can only go up to a certain amount of kissing, that's it. The subject is never visited again and those parts are no longer written about because, yeah, neither of them is going to struggle with lust once they've decided not to give in. I'm not saying it wouldn't happen, but it was made way too easy.

I didn't hate the book, but it wasn't what I thought it would be. If it had been a preachy, convert the readers to Christianity and purity rings book, then I would have tossed it. If it had been Tabitha giving up her faith and vow just because she had a boyfriend, it would have been disappointing. The shades of gray idea was there, but the character development wasn't.