Wild Things: YA Grown-Up discussion

I'm reading this now, and enjoying it! Was wondering if anyone else has read it, or wanted to. It's about a high-school girl who was found by her dad in the back seat of a car with a 17 y.o. guy (she was 13 and in 8th grade at the time).

From that point on, her dad hates her and she becomes known as the school slut, but underneath that story she has a heart of gold. Lots of issues to discuss in here, and I'm not quite 1/4 of the way in.

Story of a Girl

Laura, it's on my TBR list!

Woo! Yeah this one is definitely edgier than Stargirl. There is some serious stuff in here. Drug use, sex, including oral sex, teen pregnancy, bullying, there's language in here, but really good lessons too. I've got about 70 pp left. This is a really good book for discussions, and good to open up discussions with your kids too.

For me, I'd say high school or mature middle school, but there's great discussion fodder here, so if you're looking to discuss for example the consequences of teen pregnancy, or even sexual activity, this is a great book from which to do that. Nothing is graphic. So I could see this book as really useful for patents, especially if they know about the themes going in.

Sorry that's parents - can't fix it on this $&@! phone.

Um but you probably guessed that. Ugh I gotta get to sleep.

I've read it too, and thought it was well written for the topic. It does center around Deanna's sexual experiences, and her reputation afterward, so I'd have to give a high school recommendation.

The book didn't necessarily preach "sex is bad", but instead discussed the real possible consequences including pregnancy, social status and the difficulties of parenting.

I agree Angela. I finished it in the wee hours of the morning. This is a book with wide appeal. Deanna, the main character, experienced tremendous growth, and was able to see how her choices not only dramatically changed her life, but the lives of everyone close to her.

This book will definitely make you think twice about having sex if you're a teen, although it wasn't at all preachy. I can't believe this was Sara Zarr's first novel. She made it look easy. I gave it four stars.

Wanted to add some themes for this book:

Teen pregnancy and sexuality
Self-esteem
Outcasts / fitting in
Bullying
The double standard - why are guys heroes for sleeping around and girls are sluts?
Family issues
Drug use (pot), and possible consequences re: decision making

Some discussion points -

1. What would you do if you found your eighth-grader having sex in a parked car with a 17 year-old? Deanna's father basically stopped speaking to her, and treated her with all the disrespect the other kids did. She had nowhere to turn to find healing and nurturing afterward - when she needed it most.

2. How would you react to a girl you knew in school if a rumor circulated that she was having sex in eighth-grade? This girl became an outcast, while the boy became a hero. She made a bad choice, but a bad choice doesn't make you a slut. However, people are quick to jump to those conclusions.

I just picked this up at the library(my crackhouse) today! Cant wait to get started!!

Yup, I made a trip to the crackhouse yesterday lol. Hope you like it Susan!

I'm half way done with Dead Is the New Black by Marlene Perez and its really good and going very fast. As soon as I am done I'm going to read this one!! Books are my CRACK-LOL!!

I told the lady at the circ desk (who knows me by name, even over the phone lol) that I have a very serious illness - library book mountains. It's insane. But, not planning on stopping anytime soon!

You think that's bad, the ladies at my library go into my account and put books on hold for me that they know I will want to read--they dont even tell me hahahaha. They like to surprise me!

Oh that is so funny! I thought it was funny that I can call the information desk, never say my name at all, and the guy puts it on hold for me. I don't think they'd ever hold stuff for me without my asking! Love it tho!

I just finished reading this book, and wow. I was blown away. This book made my heart hurt.

I felt for poor Deanna. She didn't make the best choice, but honestly, when the girl is 13 and the boy is 17, I think he is far more to blame for the situation than she is. More than anything else, it broke my heart the way her dad treated her afterwards.

I can't say that I would be happy to find my 13 yr old in that situation, but I would like to think that if I ever come across it, I would handle it better than her dad did.

The whole story was just painful and raw, and I'm still reeling. I'm also amazed by how *good* Deanna remained, even with all that going against her.

While watching the movie Easy A, which is about a high school student whose reputation is ruined after she pretends to sleep with someone, my husband raised a question. He asked: Is this a realistic scenario when many teenagers are having sex?

The movie and his question made me thing of Sarah Zarr's Story of a Girl. Her character is fourteen, which makes the story potentially more realistic. How does everyone feel though about how to handle the topic of sex in books?

If many teens are having sex, do books like Story of A Girl and movies like Easy A still work? And even if many teens are having sex, do we want to acknowledge this is their fiction?