Good Girls

I like the way this book gets right into the action of the story. This seems to be a common occurrence with most teen novels, but it still always gets me every time. I read this book in one sitting and couldn’t put it down. It wasn’t that this the most amazing book I have read all semester. I liked it, but it wasn’t my favorite. It was more that it was like watching a car accident. You don’t want to look, but you just can’t avert your eyes.

From the moment Audrey comes on the scene, she is a likable character who seems a bit naive and a little unsure. I was worried for her from the start. I try not to read the back covers or front flaps, so the book is always a surprise. But I knew as soon as she entered the bedroom that everything was going to go horribly wrong for her and it did. I felt like Ruby was consistent in her message about people’s perceptions and also that mistakes made can sometimes linger for longer than they should. I also liked how the author tried to work within the stereotypes of student’s at a high school and break through them, even though I was able predict most of the character development. I don’t know if a teen would read it the same way I did though.

I can see some people shying away from having this book in their collections due to some of the more graphic passages and the trip to the gynecologist. Again, I think this would be a mistake. There are lots of teens out there going through some of the same issues as Audrey (maybe not having their photo taken) like wanting to have sex, being unaware of some of the emotions and consequences that having sex can have, fitting into a stereotype and being seen as nothing more. Overall, I would say that I think teens would enjoy this book. I think that they will get the messages in without realizing that they are there.