Middle school students have reading interests that run the gamut from Diary of a Wimpy Kid to Twilight. Sometimes as a parent it is hard to know what is age appropriate for your child. Through this blog, I will try to help parents make informed decisions about what is available in our library. I am hoping that this blog will be a resource for our parents, and that we can all work together to make our students life-long readers!



Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Almost

Almost
by Anne Eliot
From the publisher:
"At a freshman party she doesn't remember, Jess Jordan was almost raped.

...Almost. Very nearly. Not quite. Three years later, Jess has managed to make everyone believe she's better. Over it. Because she is.

...Almost. Very nearly. Not quite.

Unfortunately, until Jess proves she's back to normal activities, her parents won't discuss college. So, she lands a summer internship and strikes a deal with hockey jock, Gray Porter: He gets $8,000. She gets a fake boyfriend and a social life.

Jess has no idea Gray signed on for reasons other than money. She also never expects to fall in love. But Gray’s amazingly hot, holds her hand all the time, and makes her forget that he’s simply doing his job. It’s like having a real boyfriend.

...Almost. Very nearly. Not quite.

Gray Porter is hiding secrets of his own. About Jess Jordan. About why he’s driven to protect her, why he won't cash her checks, or deny her anything she asks.
 "

I think this could be a powerful book for some teenagers, perhaps those who love reading things like A Child Called "It". Would I have let my daughters read this in middle school? Emphatically no. 
Despite the plot of an "almost" rape, in some ways the book seemed almost immature. However, talk of the love interest having too much blood flow to certain parts of his anatomy definitely put it into the mature category for me, along with the memories of the "almost" rape. Add to that the bad language on almost every page of the book (profanity, cussing, vulgarities), and I would be very careful about letting your tweens to early teens read it. It does touch on some important issues, and that is why I think it could be powerful for the right reader. As far as the plot and characters go, there were some plot points and characters I really enjoyed, and some that drove me crazy. I don't think teenagers will care that much about the deficiencies, though. So, although I don't recommend this book to all readers, I think there are some that would really like it.

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