Tainted Love

August 1, 2007
Gr 9 Up-Within the first 50 pages, three high school (almost) seniors, all nannies for high-powered Southern California families, have each engaged in one of the following: cheated on a boyfriend, talked about having sex on a pool table with a 20-year-old, and had drunken sex with a country club golf pro. Kiley, the most likable, worries that her blackouts during a scuba lesson will prevent her from getting into her dream school, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and harm her chances of becoming a marine biologist. Lydia, most certainly the most self-centered of the three, spends most of the novel dealing with the aftermath of her drunken sexcapade and the man who now stalks her and tries to ruin her relationship with the guy she loves. Esme worries that her movie-star boyfriend (and son of her employers) is cheating on her with his ex and that a young Jamaican nanny will take her job. With some redeeming qualitiesLydia is certainly not proud of her one-night stand and Esme tries to give the extra money she earns as a tattoo artist to her working-class parents"Tainted Love" is appropriate for libraries already invested in the series but otherwise offers no enticement for purchase."Sarah Krygier, Solano County Library, Fairfield, CA"

Copyright 2007 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.