The Nerdy and the Dirty

Starred review from October 3, 2016
Gottfred (Forever for a Year) offers a hilarious and deeply honest look at high school love through the alternating voices of two teens. Penelope “Pen” Lupo is dating the most popular boy in school, yet at the cost of keeping her true self hidden, especially the sexually voracious part that Pen thinks makes her “Such. A. Freak!” Benedict Pendleton is as smart, cerebral, and socially obtuse as his academic father, but he’s also hiding an emotionally vulnerable part of himself that longs for connection. An unlikely couple to say the least, the two 16-year-olds find common ground at a winter resort, where they fall for each other and learn how to be “not normal” together. Gottfred creates addictive, true-to-life voices for both characters whose thoughts, decisions, and experience help guide the sex-positive relationship that takes shape. Although this novel includes detailed descriptions and discussions of masturbation, consent, and first-time sex, it’s never didactic or heavy-handed, and instead offers a raw, empowering, and lighthearted view of first love and teenage—and especially female—sexuality. Ages 17–up. Agent: Jill Grinberg, Grinberg Literary Management.

Benedict Pendleton and Penelope Lupo are the unlikeliest of unlikely high school couples. Intelligent and painfully socially awkward, 16-year-old Benedict lives life perfectly, as described by his father in his bestselling book, Being a Perfect Person. Foulmouthed, 16-year-old Pen is a cool girl with tight, black clothes and a popular boyfriend. Only this isn't who they really are at all. It is only when fate intervenes and the two wind up at the same resort over winter vacation that dark-olive-skinned Pen and white Benedict both find each other and find themselves. Told in alternating and delightfully distinct first-person chapters, this novel is a profoundly open and honest exploration of teen identity, sexuality, and connection. There is also plenty of humor, particularly when it comes to Benedict's inability to filter his thoughts and words. Secondary characters, such as Pen's mother and Benedict's father, add depth and will leave some readers reaching toward the pages looking for a neck to throttle. This is a novel that will surely arouse emotion. It will offend some who may not be prepared to embrace a young woman openly obsessed with sex, particularly with pleasuring herself. Some may be disturbed by the frank descriptions of sexual interactions between teen partners. Those readers are missing the point and depriving themselves. A truly beautiful story about passionately falling in love with another and learning to love and share your true self. (Fiction. 14 & up) COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

October 1, 2016

Gr 10 Up-Benedict Maximus Pendleton is the son of a best-selling author and completely unable to interact with his peers because of his "social problems," as he calls them. Penelope Lupo feels trapped by her popularity and suspects that her sexual appetite makes her a freak. When simultaneous family vacations force them together, Benedict and Pen discover that the things that make them different might make them perfect for each other. Through their bond, both are able to recognize unhealthy relationships and set boundaries. Their romance, though intense, is quite positive in that neither wants to change in order to find love. While it is important to have books that represent a range of teen sexual experiences and appetites, the gratuitous masturbatory details and unrealistic first sexual encounter add nothing to the story. There is never the realization that Pen's healthy sexual urges are not "dirty," merely that she stops caring that they are. The author relies on different stereotypes, including those related to Catholics, Italians, and teenage girls. Most troubling are the stereotypes about people who have difficulty understanding social cues, which define Benedict as nerdy and reinforce the idea that people with these issues are simply awkward or difficult and that their struggles to interact with others are humorous. Readers should know that the text contains many ableist terms referring to mental illness as well as a slur commonly applied to people with Down syndrome. VERDICT Though this work is not completely without charm, lazy characterization and offensive language make it a pass for school and most public libraries.-Elizabeth Saxton, Tiffin, OH

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from September 15, 2016
Grades 10-1 *Starred Review* Benedict Pendelton and Pen Lupo barely exist to each other. Benedict is socially inept, principally because he is too intelligent to conform (as much as he would like to obtain social capital). Meanwhile, I wanted to be liked more than I wanted to be me, Pen reflects. She has traded in her real self for a lesser version that grants her a popular boyfriend and social standing. Pen maintains a silence that borders on invisibility; Benedict cannot help speaking, usually bluntly and usually uninvited. When they end up at the same ski resort for winter break, they discover just how much they can help each other become their best and truest selves. Extremely funny, this features two brutally honest protagonists who take turns telling the story. Benedict is trying to develop an identity that will please his self-help guru father, while resisting the negativity of Evil Benny, the voice in his head that points out all his faults and failures. Pen's preoccupation with her heightened sexual desires and obsessions is frank in a way not often exploredor even includedin relation to young women. This is a love story that is genuine, explicit, passionate, and often adorable. Pen's and Benedict's ability to accept their true selves transcends their hormones, their parents' burdens, and their peers' expectations, and makes for a reading experience not soon forgotten.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)