Say No to the Bro

March 6, 2017
In her first solo novel, Helgeson (coauthor of Gena/Finn) draws a sensitive portrait of two teens who fall for each other, despite occupying different places in their school’s social strata. Ava’s father, a football coach, moves the family to his hometown for Ava’s senior year after her mother abandons the family. School quarterback Mark immediately notices and reaches out to Ava, catching her off guard (Ava doesn’t consider herself the football player type). Both teens are shocked when Ava is chosen as the “Wild Card” entry for the Prom Bowl, a fund-raiser that’s part pageant, part date auction: Mark had already hoped to take Ava to prom, and she thinks the competition is sexist. Through Ava’s reluctant participation in the event as a conflicted underdog, Helgeson deftly explores the complexities of popularity and the pressures placed on girls to perform for and please boys. Alternating first-person narratives give candid insights into the ways both teens try to do the right thing (and sometimes fall short) as they push back against systems they aren’t comfortable with. Ages 14–up. Agent: John Cusick, Folio Literary Management.

March 1, 2017
The new girl in town grapples with unwanted attention after being forced into a high school prom-date auction.After her mother left and her father uprooted the family to a new town, white teen Ava Vanguard hoped to fly under the radar in her senior year. But her status as the daughter of the new varsity football coach puts her squarely in the gaze of Mark Palmer, the white star quarterback. It's not long before she's embroiled in an unfamiliar tradition: Prom Bowl. Officially a fundraiser for prom, Prom Bowl selects a group of girls for a series of competitions, and boys bid on them to become their dates. The highest bid becomes prom queen. Ava's been marked as the wild card, and it's clear she's different--she isn't thin, doesn't care about clothes, and doesn't party. She begins to sabotage herself; she wants out immediately. But as she and Mark grow closer, her feelings about Prom Bowl shift. She excels. Maybe she's the girl who can show the underdogs what's possible. But Prom Bowl has more insidious surprises than she expected, and she and Mark face the consequences. Ava's voice outshines Mark's in their alternating, first-person chapters--she's a fully formed, likable character, whereas Mark remains predictable. But both their attraction and growth feel forced, leaving little to tug readers along. A thinly veiled riff on the teen film She's All That, lacking charm. (Fiction. 14-18)

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July 1, 2017

Gr 9 Up-Ava just wants to blend in during her senior year after moving to a new place. Angry at her mom, she feels disconnected from everyone around her. When she is signed up against her will for her new school's strange tradition known as Prom Bowl, where girls are auctioned off as prom dates to the highest bidder, her plans of anonymity are shattered. Told through the points of view of Ava and the school's popular quarterback, Mark, the story unfolds in a frustrating plot of miscommunication that feels realistically teen. However, Ava's voice at times is inauthentic as she makes strange observations about her fellow contestants. Ava and Mark end up dating and falling in love, a payoff that readers will find rushed and unearned. Other than their initial meeting and a single movie date, they don't interact outside of Prom Bowl. At the end, they both reminisce about dates and conversations they've had but to which readers are never privy. Ava's resolution with her mother is too quick. The story's exploration of consent and self-image is lacking. For a darker but well-executed look at how society treats teenage girls, try Mindy McGinnis's Female of the Species. VERDICT Recommended only as an additional purchase for realistic fiction fans.-Kathryn Kania, Goodwin Memorial Library, Hadley, MA

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