Dating Down

February 1, 2015
A teen falls into a damaging romance."I will call him X," says Sam about her narrative choice not to name this story's boy, "for the number of times I plunged into self-destruction." She meets X at the coffeehouse where he works. He's lanky, and he's also 22 to her 17; he "wants to ride his Vespa / through the coffee fields of Columbia." Sam's a painter and projects an undeserved bohemian-artist image onto X. When he mentions desiring a media empire like Hugh Hefner's-not the naked girls, he adds, just the empire-Sam doesn't bat an eye. X's heady allure pulls her headlong out of her world of SAT prep, presided over by a pearl-wearing stepmother and a father who cares only about his reputation as an aspiring politician. The real X lies and cheats. He's a drug user and a dealer; the Vespas he drives are stolen. Sam does drugs with him, steals her stepmother's diamond earrings and gives them to a random fellow partier. "Is this what love is? / A jerky jagged jumpy ride?" The nonuniformity of Lyons' prose poems, which continually shift form and style, employing choppiness, odd spacing and fast beats ("Meet a guy / butterflies // then come lies / systemized"), among other devices, matches Sam's lack of grounding. Give this to Ellen Hopkins fans. Turbulent love via turbulent poems. (Verse fiction. 14-18)

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July 1, 2015

Gr 9 Up-Contemporary fiction set in a small town near Chicago, IL. Written in prose, and reminiscent of Ellen Hopkins's popular book Crank (S. & S., 2013), this story chronicles Samantha's relationship with a boy she refers to only as "X." As Samantha and X's relationship progresses, the angst escalates in her relationships with friends and family. When her friends warn her that she is dating someone whose morals and values do not match her own, Samantha chooses to ignore these words of wisdom because of her initial infatuation with X. Ironically, what each of her best friends fails to see is that they, too, are "dating down." This theme is rampant throughout the book and will speak to a wide variety of teens who have either dated a similar type of person or know someone who has. The pacing is a bit choppy at first, but as the story advances, the book becomes more fluid. The characters are well developed and rather typical of many love-struck teens today. The mood reflects the actions of the main character, Samantha. It's light and playful when she first develops feelings for a new boy, then it gradually evolves into something a bit darker when she finds out he is into drugs, and it becomes darker still when she decides to join him by taking drugs herself. Samantha finally evaluates her life and decisions and struggles to turn her life around. VERDICT The prose format and dramatic plotline make this ideal for reluctant teen readers.-Jeni Tahaney, Duncanville High School Library, TX

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 1, 2015
Grades 9-12 Samantha will only call him Xbecause he has finally been x-ed out of her life. But she still must tell her story of forbidden love. X is the proverbial bad boy: older, experienced, and popular with many who come to Cafe Hex, where he waits tables. Sam is swept off her feet by his charm and wit and drawn to the reckless life he leads. Her father is running for state senator, and her family is struggling to keep it together in spite of her stepmother's headaches and her father's insistent demands on appearance. Regardless of the pleas of her father's publicist and her close friends who see X for the druggie he is, Sam finds it nearly impossible to break free. Told in musical, poignant verse, Sam's story is lyrical and heart-wrenching, exploring the emotional vicissitudes of love, sex, and drugs. While readers may wonder at some of Sam's choices, they will cheer when she discovers the will to find herself again and be strong for her own sake. Lyons' debut novel is reminiscent of Sonya Sones' books in verse and will appeal to a similar audience.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)