Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.03 AVERAGE
4.03 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
While this is fiction, having grown up in the 90s during a lot of the purity culture movement, I appreciated this book's fresh take on what that looks like for today's teens. Del is a high schooler who has a certain reputation with girls. So it's a surprise to everyone when he joins the Purity Pledge at his mom's church (with the intention of getting closer to a girl he likes). Del has a secret though- he's still a virgin. And he's not the only one in the group with a secret. The book mostly follows Del's story with the Purity Pledgers, but also gets into his older sister's story a little as she rises to fame as a YouTuber calling out the double standards with sexuality (girls who have sex are sluts or whores while boys are celebrated as being manly for having sex).
Wow. I thought this would be a sort of lighthearted look at a teen boy trying to be celibate, in a sort of comedy-of-errors type way. Instead, it was a nuanced and empathetic look at religion, sex ed, teenage pregnancy, and teenage slut-shaming and dating culture, especially “nice guys” and how toxic masculinity is passed down from fathers to sons.
There is so much going on here, but it all feels so natural and understandable and never preachy — the main character, who really feels like a real person, learns valuable lessons from the women around him, but not in a way where they feel like two-dimensional learning opportunities. This is a “teen boy” book with so many multifaceted female characters (the sister! I was obsessed), and for that alone it stands apart. When you add in all the work it does and how valuable it could be for teens to read? It’s honestly amazing.
I highly recommend this. Also, I cried!
TW: discussion of (attempted/interrupted) sexual assault, sexual harassment, and homophobic & misogynist/slut-shamey public shaming. Also, generally I would say that it can be very difficult and frustrating as an adult woman to read the kind of casually sexist stuff the main character and his friends think, say, and do. It’s all eventually addressed/challenged, though.
There is so much going on here, but it all feels so natural and understandable and never preachy — the main character, who really feels like a real person, learns valuable lessons from the women around him, but not in a way where they feel like two-dimensional learning opportunities. This is a “teen boy” book with so many multifaceted female characters (the sister! I was obsessed), and for that alone it stands apart. When you add in all the work it does and how valuable it could be for teens to read? It’s honestly amazing.
I highly recommend this. Also, I cried!
TW: discussion of (attempted/interrupted) sexual assault, sexual harassment, and homophobic & misogynist/slut-shamey public shaming. Also, generally I would say that it can be very difficult and frustrating as an adult woman to read the kind of casually sexist stuff the main character and his friends think, say, and do. It’s all eventually addressed/challenged, though.
It wasn't funny the whole way through like I was hoping it would be. The first interaction he had with his dad had me bursting with laughter. Nevertheless I enjoyed it and liked the way the characters learned things and developed.
I wonder if actual teens would enjoy this as much, it sorta felt like it was for adults or almost written as an adult looking back on a time.
I wonder if actual teens would enjoy this as much, it sorta felt like it was for adults or almost written as an adult looking back on a time.
stopped when main character ratted out his favorite teacher to the evil religious leader. i wasnt going to read this because i avoid religious components, but the rave reviews about how funny it was won me over. and then it wasnt funny at all. ive read enough spoilers to get that the toxic masculinity gets overturned but i cant get that far, despite being curious about some of the plot lines.
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Yasssssssss black rep + gay rep + christian church discussions about its teachings and differing views e.g. lgbt/"purity pledges" + calling out male entitlement and double standards for men vs. women + toxis masculinity + sexual assault + teen pregnancies + the importance of decent sex ed that's not just abstinence only
This is literally everything I love and need in a book
Also bonus kudos for for great character development + no forced love interest at the end + wholesome friend groups + youtube sister was awesome + really strong female-female solidarity where they didn't hate each other over a boy
This is literally everything I love and need in a book
Also bonus kudos for for great character development + no forced love interest at the end + wholesome friend groups + youtube sister was awesome + really strong female-female solidarity where they didn't hate each other over a boy
Concept: 5
Execution: 2.5
This book really suffers from pacing and editing issues. Del is insufferably toxic for 300+ pages of episodic shitty behavior and then most of the development is hyper-stuffed into the last 60, as though the book was getting too long and no one wanted to bother with a deep restructuring edit. Or maybe this is what it looks like better. I don't know.
- As other reviews have said, it's very "by straight men to straight men." I struggled to read through because I wanted to see how it resolved, but if I hadn't gotten a person rec, I might have put it down at p. 14 with "Kiera was what you'd call slim thick." Maybe *you* would say that, Del. I wouldn't.
- The pastor of the church mom & Del have started going to has kids makes kids do public humiliation apologies "for their sins". Ew.
-Del is known at school for having had sex, but it turns out he's actually a virgin "lying on his D" to help a girl friend. Very Victor/Victoria ... but not.
Then comes the roller coaster:
p. 327: Friend Shianne calls him out on his toxic masculinity.
p. 329: Dad, Mom and sister Cressie sit him down to "teach him" and share that Cressie's been assaulted at a college party. Dad calls him out on forcing things with Kiera and Mom calls out Dad for not being more aware sooner. And Mom shares that she's been going to church more because of what happened to Cressie, which gets maybe half a page of attention. Again, this book is Masc4Masc.
p. 361: Del goes around apologizing like Ebenezer Scrooge on Christmas morning.
p. 364: Del has a super visible moment where he shares what he's learned with his sister's youtube, like the cotton candy kid at the amusement park trying to explain the physics of the roller coaster.
On the following pages, Del, *without checking in with anyone from the school* invites a whole bunch of people to the church and single-handedly, in one conversation, convinces the pastor to stop with the shame & humiliation of teens (p. 376). Like that makes up for the scars he's created.
p.379: OH, and the school has decided to resume the "healthy living" class that the pastor had shut down midway through the book.
p. 388: AND, a girl starts flirting with Del. Oooh, look at Del "growing" and noticing when someone's interested. But, her interest now seems to be what he's into, not a combination of who she is and how they connect.
In sum, after 80% of the book just bullshit after bullshit, the main character magically learns because women did the heavy lifting of pointing it out to him, and then he turns around to play hero to save the church community he isn't really a part of. AND he gets the girl. FFS.
Too little learning. Too much men performing at basic or lower levels of human decency. The fourth star is for effort on a topic where we need more, better books to recommend.
Execution: 2.5
This book really suffers from pacing and editing issues. Del is insufferably toxic for 300+ pages of episodic shitty behavior and then most of the development is hyper-stuffed into the last 60, as though the book was getting too long and no one wanted to bother with a deep restructuring edit. Or maybe this is what it looks like better. I don't know.
Spoiler
- As other reviews have said, it's very "by straight men to straight men." I struggled to read through because I wanted to see how it resolved, but if I hadn't gotten a person rec, I might have put it down at p. 14 with "Kiera was what you'd call slim thick." Maybe *you* would say that, Del. I wouldn't.
- The pastor of the church mom & Del have started going to has kids makes kids do public humiliation apologies "for their sins". Ew.
-Del is known at school for having had sex, but it turns out he's actually a virgin "lying on his D" to help a girl friend. Very Victor/Victoria ... but not.
Then comes the roller coaster:
p. 327: Friend Shianne calls him out on his toxic masculinity.
p. 329: Dad, Mom and sister Cressie sit him down to "teach him" and share that Cressie's been assaulted at a college party. Dad calls him out on forcing things with Kiera and Mom calls out Dad for not being more aware sooner. And Mom shares that she's been going to church more because of what happened to Cressie, which gets maybe half a page of attention. Again, this book is Masc4Masc.
p. 361: Del goes around apologizing like Ebenezer Scrooge on Christmas morning.
p. 364: Del has a super visible moment where he shares what he's learned with his sister's youtube, like the cotton candy kid at the amusement park trying to explain the physics of the roller coaster.
On the following pages, Del, *without checking in with anyone from the school* invites a whole bunch of people to the church and single-handedly, in one conversation, convinces the pastor to stop with the shame & humiliation of teens (p. 376). Like that makes up for the scars he's created.
p.379: OH, and the school has decided to resume the "healthy living" class that the pastor had shut down midway through the book.
p. 388: AND, a girl starts flirting with Del. Oooh, look at Del "growing" and noticing when someone's interested. But, her interest now seems to be what he's into, not a combination of who she is and how they connect.
In sum, after 80% of the book just bullshit after bullshit, the main character magically learns because women did the heavy lifting of pointing it out to him, and then he turns around to play hero to save the church community he isn't really a part of. AND he gets the girl. FFS.
Too little learning. Too much men performing at basic or lower levels of human decency. The fourth star is for effort on a topic where we need more, better books to recommend.
challenging
funny
informative
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Minor: Homophobia, Sexual harassment
This was a really sweet and earnest story. While parts of it are predictable (not in a terrible way) there is enough of a contemporary lens on issues that it felt really rewarding and hopeful to read. I liked the exploration of religion and "nice guy" archetype. Super nice to read a book centred on black teens that doesn't centre around poverty and suffering in racial stereotypes (though I think The Hate U Give is a good book!) The teenage mothers have their stories glazed over a bit but it is still handled in a way that was kinder and more empowering than anything else I've ever consumed in fiction. Writing was young and playful, not intended for be but still worked! Really refreshing!