A review by romancelibrarian
Consent by Nancy Ohlin

3.0

I have read other teacher student novels. The Slammed Series by Hoover and Unteachable by Raeder both deal with 18 year old students who unknowingly get involved with a guy who just happens to be their teacher senior year. Both of which, while they are set in a high school, are more NA than YA. Then there are stories like Easy by Webber that are set in college where it's set in college (and the relationship is a grad student TA and a student). But this one, Consent, skevved me out and made me uncomfortable - which I believe to be part of the point of this story, especially for a teen reader. Set in high school this story clearly isn't a love story, it's a cautionary tale about decisions and dangers. The voice flows well, it is laden with musical references that I didn't understand but didn't hinder my understanding of the story, and it was clear both the relevance and importance of this type of story for teen readers. I believe the agency that the author gives Bea at the conclusion of the novel is important. I also truly appreciated the diversity of the characters. Both Bea and her best friend Plum are described as biracial. And although completely on the periphery, it is mentioned that Plum's aunt is in a relationship with another woman. Definitely would give this book to some of my older teen readers who were looking for a quick read about a challenging topic/issue/situation.