Brenda Vicars shows tremendous insight and sensitivity in this compelling story about sexting and cyber bullying, which is so convincing that the readers suspect she must have experience with the issue. Polarity is a well-developed character, and the plot line is unique.
As if one challenge wasn’t enough, Vicars’ protagonist deals with mental illness in her family as well. Again, the issue is dealt with in a sensitive way, highlighting all the collateral damage that occurs when a family member is unwell without descending into sensationalism or becoming maudlin. Readers gain valuable insights without feeling they’ve been preached to, and the story doesn’t suffer.
Polarity is a kind, good girl, which grounds her as well as the reader while a storm of challenges rages around her. She comes through a difficult time gracefully, if not completely unscathed. Readers will relate to Polarity and be encouraged and inspired by her bravery. A little romance doesn’t hurt either!
This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Red Adept Publishing
Content Analysis:
Profanity/Language: 2 religious exclamations; 1 mild obscenity; 3 anatomical terms; 3 derogatory names.
Violence/Gore: An adult grabs a child and shakes her in anger.
Sex/Nudity: A naked photo is posted online without a character’s knowledge or consent; a character has thoughts about attraction to another character several times; a character has thoughts about wanting to touch another character several times (non-erotic); a character wonders if another character is thinking about her breasts; a male character mimes female breasts; a suggestive text message is received; characters flirt several times; characters sit with arms around one another; characters hold hands; characters sit with legs touching; a character rubs her foot up and down another character’s ankle; characters embrace briefly; a character touches another character’s face; characters kiss passionately; characters kiss briefly.
Mature Subject Matter:
Racism, cyberbullying, bullying, verbal abuse, mental illness, teen pregnancy, juvenile delinquency, alcoholism, sexting.
Alcohol / Drug Use:
Marijuana is commonly used by underage characters (not main characters); a character enters a bar but does not drink.
