As a digital subscriber, you’ll receive unlimited access to Horn Book web exclusives and extensive archives, as well as access to our highly searchable Guide/Reviews Database.
To access other site content, visit The Horn Book homepage.
To continue you need an active subscription to hbook.com.
Subscribe now to gain immediate access to everything hbook.com has to offer, as well as our highly searchable Guide/Reviews Database, which contains tens of thousands of short, critical reviews of books published in the United States for young people.
Thank you for registering. To have the latest stories delivered to your inbox, select as many free newsletters as you like below.
No thanks. Return to article
(4)
YA
True-to-Life Series from Hamilton High series.
After his mother is deployed to Iraq, teenager Mario discovers his nine-year-old brother is being molested. Mario's attempts to protect him are misunderstood, and gradually Mario loses his girlfriend, childhood buddy, and place on the soccer team. This admirable treatment of the insidious damage pedophilia inflicts on both direct and indirect victims helps mask prose that is too often dry and amateurish.
(4)
YA
True-to-Life Series from Hamilton High series.
Autumn is a star volleyball player and model student. She seems to have it all, until she goes on a date with her friend, has too much champagne, and ends up pregnant. The plot is drawn-out and melodramatic (on top of everything, Autumn's father and grandmother die in a car accident), but readers may find hope in Autumn's story.
(4)
YA
True-to-Life Series from Hamilton High series.
After Lynn's "spirit sister" Kit comes out as a lesbian, Lynn deals with her own homophobia, then joins Kit's Gay/Straight Alliance club at school. Although the story line plods along prosaically and the themes are textbook neat, the issue of violence against gay and lesbian youth is clearly and sympathetically laid out, as is the side issue of Lynn's interracial romance.
(3)
YA
True-to-Life Series from Hamilton High series.
Reynolds's story of a biracial teenage girl grappling with the issue of whether or not to have sex distinguishes itself from other novels of this ilk with its heroine's uniquely complicated life and strong, believable voice. Lauren's long-simmering rage against her drug-addicted late mother colors all her relationships, making it difficult for her to forgive anyone who hurts her, including her boyfriend.
(3)
YA
True-to-Life Series from Hamilton High series.
The strong, clear voice of a teenage mother relates the story of her eventual escape from her abusive boyfriend. Her gripping account goes through both the logistical complications that arise and the psychological struggle that leads her to temporarily return to her boyfriend because she loves him and convinces herself that his behavior isn't all that bad.