Book Description Review “A compelling story of young people sorting through conflicting messages and social pressures around sexuality and relationships. Powerful.” (School Library Journal (starred review))“The novel takes on teen attitudes toward sex and relationships and gender power dynamics in a way that is appealing and thought provoking. Hilariously necessary.” (Kirkus Reviews (starred review))“Giles’s thoughtful, hilarious read offers a timely viewpoint on religion, toxic masculinity, and teen sexuality.” (Publishers Weekly (starred review))”With a fresh perspective, Giles takes care to flesh out his full cast of characters, creating an intricate, multifaceted web of misogyny and its detrimental impact.” (Booklist (starred review))“This is a deeply funny and searingly honest look at teen sex, adults’ anxieties around it, and the toxic masculinity that so often shapes it.” (Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books)“Holy hell! This was perfect timely read! I laughed, I gasped, I church grunted through every chapter. Giles is a master at writing realistic characters that are both flawed and relatable.” (Tiffany Jackson)”Heartfelt and hilarious on every page! Giles is not only adept at storytelling, he understands what makes us human.” (Justin Reynolds)“Realistic…hysterical. I couldn’t put it down.” (Nic Stone, New York Times bestselling author of Dear Martin)“Lamar Giles continues to prove he’s untouchable when crafting unforgettable characters. Readers will laugh hysterically but will lean in to the novel when Giles takes an honest look into masculinity and flips the ol’ premise of “boy gets girl.” (Lilliam Rivera, author of Dealing in Dreams and The Education of Margot Sanchez)“Not So Pure and Simple manages to put real issues in the spotlight, like toxic masculinity and societal pressures on youth while still being a funny, heartfelt, and wildly charming read! Get ready to hug this book as you’ll be cheering for Del along the way!” (Jay Coles, author of Tyler Johnson Was Here) Read more About the Author Lamar Giles writes for teens and adults. He is the author of the Edgar Award finalists Fake ID and Endangered as well as the critically acclaimed Overturned, Spin, and The Last Last-Day-of-Summer. He is a founding member of We Need Diverse Books and resides in Virginia. Visit him online at www.lamargiles.com. Read more Customers Review: There’s plenty of great dialogue, humor, and some fine plot twists within, and the ending makes the reader hope to rejoin Del and his friends as adults.
Del is just a regular high school junior with a long-time crush on classmate Kiera. Then by some miracle, she’s suddenly single, and he’s willing to do ANYTHING to get her to see she’s supposed to be with him. Yes, including joining the Purity Pledge Group at their church, run by a pastor whose curriculum happens to be the exact opposite of the school’s sex ed (not that they call it that) class. Getting that girl is all that matters.I bought this book after seeing author Tracey Baptiste recommend it as further reading during a conversation about Laurie Halse Anderson’s SPEAK, a must-read about sexual consent and trauma in a high school setting. I absolutely see why she did so.While SPEAK has us in its female main character’s head as a victim of a rape she can’t talk about and target of peer aggression in the aftermath of calling the cops on the party she was attending at which she was raped, NOT SO PURE AND SIMPLE has us in a teenage boy’s head. This teenage boy is just doing what his family and friends and society have always told him to do: go get your girl. You want it, you should have it.While he’s pursuing his goal, we get to meet the people in his life, new and old. Like his beloved older sister who just started college, an old friend who was one of a group of girls at his school who recently all had babies around the same time, his best friend who is alll into being a player, various members of his fellow Purity Pledgers, the preacher, a teacher, and many more. Each one is a layered, dynamic piece of the puzzle that makes up the messaging that Del is getting–whether or not he’s listening.Eventually, things do come to a head, and he has some decisions to make on how he’s going to respond to the realities thrust in front of him. And those choices are what so many of us need to watch, what so many teenagers need to witness.So I am grateful for this book, for Del’s story, for the information given on the pages and lessons taught through show-don’t-tell. I’d love to see this book in the hands of many a teenaged boy (all genders, but let’s focus on the boys first), and on the classroom shelves in high schools. Because there is a lot to learn about consent, consideration, honesty, and problematic maleness that’s still being encouraged in our world today. It inspired some important, frank conversations with my own teenaged son and almost-teenaged daughter. This alone, makes it a gift to us parents.It’s funny and moving and uncomfortable and informative and relatable and sweet and upsetting and hopeful and so many other things, just like real life. Go get it.
One of the best YA contemporary novels I have ever read, I am predicting it is very likely to end up in my top 10 at the end of the year. This is saying a lot considering this is a genre I normally dont like very much at all. This story is realistic with so many important messages about sexuality, toxic masculinity, and the *nice guy* problem. Trigger warnings for sexual assault. This book needs to be required reading for high school students and adults alike.
This book received many starred reviews from the book industry’s professional journals and associations. I can see why! He handles important teen issues in an accessible, complex way sprinkled with laugh-out-loud humor. I hope he writes a sequel as I’m not ready to let go of his characters as they navigate their lives forward. Great job! |
4 reviews