Friday, May 10, 2013

Book Club Friday: V is for Virgin

I'm an adult. My adolescent years of cringe-worthy moments are all laughable anecdotes to tell at parties. I honestly don't have a single embarrassing moment that is blog-worthy. I have a few awkward sex stories that I have already told or have been penned into writing submissions outside of my blog. Thus, I am still blogging today, but I'm ignoring the prompt.

Confession: I'm not reading that much this year. I read 51 new books in 2012--that is to say, all my rereads of old favorites did not count. But I have only read 7 books this year. I blame working two jobs. Having a second job drastically cuts into my reading time.

One book I read back in March was V is for Virgin by Kelly Oram.

http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1345676801l/15703297.jpg

Y'all.

It. Was. BRILLIANT.

From Amazon: When Val Jensen gets dumped for her decision to stay a virgin until marriage, the nasty breakup goes viral on YouTube, making her the latest internet sensation.

After days of ridicule from her peers, Val starts a school-wide campaign to rally support for her cause. She meant to make a statement, but she never dreamed the entire nation would get caught up in the controversy.

As if becoming nationally recognized as “Virgin Val” isn’t enough, Val’s already hectic life starts to spin wildly out of control when bad boy Kyle Hamilton, lead singer for the hit rock band Tralse, decides to take her abstinence as a personal challenge.

How can a girl stay true to herself when this year’s Sexiest Man Alive is doing everything in his power to win her over?


There was so much I liked about this book. Like Val's reasons for saving sex for marriage. The different perspectives on saving sex for marriage and intentionally have sex with someone before marriage. The acknowledgement that some teenage girls have low self-esteem and turn to male attention for being sexy or having sex. The acknowledgement that some teenagers just want to have sex, and it's not necessarily a bad thing. 

There is a teeny tiny bit of slut-shaming, but it happens when Val is really hurt and upset about rumors flying around about her, so she lashes out. There is also sexual assault that isn't labeled sexual assault--Val is kissed against her will. She does slap the guy, if I remember correctly, but she is also mad at herself for enjoying it. As someone who is a really big proponent of consent, I felt a little uneasy about this. But overall, Val was pissed about it, so I think that is mostly in the right direction.

Does the book lack realism? To an extent, yes, but it's not quite as fluffy and outlandish as any of Meg Cabot's books (which I adore, by the way). It's also not totally predictable. Val had three potential suitors--four, if you count her ex repenting and coming back to her. I honestly didn't know until the very end how her love life would play out.

This was a quick read that I finished in an afternoon. If you're looking for something short and fun, or if you're interested in different (albeit fictional) perspectives on abstinence, I highly recommend this book!

As usual, I'm linking up with Book Club Friday!


And, of course, Blog Every Day in May!

6 comments:

  1. 51 books in 2012? That's amazing. I'm jealous! I really wish I read more than I do. I'm loving this book review! It seems like one I'd really enjoy. I'm heading out of town soon so maybe I'll grab it for the road. I'm new to your blog and love it!

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    1. Thanks! It was definitely a challenge, but when I moved to Toronto, I had no friends and tons of free time... V is for Virgin is really cute & funny, and it's definitely a fast read. Thanks for commenting! I love new readers. :)

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  2. Crazy idea: could you set up your blog to allow kinja peoples to post as their burner accounts? I know you get a few of us every now and then.

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    1. I really like this idea, but I have no idea how to implement it. Do you know of any other blogs who have done this? I have been researching other commenting systems, especially ones that notify readers when I reply to them. I'm leaning towards Disqus, but IDK if that would help those with burner accounts. If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them!

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  3. Well now that I think about it, I actually don't know how it would be implemented either! I would check kinja's main site and ask the tech people. There's apparently some Hungarian blog that uses it-I can't imaging Gawker owns that.
    I hate disqus with a passion. What you have here seems better than it imo.

    I honestly think that despite the whining and complaining by the readers that kinja is one of the better commenting systems out there.

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    1. Just FYI, I did contact the folks at kinja, and they replied back to me. Currently there's not a way to implement their commenting system on blogs/sites outside of the main gawker sites. But they're making a note of the idea, and if it becomes a popular request, they'll look into that functionality. :)

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Thanks for reading and commenting!

Anonymous commenting disabled while my mom is sick.

Comments are moderated because I receive a lot of spam, and I think CAPTCHA is annoying. I reply to most of your comments within the comment section because it inspires discussion between readers. For first-time commenters, I try to reply by email.

Yes, you can comment anonymously. Yes, you can disagree with me. However, as of 05/31/2013, if you are commenting anonymously, and your words are hateful or abusive, I will publish these at my discretion. I like that my blog can be a forum for discussion, but anything that blames or mocks survivors of sexual assault will NOT be tolerated.

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