DON'T KISS AND TELL

A 14-year-old girl’s predatory teacher takes advantage of her crush on him in this YA novel.

Navigating your freshman year can be difficult, but at least auburn-haired Coral Wilene Anderson can ride the bus to Charles Creek High School with her best friend, Delainey Cleveland. Cheerleader Delainey has a new circle of A-list friends; she tries to include Coral, but it’s not a good fit. Team captain/queen bee Brancy Weaver and her moneyed clique wear sexy designer outfits, drink, steal, and make out in public, all unthinkable in Coral’s straight-laced family. A bright spot is Mr. Satchel Patterson, the algebra teacher; Coral has a ginormous crush on him and is thrilled when her parents hire him to tutor her in math. After a diary-related disaster, Coral gets an undeserved reputation as a snitch, blowing up her social life. When she bursts into tears during tutoring, Mr. Patterson is kind and supportive; he listens, supplies a handkerchief, gives her a hug—and kisses her. He begs her not to tell and she agrees, since she’s no snitch, and besides, the kiss is heavenly. The immoral Mr. Patterson continues his disturbing, predatory grooming, leading to serious consequences. Eadie, who has written several books, gives Coral a vividly slangy, hyperbolic teenage voice, especially in her diary’s catch phrases, such as “Paging God. Urgent knee-mail.” Coral’s emotions are all on the surface, but her narration also reveals subtle undercurrents: her parents’ overly strict, infantilizing rules; Mr. Patterson’s sly, careful manipulation of her naïveté and vulnerability; and the victim-blaming that Coral faces in the aftermath of revelations, even from her family: “My father didn’t look at me too much anymore or talk to me. He said he was ashamed.”

An entertaining, distinctive voice addresses a serious and timely subject with intelligence and insight.