Misbehaving

Gr 11 Up—A girl from the wrong side of the tracks meets a respectful rich guy, and lots of sexy twists ensue. Jess is a student at the local community college and works as well, grateful to her single mom for supporting them both as a stripper but desperate not to follow in her footsteps. But Jess is far from sweet and innocent; as the books opens, she is trashing her ex's truck with a baseball bat and swearing that he's cheated on her for the last time. She runs from the scene and finds Jason driving by in his rock star brother's Porsche, providing her perfect getaway. As the story twists and turns, the two of them have steamy sex and plenty of unnecessary misunderstandings. Can they overcome the odds against them and make a relationship work? Most readers won't care as long as the drama keeps coming. The cast of characters is large and it's hard to tell each protagonist apart. Plenty of teens will love the happily-ever-after ending as well as the explicit sex scenes, but the simplistic story line and mostly two-dimensional protagonists will be off-putting to those looking for depth. The graphic detail makes this novel appropriate for mature readers.—Kelly Jo Lasher, Middle Township High School, Cape May Court House, NJ