Lurlene McDaniel is mostly known for her teen books about tragedy and recovery. I'm not talking Romeo and Juliet, but rather sick teenagers, tragic accidents, and the healing that follows these sort of events. I've read a few of Lurlene's books in the past, mostly when I was younger, but eventually outgrew them. She's good at what she does, but never really seems to deviate from the inspirational teen genre.
That's why I was so shocked to see Prey on the shelf at the bookstore. This story is one completely ripped from today's headlines; the taboo relationship between a student and a teacher. You hear more and more about situations like this one on the news these days, and the news always paints the teacher as the seducer, or the predator.
McDaniel's novel takes this to a whole other level by speaking entirely in first person throughout the story, with chapters alternating between the three main characters: Lori, the teacher; Ryan, the student; Honey, Ryan's friend who harbors a crush on him. Lori, from the start of the book, pinpoints Ryan and says that she knows he will be the One. Ryan, on the other hand, thinks that his new teacher is gorgeous and wants to get to know her better.
As their relationship progresses, it gets harder to tell who seducing who. Both Lori and Ryan try desperately to impress one another, and while the blame should be put on Lori, as she is the adult, it is just as much Ryan's fault that they are doing what they are doing. The sex scenes are handled well, with activities being implied, but never explicitly described. Most readers should be able to know exactly what's happening during these parts, but for those of you who don't: they have sex. Multiple times. And it's consensual (even though Ryan is 15 at the beginning of the book).
The story plays out pretty much the way you would assume it does: Lori does get caught, and goes to jail for a small amount of time before her and Ryan get back together. The true draw to this book lies in the psychology behind the actions, the way the characters think and reason. I very much disliked the character of Lori; I'm not sure anyone would like her. However, I thought she was well written, and I enjoyed reading her view on what was happening. Ryan, on the other hand, did not sound like a 15/16 year old to me. My youngest sister is that age, and she would never think the way that he did. His voice seems like that of an older teen, 17-18, or possibly even a young adult. I know it must be hard to write as a 15 year old boy, but his character didn't seem realistic to me.
Honey, on the other hand, is a whole other story. While her voice is fine - she speaks and thinks exactly like a girl her age should - I felt that her parts were added in only to progress the story later on in the book. While she was indeed the catalyst that brought on the climax of the book, her earlier scenes didn't seem that important; I felt like they were only there so that her inclusion later on in the novel wouldn't be as random. There wasn't much depth to her character, or the character of Ryan.
While this was not an amazing book, I think Lurlene did a good job with the subject. It's hard to write about something like this, and I commend her for leaving her comfort zone and writing about something unfamiliar to her. While I wouldn't read this one again, I certainly read through it fast, and found myself wondering about what would happen to the characters.
SCORE: 6/10
IF YOU LIKE: Go Ask Alice (Anonymous), The Face on the Milk Carton (Caroline B. Cooney)
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