The File on Angelyn Stark - Catherine Atkins

It's rare that I dislike the premise of a book. This is one of those cases. It's not that the whole thing was unenjoyable - that would be unfair to the author, and to the book. My problem is... well, you'll see what my problem is.

This book is about a girl named Angelyn Stark. Angelyn is a 15 year old girl who is a troublemaker, but has potential. Unfortunately, not many people see this potential in her - in fact, her support system is limited to about 5 people, two of which she is holding a grudge against, one of which she tries to avoid on a daily basis unless she has to, and her mother, who loves her because she's her daughter but doesn't treat her well all the time due to pressure from both her boyfriend and her job. Oh, and Angelyn's got a boyfriend who pressures her to have sex and deserts her when she refuses, and two wishy-washy friends who only like her because she's a delinquent, but they don't support her unless it's convenient for them.

That's one of my main problems with this book, actually - I know that teens face social problems all the time (I was a teenager, too!) but it seems improbable that EVERYONE at her school, with the exception of Jeni (who Angelyn makes fun of despite her being basically Angelyn's only friend at points), is a total and complete jerk. The school doesn't really seem to care about all of the bad things going on in the school, either; Angelyn's two 'sometime' friends get into fights and openly pick on other kids without any teachers or principals even bothering to step in.

The other problem I had with the book lies with the sheer amount of important plotlines in this book. Any one of these would have made a decent book on their own, but Ms. Atkins took all of her ideas and crammed them in one book. Angelyn has many problems going on in her life, you see. (Now's the time when I give a short list of them, so if you REALLY don't want any plot spoilers go past this part, but all of these are touched on very early in the novel)

1. Her stepfather/Mom's boyfriend is a jerk. He's not good for her mother, or for Angelyn. He is parasitic and oversteps his boundaries with both Angelyn and her Mom often. He is, quite simply put, a jerk.
2. Her boyfriend pressures her for sex, and expects a lot more from her. He's not a bad guy necessarily, but is under the impression that a 15-year-old girl should be putting out for her boyfriend if she doesn't want him to stray.
3. Her teacher, Mr. Rossi, is one of the few people who believes in Angelyn and thinks that she can make something of herself. Angelyn's friends think that he is in love with her, and Angelyn starts to blur the lines between student and teacher relationships.
4. When Angelyn was young, her neighbor and friend Nathan witnessed something between Angelyn and her stepfather. He claims that he saw the stepfather touching her - Angelyn claims that it was simply the way they were playing around. Since then, the Starks stand by the fact that Nathan (and his grandmother, who cared a lot for Angelyn as well) were lying about what they saw. Angelyn told the police that nothing happened... but Nathan and Angelyn can't both be telling the truth.

This book reminded me, in tone, to Prey by Lurlene McDaniel. However, where Lurlene's book was focused on just one of the subjects Catherine Atkins touches on, Angelyn Stark tries to cover a very broad range of topics all at once.

Not great, but not terrible. I wouldn't buy this one when it comes out in hardcover, but rather wait for the paperback or borrow it from the library. It's an easy read in the sense that the writing style isn't very difficult to understand, but the topics it covers might not be appropriate for the younger readers. The book isn't explicit or anything but the sheer amount of 'taboo' topics is a little overwhelming at times. This is the first book I've read by this author, and while I won't be running out to get her other books I wouldn't be against reading them.

SCORE: 5.5/10
IF YOU LIKE: Prey (Lurlene McDaniel), Alt Ed (Catherine Atkins)

Prey - Lurlene McDaniel

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)