Sex & Violence - YA Book Review

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Hearing the title Sex & Violence made me think this YA novel was going to be about abusive relationships, teenage pregnancy, etc. Not so much.

The story is about 17-year-old Evan who moves around a lot because of his dad's job. Due to never being in one place for long, Evan doesn't waste time trying to make friends. He does, however, scope out "easy" girls and have sex with them, then cast them aside and never call them again. Once he moves again, he starts it all over.

Unfortunately, Evan hooks up with the wrong girl and ends up getting beaten up by the girl's ex-boyfriend and his ??'s roommate. This ugly incident results in Evan's father taking Evan out of school and moving to a lakehouse in Minnesota for the summer. In this small lakeside community, Evan is forced to befriend the local teens and all their summer drama while learning how to get over his fears and form long-lasting relationships with people, including girls. Can he do it or will he fall into the same trap that got him beaten up before?

At the same time he's trying to work through all of that, he's also dealing with daddy issues and uncovering family history.

Basically, this book is full of reasons why teenagers should not have sex. Number one reason, they are too immature to handle it. The amount of ridiculous drama that ensues because everyone in this tiny town is sleeping with everyone else (practically) just kills me. And the parents don't seem overly concerned.

I can't really say that I enjoyed reading this book. Many parts were just painful or hard to get through. But that's just my assessment. Maybe kids in the target age range will be able to relate, although I sincerely hope not. I'm sure this book is supposed to have some kind of message for teens, but I can't think of what that message might be. Perhaps simply don't have frivolous sex?

This book features characters who are 17 and 18. I would only recommend this book for kids who are of that age or older. Parents, if you're reading this, you also might want to read the book so you know what your kids are reading and can talk to them about it. Aside from sex, other content in the book includes cursing, underage drinking, and drug use by both teens and adults.

Sex & Violence is published by Carolrhoda Books and is available to purchase now. I received a free review copy for my honest review.