The Lighter Side of Life and Death--Book Review

Written by: C. K. Kelly Martin

This is a YA novel, and it was a very quick read. I have mixed feelings about this one. This is a coming-of-age novel about Mason, a 16-year-old high school junior, and his wild hormones. In one crazy two hours he loses his V-status with Kat, a girl he has crushed over for the last two years, one of his best friends. She had lost her boyfriend because she would not give up her V-status, and in an unguarded moment friendship consensually crossed the line. They were both willing, both caught up, and she had some wild guilt and regrets afterwards. We go along with Mason through the last 3 months of his junior year, it starts with that one, exciting yet regrettable, two hours of his life.

The story continues as within a week of this event, Mason's life is turned upside down when his father's fiancee, her 13-year-old daughter, and her 6-year-old son move in with them, have a housewarming/engagement party which brings Colette to his house. Colette is 23 and intrigued by our protagonist, who is a hormonal teen and of course cannot believe his good luck! Without being a spoiler, the rest of the book explores all of the changes in Mason's life, with Kat and Colette, his new stepfamily, and the effect the two girls have on his life as a whole.

What I did not like about the book is the overly salacious details given about his time with each of the girls, and I think I saw a bit too much of a teenaged boy's hormonally driven thoughts. Now, granted, I am not the target audience for this book. As a mother of a teen boy and a teen girl, and younger children as well, I am put off by the descriptions. I thought they were too much for a YA book.

What I did like about this book is the fact that (though it scares me a bit) almost all teens will relate to it. The hormonal urges and the effort to control those urges, which can be difficult. I also liked how the reprecussions for a moment of abandon are well illustrated. I think the torment Kat suffers, as well as Mason's reaction, are quite plausible, and perhaps it will make the young adult reader pause to consider before leaping headlong into something they are not quite ready to handle.