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This Song Is (Not) for You by Laura Nowlin

5/20/2019

Seniors Sam and Ramona are best friends, play guitar and drums together in their two person band, and they are both hopelessly in love with each other -- but they both value their friendship too much to risk it and tell each other how they feel.
When Sam and Ramona go for an audition at a music and arts college, they meet Tom, a shy, arty avant-garde musician who Ramona invites to join their band (without consulting Sam about it).
As both the band and the friends morph from a duo to a trio, the three of them change in ways none of them could have predicted or expected all while navigating their senior year of high school and planning for what comes after.

Grades 8-12
Ebook in Overdrive

The chapters alternate between the points of view of Sam, Ramona, and Tom -- and they are all interesting characters with unique voices and issues. This book also has an asexual character, which is rare in YA books (although that's changing with books such as The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee, Summer Bird Blue by Akemi Dawn Bowman, Before I Let Go by Marieke Nijkamp, and That's Not What Happened by Kody Keplinger) -- and this book gave me a little more insight than some of the other books I've read.

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Sex & Violence by Carrie Mesrobian

5/13/2019

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Seventeen-year-old Evan has changed schools six times in the last four years. He’s not very good at making friends, but he’s very good at identifying and hooking up with Girls Who Would Say Yes (to having sex with him). He’s not interested in long-term relationships or much of anything besides swimming and running track. Evan is not a very likable guy.
When Evan gets involved with the wrong girl, he is beaten within an inch of his life by two of his classmates. After the attack, Evan’s father moves them to his childhood lakeside cabin in Minnesota where he can heal physically and mentally, and where Evan meets a group of teenage neighbors who try to draw Evan out of his shell.
Meanwhile, Evan sees a therapist for, among other things, coping with PTSD from his attack, and he has plenty of time to take a long hard look at the part of himself that he calls “Dirtbag Evan” and to reconsider his attitude toward girls and sex.

Grades 10-12
Ebook in Overdrive

Wow, did this book suck me in, and wow, did I hate Evan at the beginning of the book. Unfortunately, I don't think Evan is all that unusual in his callous treatment of girls (although I wish he were) -- and it's a topic we should be talking about more. Evan's story is a tough, honest, and thought-provoking one that's totally worth reading.

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book reviews

This Song Is (Not) for You by Laura Nowlin

Sex & Violence by Carrie Mesrobian

Ms. Wheaton

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