Dancing Naked: A Novel [Paperback]

Shelley Hrdlitschka (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2002

When Kia finds she is pregnant, her ordered life crumbles - until she begins to trust herself.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 8 & Up--A heart-wrenching story about 16-year-old Kia, whose life is about to change forever as she learns she is pregnant. She must then confront not only her own fears but also the feelings of her parents and her friends from her church youth group. She is talked into going for an abortion by her irresponsible boyfriend, but quickly realizes that pressure is not a reason to end a life. The story takes readers through her pregnancy, week-by-week, through third-person narrative and e-mails between Kia and her good friend and youth counselor, Justin. She becomes predictably attracted to this 23-year-old young man, but he is gay, and she must come to terms with the fact that they will never materialize into a couple and raise her baby, which Kia often dreams about. Throughout the book, the teen matures and begins to understand that giving birth and raising a baby are two different things. She struggles with the decision of whether to keep the baby or to choose loving parents who can give the infant a life it deserves. In the end, she is able to make the choice that best suits her and provides her child with options. The story is similar in scope to Marilyn Reynolds's Detour for Emmy (Morning Glory, 1993) and Beatrice Sparks's Annie's Baby: The Diary of Anonymous, a Pregnant Teenager (Avon, 1998), complete with the unsupportive boyfriend who does not understand and is in denial, and the family members who try to be supportive. It's thought-provoking and competently done.
Nicole M. Marcuccilli, Glenview Public Library, IL
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Gr. 8-12. A few months before her seventeenth birthday, Kia discovers that she is pregnant and decides that she can't go along with her boyfriend's desire to abort. The story unfolds through an impressive amalgamation of third-person narrative, textbook descriptions of fetal development, and Kia's journal entries and e-mail exchanges with a sympathetic Unitarian youth-group counselor. In addition to following Kia's pregnancy and her decision to give her child to adoptive parents, the book neatly and realistically weaves in subplots involving prejudices against young gay men and relationships between young people and the elderly. There's little in the Canadian setting that will seem strange, except, perhaps, the availability of universal health care and the use of the term Oriental (considered politically incorrect here) when referring to Kia'sFilipina mother. Nor is this a judgmental novel: Kia recognizes that abortion is wrong for her but may be an option for others; Kia's mother reveals that she had an abortion and discusses the circumstances openly with her daughter. The subject matter, plus strong writing and plotting, invites recreational reading; also consider this for curriculum support. Francisca Goldsmith
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 249 pages
• Publisher: Orca Book Publishers (March 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1551432102
• ISBN-13: 978-1551432106
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #706,510 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dancing Naked - in my top ten!, January 16, 2005

By 

Andi (Kansas City, MO, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dancing Naked: A Novel (Paperback)

This is a wonderful book - the first novel to make me cry in several years. About a pregnant girl who must decide what to do with her baby, it's heart-wrenching. The author pulled it off beautifully, until I felt I knew the character well enough to find her on the street. I highly recommend this book. It's one of the few good (and modern) teen novels. It's very absorbing. I stayed up half the night trying to finish it! It's definitely one of my favorites.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dancing Naked, March 18, 2004

By 

Lindsay (Wisconsin) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dancing Naked: A Novel (Paperback)

I really enjoyed Dancing Naked because its about acceptance and survival. Accepting what Kia is going though. This is acceptance because some of her friends won't accept who she is once she gets pregnant. In the story her school friends won't hang out with her and won't invite her to hang out with them or go to parties. Kia's youth group is there for her the whole way and her leader goes through the parent classes with Kia. Derek is the guy who got her pregnant. He is learning how to accept what Kia does with the child. He had to accept it because she did not do what he wanted her to do. I think it would be really hard having your boyfriend mad at you for making the right choice. He wanted her to get an abortion but she decides to put the baby up for adoption. An example of the theme survival is that people are helping Kia with her decisions. Some of the people who are helping her with her decisions are the Doc's, her parents and her priest from church. These people are helping her by talking to her about what her options are and what will happen in the future if she keeps the child. Her parents have confidence in her that she will make the right choice. I think that would be a hard part because it's your choice to do abortion, adoption, or to keep the child. It would be really hard for her because she's only 17 years old. Kia survives what she had chosen at the end of the book. I think it would be the hardest thing to make the decision whether you put it up for adoption, keep it or have an abortion. I would recommend this book to others if they like a little suspense.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Straightforward and Thoughtful, March 8, 2004

By 

Allyn "pianogirl" (USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Dancing Naked: A Novel (Paperback)

Kia Hazelwood comes to a terrifying and life-changing realization at the beginning of this story-she's pregnant. Once a seemingly perfect daughter, she now has to deal with a reality that few other sixteen-year-olds have to. Her unsupportive boyfriend wants her to get an abortion, yet Kia refuses. At times, it seems that her friends have all but disappeared and she only has the support of her loyal youth pastor, Justin. Yet despite the painful times she goes through, Kia learns poweful lessons through her pregnancy.

The best thing about "Dancing Naked" is that within the first pages it plunges you right into the thick of the situation. The prose is clear and straightforward and the subject matter is intelligently explored without being melodramatic. Readers will definitely appreciate the sweet and realistic character of Kia, and her decision not to have an abortion, yet not to condemn others for chosing that option, is uniquely thought-provoking. Futhermore, the way that "Dancing Naked" alternates between pieces of Kia's journal, her emails to Justin, and third person prose makes for a reading experience that holds your attention.

Overall, a solid choice for any teenage girl. Occasionally, I felt the characters to be slightly caricaturized and simplified-the outrageously unsupportive boyfriend and completely flaky friends, for example. However, the other strengths of "Dancing Naked" all but outweigh this flaw. Readers who are interested in this novel should also investigate Ruth Pennebaker's "Don't Think Twice."