7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing, but well-written., October 7, 2005
Leslea Newman, Jailbait (Delacorte, 2005)
It is quite probable that, no matter what happens with Leslea Newman's career, she will forever have her name linked with Heather Has Two Mommies, her 1990 juvenile picture book that inspired a firestorm of controversy (that still rages today). She could win the Nobel Prize for Literature next week, and people would probably still refer to her as "the person who wrote Heather Has Two Mommies." Whether Jailbait was an attempt to break the mold by writing another book with an undeniably controversial theme or not, I've no idea, but I must admit the thought crossed my mind more than once.
I find it exceptionally interesting that a previous Amazon reviewer (August 16, 2005) criticizes the novel for not "[disproving] the myth that young girls always understand the consequences sexual involvement with an older man can bring." I'm not terribly sure where that reviewer is getting her information; in America, the myth (and the law to back it up) is that no "child" of either sex understands the consequences of sexual involvement with an older member of either sex. And while to say exactly how Newman tackles that question would be the spoiler of spoilers for the book (for that question and how it is addressed, predictably, is the climax of the novel), I have to say that from where I'm standing, the previous reviewer seems to have read exactly the opposite of the book I did.
It's impossible to judge the book without looking at the deeper ethical concepts raised, unfortunately, but I think I managed to base my review more on the book's construction than the questions it addresses. It is aimed at the 10-12 grade crowd, and the language fits. The characters are well, and surprisingly, drawn; for a book set in 1971, the token trapped-in-the-sixties stoner is surprisingly understated, and one has to give at least grudging respect to the idea that Newman had to have been tempted to turn said token stoner into a stereotype. Instead, he turns out as human as the rest of the cast. The boyfriend, who is of course at the core of the book, is handled quite well; Newman uses the book's first-person-singular to keep us from knowing any more about him than her protagonist does, which proves on more than one occasion to simultaneously frustrate the reader and lend an air of veracity. (One imagines an author with lesser skills sending her protagonist off to play amateur detective, a move Newman wisely avoids.) Our hero's parents slip a little now and again towards stereotype, but that's to be expected in literature aimed at the teen set, and Newman never takes it too far.
An interesting book, both well-written and worth thinking about for its subject matter; I just wish Newman had strayed as far from conventional morality in the latter as she did from conventional genre writing in the former. *** ½
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Ugh!, January 11, 2007
This review is from: Jailbait (Paperback)
I really wanted to like this story. It sounded interesting and different.
Instead, I got to read about a sullen, uninteresting and completely screwed up teeanagers in the 1970's.
Kind of boring and very typical. There was not a redeeming feature in any of the characters and the storyline was stilted and rigid.
Not a good read.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing, October 18, 2006
I finished Jailbait a couple of hours ago, and I'm still shaking. It's a young adult novel, but it could also be horror. Leslea Newman does a perfect job of detailing how an average girl from a sleepy suburban town can suddenly find herself to be "jailbait."
I knew this book was about an underage girl, Andrea, who gets involved with an older man, so when I started reading it yesterday I assumed that although I may find the story interesting and well-written (which it absolutely is!), I doubted I would ever be able to identify with this character at all. I would never get into some strange man's car to begin with. Or even if I did, I certainly never would get physical with him. And there's no way I would ever lie or steal for some guy. Or would I? Am I really above succumbing to some suave older man's wiles? While I never had an experience quite like Andrea's, in retrospect . . . I did take some pretty brainless risks back when I was a teenager. And I rationalized them the same way Andrea does.
This novel made me question my self-assuredness and highlights how stealthily sexual predators operate. Jailbait is scary not just because of the plot but also because how easily readers, via Newman's honest prose, can identify with Andrea's state of mind and the emotions propelling her well-meaning but destructive choices.
Jailbait should be required reading for all young adults, and their parents.
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