Customer Reviews

The Lit Report (Young Adult Novels)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

With the help of some famous first lines, Julia tells the story of her best friend Ruth's pregnancy, from the confession that Ruth "did it" at a party to the summer that Ruth gives birth to a baby girl, all while keeping the pregnancy a secret. Julia is a planner and a researcher, and as a devoted best friend, she does everything she can to help the sometimes volatile Ruth make it through their junior year of high school without anyone, particularly her Bible-thumping parents, know that she's pregnant. It helps that Julia's stepmother is also giving birth during the year, with the assistance of a midwife. As the year quickly goes by, Ruth and Julia begin to change, each adapting new roles that neither girl ever planned.

This is one of those strange novels that has an awesome main character - Julia is well-developed, clever, and funny - and a somewhat mediocre plot. Ruth's pregnancy is treated somewhat lightly, though there are several spots where the author seems to warn readers that it's probably not a good idea to help your teenage friend give birth without the aid of a trained doctor or any sort of medical facility. This point just doesn't ever sink in. The story also deals with post-partum depression, probably an uncommon element in young adult novels. It was nice to see this issue brought up. It was hard to understand why Ruth and Julia were friends, considering Ruth was downright abusive during most of the story. I also lost track of several other plot elements, such as Julia losing a ton of weight, the romance between Julia and Ruth's brother, or the developing relationship between Julia and her stepmother. Parts of the story work very well, but other pieces are just garbled; for example, Julia's mother just doesn't seem to be the same character as she was at the start of the book (I get that Julia gains appreciation for her mother's strength). The characters are also very anti-Christian, which I imagine could turn off a lot of readers. However, the story-telling device of using first-lines is a great one.

I'm curious to see more from this author, because it's a well-written story and can be enjoyable. I'd just like to see it tidied up a bit more. This reminded me a lot of Chris Crutcher's books.

I picked this book up last week and read it on a downtown bus. Okay, so after reading the first chapter I will never look at a gherkin pickle the same way again. I laughed right out loud on the bus and am considering filing a lawsuit against the publisher for my resulting loss of dignity.

Chapter 2 lead to a "Wow!", that added nothing to my dignity, either.

Next morning chapter 8 elicited an "Oh my God," that brought my wife running to my reading chair in case I was experiencing a momentary cardiac arrest.

The book is a wonderful read that will hook you and it drag you straight in. Harvey keeps the reader guessing in that the book took several unanticipated turns along the way.

Each chapter is lead off with a reference to a classic such as "Pride and Prejudice", "Charlotte's Web" or "To Kill a Mockingbird". The device did make me want to go and pick up each of these novels - even though I'd read a lot of them already - and hopefully it will entice a few young readers down some interesting roads.

I recommend this novel for both young and old readers who truly love a good read.

I don't use my thumbs much in typing - except for the occasional space bar nudge - so I'll stick both of them squarely up in the air for now.

Buy this book.

Read it.

Then shelve it with those books that you keep for re-reading because you will read this again and again!

Yours in storytelling,

Steve Vernon

Julia and Ruth have been friends since they met in Sunday school at the age of four. They have been inseparable ever since. They attend a Christian school. Julia's mother is all about God. Her father, a neonatal nurse, remarried Miki, a pediatrician. Ruth's father is "Pastor Pete."

One day, Ruth doesn't show up at school, making Julia somewhat unhappy. After school, Julia calls Ruth after getting a a bunch of "CALL ME NOW" text messages. Ruth confesses that she had sex at a party and is now pregnant.

Julia comes up with a plan that will help conceal the pregnancy from everyone. And they will leave the baby on the steps of Ruth's father's church after it is born.

Will the plan work out, or will Ruth decide she wants to keep the baby?

THE LIT REPORT was really good. The way Julia and Ruth spoke to each other was so real. I really liked the storyline, as well. I've never read a book where the girl is hiding her pregnancy from everyone except her best friend. Julia was a strong and smart character. I disliked Ruth somewhat for the way she treated her best friend; Julia was helping her and she didn't appreciate it.

But I think anyone could enjoy this book.

Reviewed by: Ashley B

//The Lit Report// is a tedious parade of one-dimensional characters through unrealistic situations, set against a backdrop of the author's startlingly anti-Christian prejudice. The main character, Julia, is supposed to be the writer of this meta-narrative, and she sets it against the backdrop of the first lines of a series of famous works. The reason for this is never sufficiently explained--maybe just an excuse for the author to show off that she's read both //Slaughterhouse-Five// and //The Story of Babar//--but then the book's plot is never really defined either. We go from focusing on Julia and Ruth's friendship to Ruth's pregnancy, to Julia's spark-less romance with Ruth's brother and so on, without ever really defining the characters or what the story is about.

The one constant throughout the book is the author's belief that Christianity is for losers. She spends a great deal of time portraying Christians as gullible, corrupt, stupid, and/or secret porn addicts. By contrast, the book's non-religious characters (Julia's father, stepmother, and their midwife) are portrayed as wealthy, tasteful, and hip. The only religious character the author portrays with any sympathy is Julia's mom and she becomes sympathetic only as her religious fervor wanes throughout the book.

On page 82, Ms. Harvey uses "less" when she should use "fewer" and on page 83, she uses "nauseous" when she means "nauseated." If I were to use those mistakes to portray all Canadian authors as semi-literate hacks, it would not be fair and it would not be accurate. But it would be painting with no broader brush than Ms. Harvey uses to portray all Christians as ignorant, hypocritical bigots. The ironic part of this, of course, is that the author doesn't seem to be aware of her own proselytizing. Anti-Christianity is her religion and she is preaching the gospel with all the zeal of a televangelist. But then, as Susan Howatch observed, atheists are such very religious people. //The Lit Report// certainly demonstrates the truth behind that irony.