Stacie & Cole [Paperback]

RM Johnson (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 18, 2007

 

Love's drama, dreams, and schemes.

 

Stacie & Cole have been in love since the beginning of high school. Their heads should be up in the clouds, but lately it's all been about sins and secrets that threaten to tear their love apart.

 

Stacie's dad is acting way more overprotective than usual. And what's up with her best friend being so shady lately? Even Cole has been testing her. Stacie loves him more than anything, but she's not sure she's ready to take their relationship to that level just yet.

 

Cole is ready to take their relationship further. Feeling abandoned by his dad—and harassed for being a virgin by his trash-talking boys—he's trying to learn intimacy any way he can.

 

Stacie & Cole have always been close—but with lust and lies at every turn, they discover if their love really has no limit.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 10 Up—Stacie and Cole have been dating since ninth grade and are now 16 and thinking about having sex for the first time. This causes a conflict with Stacie's dad. Her sister was kicked out of the house when she became pregnant and their father is overprotective, especially since his wife left him. Cole's mom has a new boyfriend and Cole is angry that he hasn't seen his dad in three years. When he learns that his father is at the local homeless shelter, he finds him and encourages him to come back home. In the meantime, Cole and Stacie try to figure out their relationship, and Cole's previous girlfriend gets involved. These African-American teens must come to terms with making their own decisions and dealing with the consequences. This urban novel is written on an easy reading level for reluctant readers. The love-triangle plot is predictable but provides for a dramatic conclusion.—Corinda J. Humphrey, Los Angeles Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Stacie and Cole have been dating since freshman year, and that age-old question has reared its head: Do you love me enough to go all the way? Cole, a football star, is more than ready. Stacie has issues: her sister got pregnant, making her father near-crazed on the subject of protecting his other daughter. Johnson, who writes urban romance novels for adults, takes it down a notch for YA readers, but there’s plenty in this soap opera to raise eyebrows. When Stacie’s duplicitous best friend, Donesha, catches Cole at a weak moment (his drug-addict father is in the hospital), she tries to make him feel better: “Donesha straddled him, the sheer nightgown now hiked up over hips . . . she grabbed both his hands . . . and placed them on her bare behind . . . There she stood completely naked . . . Cole stiffened more in his pants.” The plotting is predictable, but the kids seem real enough, and there will be plenty of teens who will relate as they read. Grades 10-12. --Ilene Cooper

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 14 and up
  
• Paperback: 199 pages
• Publisher: Jump At The Sun (December 18, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1423105982
• ISBN-13: 978-1423105985
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #846,856 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Who Decides When? 3.5, January 13, 2008

By 

Angelia Menchan "acvermen.blogspot.com" (Florida) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Stacie & Cole (Paperback)

Stacie and Cole by RM Johnson is a coming-of-age story about teenagers in love, who are faced with tough decisions. Stacie and Cole start dating in ninth grade and for the next two years are inseparable. It is easy to read how in love they are. However, once they reach the age of sixteen Cole is convinced it is time to have sex. Stacie is not as sure about it and her father, Clark, is even less sure. After his wife leaves the family, Clarks deals with raising Stacie alone and is suspicious and over-protective. Cole has his friends telling him, `If she loved you she would.' Stacie's dad is of course, telling her she had better not. There is also a compelling fact that resonates in her mind. Her sister, Mya, got pregnant as a teenager and was thrown out of their home and Stacie is not interested in suffering the same fate.

The story goes back and forth with the teenagers trying to decide what to do, while trying to filter advice from friends and family. There are also very good back stories about Cole's relationship with his mother, Lana, his missing father, Franklin, and potential stepfather, Edrick. Another interesting storyline is the one between Stacie and her best friend, Donesha, who might not be as good a friend as she appears. We are also given glimpses of why Stacie's father is so protective and what drives him. Stacie and Cole is a glimpse at family turmoil and the growing pains of young people. There is also a strong message about standing by your decisions and forgiveness.

I recommend Stacie and Cole to teens over the age of sixteen and to older readers interested in reading about the struggles teens have with certain issues. Having read all of Mr. Johnson's work for adults, I feel he does a fine job with his young adult debut.

Angelia Menchan
APOOO BookClub