Reviews

Prose offers a nuanced meditation on how stories of abuse can confuse and obscure the truth. When Maisie returns to her father and stepmother's home after a year living with her mother, she reunites with three childhood friends, Shakes, Chris and Kevin. But things are different. It is the summer before high school, one of them has a girlfriend and they all notice Maisie's newly developed breasts. It is Shakes, who has a mild palsy, whose devotion not only remains but grows into a relationship that is tenderly described ("It sometimes felt we were-like two halves of the same creature," Maisie thinks). But this friendship is shattered when the boys take physical advantage of Maisie. The incident spirals out of control through rumors, bullying and a complaint filed by Maisie's overzealous stepmother. A therapist helps Maisie unravel the many versions of the story and come to terms with the truth, that the "period of grace" with her best friend is over, that his courage has limits. Prose's (Bullyville) adept narration and shunning of easy answers will hold readers' interest. Ages 14-up. (June) Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

Gr 7-9-Maisie, Kevin, Chris, and Shakes have been best buds since preschool. But something changes after Maisie spends eighth grade in Wisconsin, living with her mother. When she moves back with her dad and stepfamily to start high school, she finds that her friends are awkward around her, and well.she has boobs now and the boys don't quite know where to look. It's the start of a landslide of changes that confuse, attract, and ultimately blow apart the once impenetrable foursome. Over the course of the novel, Maisie looks back, struggling to understand the events that led up to one particular morning on the school bus and to define or perhaps to deny what really happened when the boys touched her breasts. Was it assault? Did she say "No"? Did Shakes really hold down her hands so she couldn't stop the others? What is hardest for Maisie to admit is that she might have played a role in what happened. It is easier by far to cry victim and she has the support of some angry adults to do that. But while readers will be as outraged as she by the events, something greater lies ahead as Maisie puzzles out the shards of her experience and builds a whole and more honest understanding of what really happened. Continued friendship might not be possible, but discovering her own integrity is worth the effort. This novel portrays early adolescence with all the confusion, denial, delight, and potential that it entails.-Carolyn Lehman, Humboldt State University, Arcata, CA Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.

"A nuanced meditation on how stories of abuse can confuse and obscure the truth...Prose's (Bullyville) adept narration and shunning of easy answers will hold readers' interest. "--Publishers Weekly