Harmless

by Dana Reinhardt
on CD, Carver County Library, 5:57 on 5 disks

Read by Lynde Houck, Donna Rawlins, and Staci Snell

Spoiler alert! I give away major plot info in this response!

This book was hard to listen to. . . it's about three "good" girls - Emma, Anna, and Mariah - who tell a lie to stay out of trouble. Only the lie grows and gets worse and eventually unravels everything for them.

What I didn't like - Emma losing her virginity to Owen, a virtual stranger, while she was drunk and not really aware of what she was doing. The way people around her didn't really understand why she was withdrawn. It really bugged me when the kids were arrested in class in front of their peers, but then the rationale is given and it does make sense. As I listened, though, I said, "No Way! That just would not happen like that!"

What I did like - the ending! It made me cry when David Allen's statement was read. What a fantastic lesson in forgiveness! I liked the fact that the story showed how actions have consequences. I like how the story was told from all three girls' perspectives and came full circle.
I liked the rich character development, especially for Emma's family members (less so her mom). I loved the character of Silas - I wanted to know him for real!

All in all, I ended up liking it much better than I expected when I started it. If I bought it for CMSW (debatable. . . ), I would only want the 8th graders who are more mature to read it. Definitely a good one to put on the "problem novel" list for lying and first sex as topics.