Doing It
Author: Melvin Burgess
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company
Date of Publication: 2003
Format: Hardcover
Page Count: 326 Pages
Cost: $15.95
ISBN: 0-8050-7565-8
Reading Level: Ages 16 and up
Plot Summary: This book is a candid depiction of teenage sexuality from the point of view of three male adolescents. Dino, Jonathan, and Ben are three friends who must navigate the ups and downs of teen sex over the course of a tumultuous school year. Dino is devastated when he catches his mother cheating on his father, yet when his gorgeous girlfriend refuses to have sex with him he rationalizes seeing another girl secretly without comprehending the fact that he’s committing the same sin as his mother. Jonathan begins a physical relationship with the overweight girl in his class, but struggles with his willingness to commit to her for fear of how his classmates will tease him. Ben is having an affair with his young theatre teacher, who is both manipulative and abusive of him. While he originally believes that he is living every boy’s dream, he quickly comes to realize that the fantasy is much more pleasant than the reality.
Evaluation: This book deals with teenage sexuality in frank and sometimes offensively graphic terms. Burgess’s British slang softens the usage of these terms a bit, but not much. However unlikeable the characters may be, the situations in which they find themselves are startlingly realistic. Burgess claims to have written this book because he didn’t think there were enough young adult novels out there that dealt with male sexuality in an honest manner. On that level, he succeeded spectacularly. The cover of this book is an illustration of a couple having sex at a party, which is a very accurate representation of the book’s content. This novel is bound to draw many challenges from concerned adults, if it even makes it to library shelves before being silently censored by conservative librarians.
Annotation: Being a teenaged male is tough enough, but when you throw sex into the equation anything can happen!
Links:
Filth, Which Ever Way You Look At It
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Lost It by Kristen Tracy
When It Happens by Susane Colasanti
Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols
Sticky Fingers by Niki Burnham
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