Friday, February 22, 2008

Prey by Lurlene McDaniel


Prey by Lurlene McDaniel

Reading Level: Young Adult
Pages: 208
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (February 12, 2008)




Thus far, I've only reviewed books that I've really liked, so you may be thinking, "does Jill like every book she reads?" Of course not. I've read plenty of children's books I don't like but have decided not to review them because I really didn't think I had much to say except that they were just okay. I lead a team of writers at a communications firm and know how important it is to give constructive feedback to help writers grow. As a writer myself, I know what it feels like to receive wishy-washy, vague feedback. I need to know what needs work so I can improve, make it the best piece possible, and apply the same lessons to my next piece. So, in my opinion, if I read a book and don't have something constructive to say except I didn't like it, that's a useless review. That's why up until now I've intentionally chosen not to review books about which I had mixed feelings.

Last weekend, I read Lurlene McDaniel's new Young Adult novel, Prey, and I DO have something constructive (at least I think so) to say about it. It's a story about a female high school history teacher, Ms. Lori Settles who seduces her teenage student, Ryan Piccoli. We seem to be obsessed with real-life cases like this in this country. Probably the most infamous of these teachers is Mary Kay Letourneau who had two children with her teenage student and ended up marrying him when she finished her jail sentence. And then the 25-year-old teacher Kelsey Peterson made national news back in November when she was caught in Mexico with her 14-year-old student. As a former teacher myself, I am incredulous when I hear stories like this. Questions run through my head: Why would someone in such a professional and influential position do this? What was she thinking? What happened to this woman that would cause her to act this way?

I was naturally intrigued when I received a review copy of Prey. Perhaps this would answer some of my questions and get more into the head of these female predators. Prey alternates between the point of view of three characters: Ryan, Ms. Settles, and Honey, Ryan's longtime friend who is secretly in love with him.

The book gets off to a promising start. We learn from the very beginning that Ryan is intentionally Lori's target. From the very first day of school, she knows that, "he'll be the One" (p. 15). Upon reading this, I felt a chill and was eager to continue reading. However, I felt the seduction happened way too quickly, and Ryan's situation didn't seem realistic. His father is a traveling salesman and is out of town four days of the week. A housekeeper cleans the house, but doesn't live there and hardly pays any attention to Ryan when she is there. It almost seems too easy for Lori to manipulate him and too easy for them to get together.

Writing in first person is challenging and probably one of the most difficult tasks to pull off well. Successfully writing from the first person point of view of multiple characters is extremely difficult (I'm thinking of Faulkner here, who I believe was a master at this). I applaud McDaniel for taking a risk here. I was interested in the relationship between Honey and Ryan and then Ryan and Lori, but McDaniel never really went deep enough with the characters. While Honey's character was needed to describe Ryan's friend's and family's concern about his sudden change in behavior, I often felt she was just an aside, an interrupter of sorts, especially when her chapters disrupted the flow and momentum of the novel.

In addition, at some points, McDaniel didn't seem to capture the teenage voice in a believable way. For example, at one point in novel, Ryan hears that a coach at the school has been asking Lori out. When Lori picks him up for a tryst, he confronts her. Here's how he describes his feelings to the reader, "Rain is pelting the windows, sluicing in long noisy rivers along the glass, like a knife cutting through my heart. The windows are fogged, moist from our breath and the heat of anger. Hot wetness swells behind my eyes. I'm acting like a jerk, but I can't help myself. I have to know the truth about her and Coach" (p. 76).

To me, language like this coming from a 15/16 year old seems inauthentic, while at other times, he's completely thinking like a teenage boy. McDaniel did, however, make Lori Settles seem to be the most authentic and consistent of the characters. We see what's going on in her mind, what makes her tick, and her deliberate plot to seduce him.

Oh, and let me address the white elephant in the room: how were the sexual encounters portrayed? McDaniel tastefully describes the seduction and subsequent encounters. Without going into detail, she leaves much to the imagination and doesn't get too graphic. But don't get me wrong--we are talking about a teacher having sex with a teenage boy. It's in the book, but I was never shocked or offended or thought McDaniel went too far. Given the sensitive subject matter, I'll leave it up to you to decide whether or not you think it's appropriate for your teen, and I would only recommend this for teens.

Overall, Prey was a good story on surface level, but it lacked the depth, consistency, and authenticity that would have made it a great story. McDaniel herself admits in the author's note that this is not typical of her writing, and I commend her for stepping outside of her comfort zone. I also admire her for addressing such a serious issue and hope that teenagers who read the book will be able to spot the warning signs if their friends start to behave differently and secretively.

14 comments:

  1. I am a 17 year old girl and I have read this story. I believe that in no way is it "inauthentic" for a teenager to speak with such a vocabulary. It is rather naive of you to label Ryan under the false image of youth that many adults have found comfort in criticizing. Tell us dear Jill, how does one of Ryan's age speak? Must it always be slang? Must we all share the speech of pop culture, or are we allowed to use poetic descriptions to describe the intensity of pure passion? We may not know what romances are real, but we know that they are real to our young hearts. You will be surprised to find there are many who feel free in describing a relationship as something more as "I don't know, it just feels different." or "I love her/him. She/He's so hot!"

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  2. I am a 14 year old girl and I love this story

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  3. I am a 13 year old girl and I love the story.

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  4. I am a 13 year old girl and I believe that this book was an eye opener to these
    kind of things that actually happens, however it was sort of disbelievable that Ryan had such deep thoughts and he thought things that normal teen would
    think. This was a good but highly innoproriate book.

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  5. I am a 13 year old girl and I believe that this book was an eye opener to these
    kind of things that actually happens, however it was sort of disbelievable that Ryan had such deep thoughts and he thought things that normal teen would
    think. This was a good but highly innoproriate book.

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  6. I thought this was the best book ever! I would only recommend this book to mature young adults. Yes it’s about a touchy subject to read about. When I was finish reading it, it opened my eyes and I actually paid attention... This was a very wonderful book and I can’t stress that enough!! One of my favorites of Lurlene McDaniel!

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  7. i think it was a good book but i also think its nasty that a 30 year old teacher has chosen a 15 year old boy to well, be "hers".. and i know that at my school yeah guys will think a teacher is hot but not one of them would ever think about dating her !

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  8. im 12 and read this book. it prepared me for all the posibilities that could happen in high school. this book is amazing. it revealed so much to me. lurlene mcdaniel is amazing!

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  9. oh my gosh! my friend got you-know-what from her (male) PE teacher four years ago. she now has a son, which is humiliating for her. she never said if she wanted to do it with him or not. i agree with everything you said. stuff like this is fcked up!

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  10. this book opened my eyes to how screwed up the world is! ryan was 16 and of course all he thinks about is sex, and lori was taking advantage of him. that is not right!

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  11. if you liked this book, you should read THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER by stephen chblosky. it has sex and stuff, but more between teens, not their f***ing teachers!!!!!!!

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  12. this book came into my hands as just a book for a project. Im 16 years old and this story makes a lot of sence to me, high school students are open to anything these days & its sick but its reality. this book was well played out but i hated the ending! i hope theres a continuous 2nd part.

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  13. I am a 15 yeear old girl. In my personally opinion I believe that this book is great. Yes maybe a few parts of it are inapporiate, but honestly there are relationships all around the world that are like this.I believe that it really connects to the lives of other readers. Highschool students will do anything these days. Its terrible but thats just reality and life. This is one of the only books that I have read on my own and I believe that it is a really good book. I encourages all young readers to read this book. It will truly prepare you for what life is all about. Its not always a happy ending....

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