One True Loves
Fun novel about teen's last summer before college.
Kids say
Based on 1 review
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this book.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that One True Loves, by Elise Bryant, is about NYU-bound high school graduate Lenore, who takes a Mediterranean cruise with her parents in the summer before she leaves home. This is the companion book to Bryant's Happily Ever After, which centers on Lenore's best friend, Tessa. (The two books can be read in any order.) Sex is a relatively casual matter for the teens in this book. Among the teens and young college students, here are hookups and sexually active same-sex and opposite-sex relationships. There's also a brief passage where the main character comments on her parents' sex life. Adults overindulge in drinking wine on a cruise. "S--t" and "f--k" are used multiple times.
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What's the Story?
When ONE TRUE LOVES begins, Lenore, a freshly minted high school graduate in Los Angeles, is feeling cynical about love and life. Her parents aren't satisfied that she got great grades and is bound for NYU. They're pressuring her to immediately choose an entire life path. They believe Black kids like her can't afford the luxury of finding themselves. Two boyfriends so far have dumped Lenore, both of them choosing lighter-skinned Black girls or girls who aren't Black. Her whole family is going on a Mediterranean cruise for the summer, but it's no escape. Her parents have given her an ultimatum to cement her choice of major by the end of the trip.
Is It Any Good?
This novel is a fun, emotionally accurate take on the uncertainty and anxiety that can accompany the transition from high school to college. In One True Loves, adolescent angst gets its due respect. Many teens share the problems Lenore faces: She has parents who are loving and supportive but very, very pushy. She's just learning to navigate a dating scene that's sometimes hurtful. And the future feels at turns exciting and scary. The one shortcoming is that some of the characters seem like caricatures. This is particularly true of the gifted 10-year-old, whose dialogue sometimes doesn't seem true to the life experience of any 10-year-old, regardless of IQ.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the theme of values in One True Loves. What values do you think the adults believe they hold? What values do you think the teens are observing?
Do you think it's better to have a solid life plan, go with the flow, or something in between?
What was the best family vacation you've ever taken? Why? What was the worst? Why?
Book Details
- Author: Elise Bryant
- Genre: Romance
- Topics: Adventures, Brothers and Sisters, Friendship, Great Boy Role Models, Great Girl Role Models
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Balzer + Bray
- Publication date: January 4, 2022
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 14 - 17
- Number of pages: 320
- Available on: Paperback, Nook, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
- Award: Common Sense Selection
- Last updated: April 1, 2022
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