Not Exactly a Love Story

Vinnie is deeply shaken when he's mugged at knifepoint. He gets in two fights with the book's bully, taking a beating the first time and landing a punch the second. The bully, nicknamed Biff, is sexually and physically aggressive toward Patsy.

Vinnie first sees Patsy when he spies her undressing to her bra in her bedroom. Patsy is frightened by sexually aggressive behavior by Biff, who brags to classmates about touching her breast. Vinnie is embarrassed by an erection in public while wearing leather pants. There's occasional mild kissing, and references to Patsy's mother having an affair. In their phone conversations, Vinnie identifies himself as an obscene caller, Patsy often calls him a pervert, and there are references to talking dirty and impotence.

Vinnie blurts out "wanna f--k?" in his first phone call to Patsy, surprising himself. His gym teacher's Italian name lends itself to the nickname "Mr. Goodf--k," a teen talks about touching a girl's "boob," and characters occasionally use coarse language including "jerk" and "s--t."

Vinnie's gym teacher is said to have a habit of chewing cigars and Biff reportedly smokes because he thinks it's cool.

Parents need to know that Audrey Couloumbis' Not Exactly a Love Story contains some sexual innuendo and charged repartee between a teen boy and girl. The novel explores authenticity in relationships, self-identity, and how we present ourselves to others, but these themes are propelled by Vinnie's nightly anonymous calls to Patsy, who seems sometimes put off and sometimes intrigued by what some readers might regard as stalker behavior. There's little to be concerned about, but the subtext of the relationship might give some parents pause. Parents might want to use this as a springboard to talk about privacy and conduct in a high-tech world.