11. Ready or Not by Meg Cabot

Ready or Not by Meg Cabot
ISBN: 10060724501
HarperCollins Children’s Books, New York, 2005
238 pages

Teaser: Samantha finds herself saving the president and being given an unpaid position as U.S. Ambassador, only to meet and start dating the presidents’ son. After a “life drawing” class, everyone assumes that Samantha is having sex.

Summary: Samantha is 15 and finds herself in a position of saving the president’s life. This leads to her having invitations to presidential events, functions and also David, the presidents’ son. They begin dating and soon her older sister and all of her girlfriends give her advice on sex. Lucy, her older sister, has been dating the same guy for three years and Samantha is somewhat surprised that they haven’t had sex yet. Lucy actually tells Samantha how she masturbates and what the best type of birth control is and buys it for her when she thinks Samantha is about to have sex. Samantha finds out that despite all the girls in school talking about when they are ready for sex, most are not and it parallels the presidents’ family value campaign. If only Samantha had not been caught in a compromising photo, the rumors would not have spread. That darned art class and trying to pay for art supplies. Now Samantha has an unpaid Ambassador gig and David, but has to get another job to pay for her artistic pursuits. In the background are her corporate parents, who suddenly notice that their daughters are growing up and spreading their wings.

Evaluation: I enjoyed the book. It was pretty graphic in areas throughout the book describing the sexual desires of the characters. It also brought out many views of family values and that most of what is bragged about in high school is not really happening. The pressures of teen sex are explored and real life priorities are outlines for the characters.

Challenge issues and age recommendation: The book talks about sex, masturbation, birth control and pressures of sex to fit into high school. The school also has a nude art class that puts Samantha and others in a position that they don’t really want to be in. I would recommend this book for readers 14 and up. It weighs the pros and cons of decision making and family values and influences on different ages of girls within the same family.