Tanya Lee Stone, author of A Bad Boy Can Be Good For a Girl, did an author chat on YA Author Cafe this evening, so I made a trip to the store to pick up a copy of the book. I read the whole thing while lurking on the chat (it's a novel-in-verse, so it's a quick read). I love the title, since I learned a lot from the bad boys I dated in high school, and I had high hopes for the book. I enjoyed it, but it really left me wanting more. Told from the point of view of three different girls taken in by the Bad Boy, the story concept is great. However, I always feel like novels in verse just skim the top of things, when I want to delve deeper. I wanted a novel about Josie, Nicolette, Aviva and Bad Boy. I wanted more description (although some of the sex scenes are a little descriptive), more... I don't know, just more. But I did love the Judy Blume/Forever references.
Speaking of sex, Stone has a great article in VOYA this month on teen sexuality and YA lit: Now and Forever: The Power of Sex in Young Adult Literature. She talks about some of the new imprints, like S&S's Pulse and Penguin's Razorbill, that are pushing the edge, and about how important it is that we don't shy away from this topic in literature for teens. Just how important is it? Check out Benoit Denizet-Lewis's piece in New York Magazine, Friends, Friends With Benefits, and the Benefits of the Local Mall.
For another interview with Tanya Lee Stone, check out this one she did for Not Your Mother's Book Club.