Thursday, July 9, 2009

Review: Pure

Title: Pure
Author: Terra Elan McVoy
Publication date: April 7th, 2009

Summary:

Tabitha and her four best friends all wear purity rings, symbols of the virginity-until-marriage pledge they made back in middle school. Now Tab is fifteen, and her ring has come to mean so much more. It’s a symbol of who she is and what she believes—a reminder of her promises to herself, and her bond to her friends.
But when Tab meets a boy whose kisses make her knees go weak, everything suddenly seems a lot more complicated. Tab’s best friend, Morgan, is far from supportive, and for the first time, Tabitha is forced to keep secrets from the one person with whom she’s always shared everything. When one of those secrets breaks to the surface, Tabitha finds herself at the center of a betrayal that splits her friends apart. As her entire world starts to unravel, Tab’s forced to re-examine her friendships, her faith, and what exactly it means to be pure.

Review:
I was really excited to read this book, because the concept of purity rings was intriguing to me and I'd never read much about them before. While I did enjoy reading it, it felt to me like things never went very in depth. There were 5 girls in the circle of friends (Tabitha, Morgan, Cara, Naeomi, and Priah) but I only felt like I somewhat got to know 3 of them. They each had their own purpose in the story of course, but I felt like maybe they could have each been developed a bit more. The book as a whole was very enjoyable, however I had this slight feeling that something was missing the whole time. Pure was still a great book, I'm just saying that there was potential for more depth in the characters and perhaps the plot.

A lot of the story was based on religion/church and morals (obviously the idea of the purity ring being the main one), and this is not something I'm used to in YA books. I'm not a religious person, so it took a bit of getting used to on my part to have it told so much from that perspective. However, it wasn't completely like in your face or trying to push anything. While it was a big part of the book, it was executed in such a way that anyone, religious or not, could enjoy the book. I admire how that was done, so props to the author :)

I really liked Tabitha, the main character. I felt like I could really relate to her thoughts and how she dealt with a lot of the problems that she had. Overall, I enjoyed reading this book, but it wasn't as in depth as I thought it would be, I suppose. It was a cute, light read, but if the author was going for something deeper than that, I think more could have been done with it.


Characters: 6/10
Plot: 7/10
Originality: 8/10
Writing: 8/10
Overall grade: C




9 comments:

Ella Preuss said...

The same happened to me with Sarah Dessen's Someone Like You!
Good review :o)

Briana said...

I still have to read this book. I can relate since I also have a purity ring, but I heard it's a little slow and boring. And according to you, lacking in depth.

-Briana

tashiana said...

this looks like a book i'd be interested in but judging from your review and Briana's comment, maybe not

Anonymous said...

I read about 130 pages on the PulseIt. I thought it was a little slow but t still was pretty good. I agree with your saying it could have more depth.

Marie said...

Hmm, it sounds interesting but I do like books with some depth -- but maybe for a light read it wouldn't be bad if the characters are interesting.

Lily Benan said...

It looks like an awesome book!!!!! Its been on my TBR list for a while (along with the 143 other books, yes I counted) and if I won the book, I would be soooo happy! I have a book blog as well, and I'd love love love to review it! And I'm not a religious person either, I'm actual Jewish. When i first looked at it, I thought it was a super religious book and i was like, 'eh.' Then you said it wasn't 'in your face' or anything like that. It's also a pretty good idea for a booK!
~Lily

soundistheword3 said...

This sounds really interesting. I remember I was a bit surprised when Kate Brian's The V Club first came out, because even though it was only a few years ago, it seems like being so open about sex in YA lit was still really taboo. Since then, there've been a lot of changes. I mean, I think that book has been re-released as The Virginity Club, and you can find books like Pure under the featured hardcover section in the teen/YA department at bookstores. It all fascinates me!

Kristin

Kelsey said...

I definitely want to read this book. I've heard a lot of great things about it and the plot looks so unique. Definitely on my must read list.

Shawna L. said...

Shawna Lewis
weloveourdogs@juno.com

This looks wonderful!! Your review was short but sweet just like I like them. I really like the cover eye catching but simple.
Thanks