Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Review: '89 Walls by Kate Pierson

Kate Pierson. Minneapolis: Wise Ink, 2015. pp. 264.
Rating: Decent + 🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙


Goodreads Summary: College is not in the cards for Seth. He spends his minimum wage on groceries and fakes happiness to distract his mom from the MS they both know will kill her. It’s agony to carry around a frayed love note for a girl who’s both out of his league and beneath his dignity. 

Quinn’s finishing high school on top. But that cynical, liberal guy in her social studies class makes her doubt her old assumptions. Challenging the rules now, though, would a) squander her last summer at home, b) antagonize her conservative dad, and c) make her a hypocrite.


Seth and Quinn’s passionate new romance takes them both by surprise. They keep it a secret: it’s too early to make plans and too late not to care. But it’s 1989. As politics suddenly get personal, they find themselves fighting bare-fisted for their beliefs—and each other—in the clear light of day.

I'm not a lover of politics. In fact, I dropped out of a Masters of Public Administration graduate program when I realized that it was political in nature. Do I keep up with current affairs to know what’s going on in the world around me? Mostly.  Do I talk about politics from time to time? Sure I do. Does my life revolve around politics? Nope.  Do I care to read politically-driven fiction? Not really.

Ready for some great 1980s nostalgia I dove into ’89 Walls. I went into the story thinking I would be reading a sweet, budding romance akin to those in my favorite '80s teen flicks. I finished the book in one sitting, but it was not at all what I expected.  I was quite disappointed to read page after page of politically charged conversations. Instead of a budding love, the romance is bim, bam, bang. One minute Quinn is in a five-month committed relationship and she and Seth are just classmates. Then suddenly Seth’s her new boyfriend. Their relationship progressed too fast for it to be authentic; nonetheless, the romance fell a distant second to the politics at front and center. Although the physical aspect of Seth and Quinn’s relationship was presented in a sex positive manner, I felt the actual sex scene was too explicit for a YA novel. I would recommend for older teens.


Complimentary e-galley provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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