Staying Pure by Stephanie Perry Moore

• ISBN: 0802442366
• Plot summary: Payton Skky has it all--popularity, a hot boyfriend, good grades, and soon enough she will be a debutante. Payton thinks everything it too good to be true and as it turns out, it is! In a heated makeout session, her boyfriend decides he wants to take it to the next level, even though both of them have decided to wait for marriage. When Payton brings this up to him, he says he doesn't think he can wait. Eventually, Payton sees him with another girl at school and she loses it! She throws herself at him, offers sex in hopes that it will keep him with her, but in the end, he decides he wants the other girl. Payton consoles herself with music, her best friends, and of course prayer, and eventually moves on to the next young man. In this cases, Payton begins dating a young man from a rival high school, and even a heated make out session is too much for him! He too is saving himself for marriage, but he can't do it if they don't take temptation out of the equation. They both agree that they shouldn't tempt fate and instead built on their faith together by reading scripture and developing their relationship religiously instead. Payton is happy to have found someone who loves the Lord as much as she does, even if she too finds it hard to keep her hormones from taking over.
• Critical evaluation: This Christian novel about abstinence was an interesting read. I've never read Christian fiction and found it very entertaining. I've always wondering what solutions young Christian's might have when they try to preserve their virginity for marriage. It seems there are a lot of rules saying to way for marriage but not a whole lot of help one what to do in the mean time. The fact that Payton's boyfriend also wants to wait until marriage is helpful, but in order to keep their promise, Payton's boyfriend suggests they read about how God relates to their relationship and how to keep their faith strong when they may feel week. The conversations among characters was a bit strange and unrealistic at times, but I appreciated a "solution" novel, rather than just a problem novel.
• Reader's annotation: Payton Skky wants to save herself for marriage, but with all these cute young men around, she's having a hard time with it!
• About the author: Stephanie Perry Moore is a Christian fiction novelist who is from the South.
• Genre: Christian fiction
• Curriculum ties, if any: None.
• Booktalking ideas:
• How does your faith inform the decisions you make in a relationship?
• Reading level/interest age: 15+
• Challenge issues: Sexuality
• Why was this item included? I wanted to sample some Christian fiction for teens.