Purity by Jackson Pearce

Title: Purity
Author: Jackson Pearce
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Acquired: Received free for an honest review
Age Group: Young Adult
Grade: 85% or B
Buy It: Amazon

Before her mother died, Shelby promised three things: to listen to her father, to love as much as possible, and to live without restraint. Those Promises become harder to keep when Shelby's father joins the planning committee for the Princess Ball, an annual dance that ends with a ceremonial vow to live pure lives — in other words, no "bad behavior," no breaking the rules, and definitely no sex.

Torn between Promises One and Three, Shelby makes a decision — to exploit a loophole and lose her virginity before taking the vow. But somewhere between failed hookup attempts and helping her dad plan the ball, Shelby starts to understand what her mother really meant, what her father really needs, and who really has the right to her purity.

My Thoughts::
Originally, I didn't know if I wanted to read this book because I didn't know if it was for me. The summary made it sound like there would be a lot of talk of religion, which isn't really something that I'm interested in and can sometime make me feel uncomfortable. But the plot still sounded good and humorous, so I gave it a shot anyway.

Thankfully, I didn't feel awkward or uncomfortable when reading this book. Except of course when I'm supposed to. When the book did turn towards religion it didn't try to convince the reader of anything or be pushy. It simply explained the main character's thoughts about it that I am sure a lot of people have. I actually liked this because each person has to come to their own decision about religion and the book makes a strong point in making sure that people know that there is no "right" choice, it is just about what feels right for you.

That was also the same point that the book makes about sex. Everyone will make their own choices according to what feels right for them. Our main character Shelby was so funny and really a great person. She was someone that I could imagine hanging out with. Actually, I can imagine hanging out with her whole little group of friends. So few books that I read bring a decent amount of characters that aren't just stereotypes of high schoolers. Though they weren't completely original, they were a step up.

Overall I think the book explored two very important issues while also making the reader laugh and connect to the characters. Though who Shelby ends up with in this end is no surprise, I was very pleased by it.