Hurricane Harvey in the news raises the relevance of this novel to a category five. The fact that we're bringing Julie Murphy--one of the best contemporary realistic fiction authors in the country--to town for a Meet the Author visit means you must put this book on your radar. I listened to the audio version. It's fantastic. The narrator is a perfect fit for Ramona's voice. Ramona is a high school senior living with her overworked and underpaid father and her nineteen-year-old pregnant sister in a too-small trailer in Eulogy, Mississippi, right off the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. When Ramona was five, Hurricane Katrina destroyed their home, and their family. Ramona's mom used the storm as an excuse to get out of town, while Ramona, her sister, and their dad scraped by in a FEMA-provided trailer until they saved enough money to buy the crappy trailer they live in now. Ramona thinks she's stuck in her situation. While her friends at school make plans for college and a prosperous future, Ramona figures she'll continue working the dead-end minimum wage jobs she has now long after graduation so she can help take care of her sister and the baby. She swears off romantic love after a tourist girl breaks her heart the summer before senior year. Ramona's all set for her role as a loveless, maiden aunt until a surprise from her past shows up--and shows her that life is so much more than she had imagined. Highly recommended to anyone looking for a realistic, sex-positive romance about teens on the brink of adulthood. Be sure to read it in time for our author visit:
Meet the Author: Julie Murphy
Wednesday, Oct. 4
12 - 1 p.m.
Lenexa City Hall
Ms. Murphy will be there with her books for sale and ready to sign, and to answer your questions.