V is for Virgin by Kelly Oram

Synopsis:
When Val Jensen gets dumped for her decision to stay a virgin until marriage, the nasty breakup goes viral on YouTube, making her the latest internet sensation.

After days of ridicule from her peers, Val starts a school-wide campaign to rally support for her cause. She meant to make a statement, but she never dreamed the entire nation would get caught up in the controversy.

As if becoming nationally recognized as “Virgin Val” isn’t enough, Val’s already hectic life starts to spin wildly out of control when bad boy Kyle Hamilton, lead singer for the hit rock band Tralse, decides to take her abstinence as a personal challenge.

How can a girl stay true to herself when this year’s Sexiest Man Alive is doing everything in his power to win her over?

My Review:
ORIGINAL REVIEW: 4.5 stars — what a great read. And it wasn’t about adolescent romance, but about one girl and what she goes through when she announces she plans to remain a virgin until marriage. And despite that, it’s not anti-sex, but pro-thought (like wanting people to *really* be making the decision that is right for them). You know what else I loved? The relationships in this book were realistic. Both friendship-wise and relationship-wise. Chemistry was definitely present, but it didn’t become the end all be all you know? And her relationship with Cara was fabulous and heart-breaking at the same time…and again, so real to life. LOVED the epilogue. It’s not that I didn’t see it coming, I hoped for it….and it was perfect for me. Will definitely be adding Ms. Oram to my authors to watch list, her teaser of her next book had me hooked….

Basically my husband periodically would glance over at me, and he would ask “are you ok? [silent nod] good book? [silent nod with shimmering tears]”, and then later he would walk be me and I could tell he was laughing at me grinning like a fool to myself. Good book indicators.

ON REREAD: 4.5 stars — Great coming of age YA.  It definitely had an element of romance to it (uh, Kyle *ahem*), but it wasn’t really a story about that, but more a story of Valerie’s journey.  Definitely held up to a reread.  I *might* round down instead of up nowadays because I felt like the ending kind of came abruptly (though I loved the epilogue), but other than that I have remarkably similar feelings to the first time I read it.  I still felt like it wasn’t nearly as preachy as I’d expected or that it could have been…  I guess some people could take Val’s personal beliefs and make them out to be preachy, but I really felt that that was just what she believed was right for *her*, and shaped out of her own personal circumstances and whatnot.  And while I don’t personally hold the same beliefs as she does, I really wish that more teenagers felt like they had the choice, you know?

I LOVED the way her strange relationship with Kyle worked out — I don’t think it could have ended in a better way, and I felt it was quite realistic (and I’m actually super anxious to finally read book 2 and find out what happens next, though it is completely unnecessary as this book stands perfectly fine as a standalone).  As a romantic at heart, I wish there had been a bit more romance at times…  😛

And again, I wholeheartedly agree with my earlier self — the friendships in this book were so realistically portrayed, and definitely a strong point in this novel.

So yeah.  Time to find out what happens with Val and Kyle (FINALLY!).