Purity

Apr 16, 2012 Giselle rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: arc, own, contemporary

You have 5 weeks to lose your virginity… Go!

To keep her promises to her dying mother, Shelby has to find a loophole that will let her get away with breaking the vows she has to take in a few weeks. The answer: she has to have sex, STAT. A plot that starts out as mostly fluff and a bit silly, comes off being surprisingly touching by the end. I admit some things in this plot are a bit irrational. How she works around the promises, making decisions that are sometimes foolish and irresponsible, but...more You have 5 weeks to lose your virginity… Go!

To keep her promises to her dying mother, Shelby has to find a loophole that will let her get away with breaking the vows she has to take in a few weeks. The answer: she has to have sex, STAT. A plot that starts out as mostly fluff and a bit silly, comes off being surprisingly touching by the end. I admit some things in this plot are a bit irrational. How she works around the promises, making decisions that are sometimes foolish and irresponsible, but underneath it all I could understand why Shelby thought she was doing the right thing. She is, after all, guided (or misguided) from a life lived by these promises; her only parental guidance in a way.

I was pleasantly surprised by a couple of things in this book. The first is the hilariously funny narration. The humor is so honestly clever that it catches you off guard for laugh-out-loud-and-spit-coffee-all-over-the-book moments. I loved it! The second is the inclusion of a recurring religious subject matter in the plot. Do not be put off by this, though. I usually immediately shy away from religious content, but Pearce writes it into the narration - a teenager's point of view - while introducing realistic and shockingly (in my case) appealing thoughts on the matter. Shelby is questioning god's existence, unable to believe in a god that would take her mom. Her thoughts on this intrigued me greatly.

Her mother's promises, the princess ball, losing her virginity are all big storylines in the book. However, the one that is constantly hovering above all others, is Shelby's relationship with her father. Not having a mother figure to turn to, she's had difficulty connecting with him; merely running through the motions. As much as this book can be silly, fun, and fluffy, I can't deny the emotional punch of this father/daughter connection - or lack thereof. In the end, it's the most important side of this story, and one that will undoubtedly touch you.

In only 218 pages, Purity dishes out a great story full of laughter and heart. Even though we don't explore the many topics we encounter in great depths, we do tap into a lot of different issues, whether thought provoking or just there for fun. In the end, it's clearly meant for a light read with a lot of laughs and moving circumstances.

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For more of my reviews, visit my blog at Xpresso Reads (less)

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Oct 29, 2012 Emily May rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012, ya-na

2.5
This is a cute story about a father-daughter relationship after the mother has died... This is a religious/philosophical tale about the nature of faith and what lengths you should go to for the sake of your beliefs... This is a cute story about a father-daughter relationship after the mother has died... This is a religious/philosophical tale about the nature of faith and what lengths you should go to for the sake of your beliefs...This is... I don't even know. But more about that in a moment....more 2.5
This is a cute story about a father-daughter relationship after the mother has died... This is a religious/philosophical tale about the nature of faith and what lengths you should go to for the sake of your beliefs... This is a cute story about a father-daughter relationship after the mother has died... This is a religious/philosophical tale about the nature of faith and what lengths you should go to for the sake of your beliefs...This is... I don't even know. But more about that in a moment.

Purity gets an extra half star for Pearce's ability to be entertaining enough that you don't mind reading to the end even when the story kind of falls flat on its face. I found the same to be true with the only other novel of hers I have read - Sisters Red - in that the plot and especially the mystery weren't as satisfying as I had hoped for in a Red Riding Hood retelling but you could enjoy it and didn't experience any deep regret for having read it. But, having said that, I still think this may be where me and Ms Pearce part ways, I just don't have any desire right now to search out her other works.

The biggest question I have about Purity is: what the hell are you? What are you supposed to be? Where do you fit in? Are you serious or lighthearted? Because, on a serious note, the issues raised in this book about sexuality and religion are very relevant at this moment - more so in the United States than in Britain where I live. In some countries, politics and religion are so inextricably linked that questions about sexual conduct often come under political and public scrutiny: is it okay to have sex before marriage? Is it okay to have casual sex? Does god want people to be "pure"? So it wouldn't be surprising if Pearce was trying to make some kind of political or religious statement here, or alternatively just looking to explore this aspect of sex. But...

This book was very light-hearted. I get the feeling that Pearce wanted to explore a serious issue without scaring people off with too much religion and politics, but the result was a weird mixture of serious and light that really didn't work for me. She occasionally brings up deep questions about God and faith that feel out of place and, before any development is made in that direction, she quickly counteracts it with the light fluffy stuff again. This book was obviously suffering from an identity crisis that could have been solved if Pearce had stuck to one tone or the other. Personally, I think the lighter tone suits her work better and would have been more fitting with the characters, plus the religious aspect wasn't central enough in the novel to justify the occasional and random wandering off into philosophy land. If you are looking for a novel that handles the serious issue/light tone balance well, then I would recommend Me and Earl and the Dying Girl.

I would only recommend reading this if you're particularly looking for a new approach to the overdone "grief novel", it does take that kind of story in a new direction. But I wouldn't expect to find anything mind-blowingly original or thought-provoking here.

Emily is disappointed =((less)

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May 14, 2012 Mimi Valentine rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: finished-copy-for-review, boys-i-wish-were-real, pure-awesomeness, gorgeous-covers, reviewed

Warning: This book will make you laugh! You'll be smiling so much that your cheeks hurt at some points, and at others you won't be able to help aching for Shelby as she learns difficult life lessons without a mom to guide her, which no kid should have to do.

Shelby has 5 weeks to lose her virginity before she has to vow against impurity at the Princess Ball. The idea may sound juvenile at first, but it's actually NOT. It's sweet and honest. Shelby is bound by three promises she vowed to her mothe...more

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Oct 06, 2012 Ashlee-Rose Lovegood rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Hell, if Jackson Pearce wrote it, I'm reading it. :) Even if it is about purity.

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Mar 28, 2012 Shanyn (Chick Loves Lit) rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I very much enjoyed Sisters Red, as I appreciated the modern take on a fairy tale. I read some reviews after I finished that mentioned some themes I may not have liked, but I didn't pick up on them as a reader, so I didn't let them affect my opinion.

Full Review: http://chickloveslit.com/2012/03/revi...

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May 03, 2012 Angel rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2012-release, arc-for-review, little-brown, ya, favorites

I doubt anyone else will agree with me, but I think this book may topple The Fault in Our Stars as my favourite book of the year.

You can find this review and many more at Mermaid Vision Books!

Release Date:April 24, 2012
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 218
Format: Hardcover
Source: ARC received from publisher

Tell Me More:There are some books that becomes so precious to me that I can barely string two words together about how much I love them. I keep them...more

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Oct 14, 2012 April rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley, ya, ereader, contemporary

A young adult book about virginity, the loss there of and strong religious themes like Purity by Jackson Pearce is bound to cause some controversy. Y’all, I think Purity has an audience and perhaps that audience is someone like me, because it didn’t offend me like it did a few of my friends.

Read the rest of my review here

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May 24, 2012 Amanda (Pearl the Book Girl) rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, 2012-release, contemporary, april, bir-2012, dealing-with-death, religion-christianity

I read Sisters Red, Jackson's first book, last year and was underwhelmed. It was hard to say exactly why, but I just didn't connect to the story like I wanted. But Purity is a very different story from Sisters Red, and I think Jackson Pearce should write more contemporary stories, her voice translates excellently. Purity is a fantastic story about love, faith, and freedom, plus I'm a sucker for father daughter stories :)

Purity handles the topics of death, sexuality, and religion with a gentle g...more

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Jul 10, 2012 Rayne rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: comedy, contemporary, extremely-perky-protagonist, realistic-fiction, school-life, stand-alone-novel, there-s-romance-in-there-somewhere, young-adult

This is a surprisingly quick, light and funny read about topics that shouldn't be any of those things. I'm not talking just about the sex and the pressure teens get from all sides to engage in it, sometimes without really wanting to, or even about the despicable misogynistic implications of sex that are, somehow, still alive today. There's also religious beliefs and doubts, lack of communication in the family, death of a love one, peer pressure and self-awareness. Somehow, Pearce managed to put...more

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Jan 07, 2012 Rachel rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Pearce's latest contemporary is the story of 17 year old Shelby who lives life according to Three Promises she promised her mother at ten years old before her mother died. The book, although short, is funny, relatable and questions the existence of God (but does not deny or admit his existance). I found Shelby a relatable protagonist and I enjoyed her interactions with her dad and friends. Her friends Jonas and Ruby were very three dimensional. The one thing I wished was that the book was longer...more

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Mar 20, 2013 Samantha rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: tween-and-teen

This is a YA novel, for grades 9 and up. There is some bad language and several sexual situations. At the age of 10, Shelby watched her mother die of breast cancer. On what would be her last night with her mother, Shelby promised her three things: to love and listen to her father, to love as much as possible, and to live without restraint. Time passes and the now sixteen-year-old Shelby has tried to adhere to what she refers to as "the Promises". No matter what her father asks of her, she does i...more This is a YA novel, for grades 9 and up. There is some bad language and several sexual situations. At the age of 10, Shelby watched her mother die of breast cancer. On what would be her last night with her mother, Shelby promised her three things: to love and listen to her father, to love as much as possible, and to live without restraint. Time passes and the now sixteen-year-old Shelby has tried to adhere to what she refers to as "the Promises". No matter what her father asks of her, she does it. She and her friends Jonas and Ruby have created a "Life List", a bucket list of sorts to help Shelby live without restraint. Her relationship with her father is practically nonexistent as they both harbor their own personal grief but do not cross the line that will allow them share it. Then her father volunteers to chair and plan the community's annual Princess Ball. This is a huge event that girls attend with their fathers between their junior and senior year of high school, but this year it is sponsored by a local church. This is a problem for Shelby on several levels. She had no intention of ever going to ball, thinking it ridiculous and juvenile, but her dad requests she attend, thus invoking Promise #1. Then there is the whole issue of God. Shelby isn't on great terms with him or Jesus since they took her mother and pretty much destroyed her family for no apparent reason. To make matters worse, when Shelby reads the pamphlet for the Princess Ball, she discovers that the event will end with the girls making a purity pledge: no drugs, no alcohol until they are of age, and no sex until marriage. How can Shelby keep Promise #1 and listen to her father and also keep Promise #3 to live without restraint if she has to put on this "invisible chastity belt" until she decides to marry? Fortunately, she and her friends are great at finding loopholes in the Promises and her gal pal Ruby quickly comes to the conclusion that if Shelby loses her virginity before she makes the purity pledge, the pledge will be rendered null and void. Shelby, Ruby, and Jonas (very much against his will) set out to find someone that Shelby can lose her virginity with and not get a bad reputation or a STD. This isn't as easy as it sounds, and Shelby discovers along the way that she doesn't know people as well as she thinks, including her father and best friends; that she has really forgotten to keep Promise #2; and that perhaps all this rule keeping was just her way of holding on to a mother she loves dearly and lost too soon. As the parent of a 10-year-old daughter, I found myself cringing at Shelby's logic and the lack of importance she placed on her sexual purity at such a young age (spoiler: she does lose her virginity to a boy she doesn't even know), but I also found my heart aching for a little girl who made an impossible promise and then felt bound by that promise without really understanding it. I could not put the book down until I read the last page, and found myself brushing away tears at several points. This is a celebration story, however, and despite Shelby's poor decision making, she does grow and her relationship with her father is mended because of their experience with the Princess Ball. Well worth the read. (less)

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Jan 08, 2013 Eric rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm reasonably sure that, as a 30 something year old male, I have no business reading this book. I'm also quite confident that the act of reading this book has put me on some government watch list. Or several of them.

But hey if NPR puts it on one of their top 5 lists, who am I to argue?

My inner teenage girl could well identify with the the glee and terror of the Princess Ball. My older, grumpy, quite male self struggled to identify with the merits of panty selection.

There is a strength to the...more

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Jan 07, 2013 Maggie Stiefvater rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult

I talked about this one on NPR (http://www.npr.org/2012/12/22/1675627...) when I was highlighting the best 2012 YA fiction that I read IN 2012. Here's what I said:

I'm an unashamed lover of movies as well as books, and I have a special place reserved in my black heart for movies that feel like books and vice versa. Nick Hornby and John Green generally live in this zone for me, with characters and plots both walking a fine line between quirky and unbelievable. Jackson Pearce elbows her way into th...more

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Dec 31, 2012 Whatchyareading added it · review of another edition

Shelves: caitlin, contemporary, young-adult

So, a friend of mine read my copy of this before I got a chance to and she thought it was okay but not nearly as good as Jackson’s other work. I think this helped me because I went into with lower expectations and ended up really enjoying it.

First off I will say this book is completely predictable. Not necessarily in a bad way. But you know exactly how things are going to go with Shelby and Jonas (who was definitely my favourite character in this) and you know exactly what Shelby’s Dad’s motivat...more So, a friend of mine read my copy of this before I got a chance to and she thought it was okay but not nearly as good as Jackson’s other work. I think this helped me because I went into with lower expectations and ended up really enjoying it.

First off I will say this book is completely predictable. Not necessarily in a bad way. But you know exactly how things are going to go with Shelby and Jonas (who was definitely my favourite character in this) and you know exactly what Shelby’s Dad’s motivations are for doing the Princess Ball. And you’re not going to find either of those reveals shocking or anything.

That being said, I don’t think they are meant to be shocking or unexpected. And I really did enjoy both of those characters throughout the story so, whatever.

Now, if you’ve followed me throughout my internet history over the past couple years, you might be aware that I once wrote a story that involved a girl who decided she needed to lose her virginity by a certain date. I wrote this as a fanfiction (and no, I’m not mentioning what fandom, or title, or anything…probably) but it made a lot of this story a little familiar to me. Not too much, because they are very different stories and very different characters. But I think I empathized a bit more with Shelby than others? Maybe? I’ve heard some people say that they found her cold. I didn’t find that at all. I found her very confused and young and trying her best to live by the last things her mother ever said to her without having any idea how to. And that made her focused and lead her to poor decision making.

Other than that I found this to be quite a fast read and mostly harmless? Like I don’t feel one way or another about it that much. For my personal tastes I would’ve preferred less God in the story and more…reconciling. Like, at the end of the story I would’ve liked to see more of her realizing that Shelby doesn’t have to keep to the promises in quite the way she has been.

All the other things I feel are greatly tied up in spoilers so I’m simply going to say that I wished most of the things that happened had been expanded on, or shown more…in-depthly.

It only took me a couple hours to read this, and I’m a slow reader. So you’re not risking much if you decide to give this one a try. If you liked Shut Out by Kody Keplinger, I think you’ll like this one.

This book was reviewed at WhatchYAreading.net on June 30, 2012.(less)

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Dec 07, 2012 Hannah (The Irish Banana Review) rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya-contemporary

Prior to this, my only experience with Jackson Pearce had been in retold fairy tales (Sweetly and Sisters Red), so I wasn’t sure what to expect from her in a contemporary novel. I must say I was blown away. This is one of those books I cherish because the writing is just so poetic and lyrical. I’ve used the term “word art” in a few novels I’ve read (basically books where the writing is as elaborate and rich as a painting or tapestry), and that term totally applies here.

Shelby is adorable. She’s...more

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Dec 02, 2012 Shelf Talkers Anonymous rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What would you do if you had 35 days to have sex, or stay chaste until you got married? This is the dilemma that faces Shelby Crewe the summer of her 16th year. Told with laughter, stark honesty, and philosophical wit, Jackson Pearce weaves a story of one girl's desperate search to lose her virginity, and how she finds herself in the process.

As her mother lays dying, Shelby makes three promises: to listen to her father, to love as much as possible, and to live without restraint. At ten years old...more What would you do if you had 35 days to have sex, or stay chaste until you got married? This is the dilemma that faces Shelby Crewe the summer of her 16th year. Told with laughter, stark honesty, and philosophical wit, Jackson Pearce weaves a story of one girl's desperate search to lose her virginity, and how she finds herself in the process.

As her mother lays dying, Shelby makes three promises: to listen to her father, to love as much as possible, and to live without restraint. At ten years old she makes these promises without question, but six years later her life is complicated by trying to follow them. Torn between promises 1 and 3, her life is a game of doing as she's told and risking everything. When her father tells her that he's agreed to plan the annual Princess Ball and they're going together, Shelby realizes that she's going to have to make another promise, one she can't bear to make: to be pure. But no matter how she tries, she can't talk her dad out of it, so the promises dictate that she must make this new vow. Except there's a loophole: the vow won't mean anything if she doesn't have any purity to vow. So Shelby sets out on a quest to get laid.

Purity is a wonderful exploration of being sixteen and caught between feeling alive and following your beliefs. Shelby doesn't believe in God, she believes in the Promises. They are her truth and her way. But how can she continue to keep a promise that will hurt her? As much as Purity is a humorous story about one girl trying very hard to have sex, it's also about her learning what promises and truths and beliefs really mean. In the course of her journey, Shelby sheds more than one kind of innocence.

The story is livened by Shelby's two best friends, Jonas and Ruby, and the three boys she tries to bed. Jonas is of course the best friend from kindergarten that Shelby relies and trusts more than anyone else--he's also the boy that's secretly in love with her, but hasn't said anything. Ruby is the dashing, daring girl who says what she wants and does what she wants, but really at heart is a little shy and a little scared. Her vibrancy and flip humor brings laughter to all the dark moments. And then there are the potential partners: Daniel (the ex-boyfriend), Ben (the drama club player), and James (the sweet stranger). None of them are perfect and none of them are love, but Shelby is still determined to have one of them pop her cherry. Who does in the end is better left for the story to tell.

Mixed in with all the questions about sex and virginity are questions about God and belief. Shelby stopped going to church and believing in God and his powers when he let her mom die, leaving all her prayers unanswered. Yet Shelby can't stop believing in heaven, because she can't bring herself to imagine her mom trapped in the ground in her white coffin. So Shelby is stuck, a believer in doubt rather than certainty. Startlingly poignant at times, Shelby reminds us that even at our most awkward and uncertain, we can be wise.(less)

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Oct 26, 2012 Sophia Jones rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya, romance

Let me just say one thing- I loved the author's voice. It was fresh and real. The story follows Shelby who made a promise to her dying mother to listen to her father but to also live without restraint. When her dad wants her to take a purity vow her promises start to collide...unless she can lose her virginity.
Lots of YA books have romance scenes that are borderline erotica. I mean come on, we're already wild with hormones, enough do you really want to encourage it even more? But this was quic...more

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Aug 20, 2012 Samantha Jo rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

3.5 really
Purity was my first venture into an audio book, and I think it may have tainted my view of the book. Jackson has a wonderful reading voice, and the story really flowed well. However, I think that actually reading the book keeps me in the story and allows my imagination to roam. Audio books kind of inhibit me from doing so.

Okay, well to the actual story- Shelby's mom has died and as her dying wish she asked Shelby to fulfill a couple of promises for her. One happens to be a Purity Ball,...more

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Jun 27, 2012 Harmony Beaufort rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

So I've mentioned before that Jackson Pearce's book are usually a hit or miss for me and sadly, this time, it was...sort of both? Maybe? I think more of a miss but let's get my thoughts together.

The book surrounds a girl named Shelby who made three promises to her mother before she died: to love and listen to her father, to love as much as possible, and to live without restiant. I imagine that because she was a child when she made these promises and unaware at the moment of making them that it w...more So I've mentioned before that Jackson Pearce's book are usually a hit or miss for me and sadly, this time, it was...sort of both? Maybe? I think more of a miss but let's get my thoughts together.

The book surrounds a girl named Shelby who made three promises to her mother before she died: to love and listen to her father, to love as much as possible, and to live without restiant. I imagine that because she was a child when she made these promises and unaware at the moment of making them that it was going to be the last time she saw her mother, she was traumatized into following them...extremely. So when her father decides they should attend the Purity ball which includes vowing to her father to remain a virgin until marriage, she decides the only loophole is to lose her virginity before the ball. I think this whole plot line was my major problem with the story: I just seemed crazy for me for Shelby to take the promises to the extreme she does. She follows her father's rules so exactly that she doesn't try to reason with him or talk to him. Instead, she just skirts around the issue and goes whatever he says, even if she doesn't want to. I don't think her mother meant to do that and even though Shelby realizes this, I wanted to shake her and just be like: DUH!

But at the same time, I've never experienced something as awful as what happened to Shelby so I don't know how I would react in that position. Shelby was a good character overall: funny and sweet and incredibly loyal, even at a fault. The side characters Ruby and Jonas were my favorite parts about the book and it was lovely seeing them. Ruby was sassy and charming while Jonas was just so adorable with his list-making and loyalty to Shelby. Also, Pearce knows how to write delightfully awkward and funny scenes. Her writing style is simple and easy to follow while still managing an authentic teenage voice.

The romance isn't the focal point of the novel as it is with most of Pearce's work. It wasn't about Shelby realizing who she wanted in the first place but about Shelby learning that she has to talk to her father and honor her mother's memory the right way instead of doing crazy things. On the other hand, I loved her bucket list. In the end, I ended up skimming the end and just reading the final chapter because I didn't feel like reading the big revelation where she realizes her mom didn't mean what she thought she had meant because I was just like: DUDE, of course she didn't.

Overall, a book that people will enjoy but the plot just didn't work for me.(less)

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May 28, 2012 Majibookshelf Juhina & Farah rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

When I first picked up Purity, I didn’t even read the synopsis, so you can say it is another book I picked up for its cover. However when I did read the synopsis, I was a bit put off. A girl is trying to lose her virginity because of a promise she made to her deceased mother many years back? The whole plot felt absurd, HOWEVER it was delivered with tons of humor. Which is why, while the topic of Purity made me a bit uncomfortable, overall it was enjoyable because the author went for the light, f...more

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May 25, 2012 Jenny rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Purity is a beautiful tapestry of words; colorful emotional threads woven together to create a unique story rich with humor that still touches on more serious issues like God, sex, and growing up. For those (like me) who tend to steer clear of books that have prominent religious overtones, fear not, Ms. Pearce approaches the topic with an intriguing and appealing combination of gravity and levity, making Shelby’s story not so much one specifically about her faith, but rather about her confusion...more Purity is a beautiful tapestry of words; colorful emotional threads woven together to create a unique story rich with humor that still touches on more serious issues like God, sex, and growing up. For those (like me) who tend to steer clear of books that have prominent religious overtones, fear not, Ms. Pearce approaches the topic with an intriguing and appealing combination of gravity and levity, making Shelby’s story not so much one specifically about her faith, but rather about her confusion as to her beliefs in the years following the loss of her mother. Shelby’s struggle to make sense of the tragedy is something far more universal in nature than an exploration of the tenets of any particular religion, and is therefore something that instantly connects us to her regardless of our personal views.

Shelby is hilarious, at times utterly ridiculous (in an amusing way), and a complete jumble of flaws and strengths endearingly combined to create a very human, very down-to-earth young woman. Her devotion to her mother’s memory and the last promises she made to her is something we can’t help but respect despite our ability to recognize that her singular and strict interpretation of those promises is not what her mother intended for her only daughter, and it’s both painful and poignant to watch as she stumbles trying to follow her mother’s words to the very letter. She questions life, death, and God, she makes mistakes, and she seeks out a sexual relationship for all the wrong reasons, but through all of that she’s someone who has our support, and often our laughter, because we know for her to discover the intent behind her mother’s promises rather than the literal interpretation she has to walk a road of her own making.

A true highlight of Shelby’s entirely-too-short tale of self-discovery is Ms. Pearce’s extraordinary sense of humor. We spend much of the story in tears laughing at Shelby’s antics as she pursues a loophole in the principles that guide her life, with one scene in particular involving a locked glass case containing condoms at the pharmacy causing our stomachs to cramp with the force of our mirth, and our faces to turn an entertaining shade of red on her behalf. Overall, Purity is a quick and hugely entertaining read, its appeal bound to be wide in scope regardless of the religious and sexual threads that run through it as a result of a truly charming protagonist, a little romance, and a whole lot of less-than romantic escapades.

Rating: 4/5(less)

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May 07, 2012 Jeanbooknerd rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviews

After losing her mother to an ailment, young Shelby goes though life with the promises that her mother asked her to keep. She feels that these promises are the only things that keep her connected to her mother. When her father volunteers her for a Purity ball, one promise seemed too strange to keep and she learns an uncertainty that will maintain her promise before she will have to vow her purity.

Author Jackson Pearce has created a great coming of age story. Her incredible grip of the teenage mi...more

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May 05, 2012 Reading Teen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

At a Glance:

Reading Purity was a mix of enjoyment, frustration, disappointment, laughter, and sadness for me. Purity raises a lot of questions, which I really like, but didn't leave me with a sense of resolution or growth at the end. While this bothered me, I have to say, I did enjoy reading it, and will continue to read anything Jackson Pearce writes.

The Audio:

I don't know if you know this, but Jackson Pearce actually read this audiobook herself. When I got it, I didn't know that, so I was real...more

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Apr 30, 2012 Krista (CubicleBlindness Reviews) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Going into this story I admit that I was hoping to have more humor to it. It turned out to be a more thought provoking book for me. I am sure that the author meant to spark discussion with the book and the way that sex is approached in it. After finishing it, and time to think about what I have just read. I find that if I were in the same kind of situation I would have interpreted what my mother said differently than this main character had.
I feel that the focus of her concerns were on sex. And...more

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Apr 18, 2012 Justin rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Purity ended up being much more than I thought it would be. I thought it sounded amazing just based on the description, but that doesn't even begin to describe just how beautiful this book is. It's a really sad book in ways, but it also has some very happy moments where it really shines. This is the first of Jackson's books that I have read, but I have heard a lot of people talk about how amazing her writing is. And I can see why now. I've read a lot of great Contemporary books, but Purity is re...more Purity ended up being much more than I thought it would be. I thought it sounded amazing just based on the description, but that doesn't even begin to describe just how beautiful this book is. It's a really sad book in ways, but it also has some very happy moments where it really shines. This is the first of Jackson's books that I have read, but I have heard a lot of people talk about how amazing her writing is. And I can see why now. I've read a lot of great Contemporary books, but Purity is really something special.

The story in Purity is a lot more complex than I thought it would be. And I love how in the Authors note Jackson talked about how she had originally planned for this book to be a lighthearted, funny story about a girl losing her virginity. While there is a focus on that throughout the story, I didn't really feel like it was a huge focus and I thought all of the sex related context was very subtle and nicely done. I was glad to see that it didn't hold such a huge grasp on the story, because I became a lot more attached to other parts of the story that were much more important in my opinion. I was moved by the part of the story dealing with the loss of Shelby's mom, and the three promises she had made to her. I really liked that she tried her best to keep those three promises, no matter what. Then you have the relationship between Shelby and her dad. This was by far my favorite part of the story, seeing how their relationship grew throughout the story after the tragic loss and how they slowly learn to truly be there for each other.

I'm a little conflicted when it comes to the characters. I loved Shelby, Shelby's Dad, Jonas, Ruby and several of the other more prominent characters. They were all extremely well written, and I really enjoyed their respective relationships in the story. They all shared something special, which all had a huge impact on the story as a whole. With that said, I didn't really care for a lot of the minor characters. While it's probably not very important, since most of them only show up for maybe 3-4 scenes throughout the book I just dreaded the scenes that they were in.

The ending really got to me. Everything built up to it, but I just wasn't sure how well it would actually turn out. And I mean that in the sense of Shelby's relationship for her dad, you really want them to be able to become close and be there for each other. But you just don't know how exactly all of that will play out. I really liked how the Questions they each had to answer as part of the Princess Ball played such a important role throughout the story, and the ending.

I would highly recommend this book. It's a sad book, yes. But there are plenty of moments that will having you laughing, and happy. I am almost positive that this book will cause some readers to cry during certain parts, but that's not really a bad thing. It's a beautifully written book, with an extremely powerful story on many different levels. This is one of those books you should give a chance. I know not everyone will have the same opinion as me when they read it, but I truly think you will enjoy this book if it even sounds remotely interesting to you.(less)

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Apr 10, 2012 Wandering Librarians rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: family, fiction, friendship, realistic-fiction, romance, ya

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Shelby made her mother three promises before she died: listen to her father, love as much as possible and to live without restraint. Shelby has lived by the Promises for years, but now she's run in to trouble. Her father wants her to help with and participate in the Princess Ball, a father-daughter dance that includes a vow to live a pure life - no drinking, no drugs, and no sex before marriage. Shelby doesn't want to make the vow, but she can't go against Promise 1. Shelby decides the only solu...more Shelby made her mother three promises before she died: listen to her father, love as much as possible and to live without restraint. Shelby has lived by the Promises for years, but now she's run in to trouble. Her father wants her to help with and participate in the Princess Ball, a father-daughter dance that includes a vow to live a pure life - no drinking, no drugs, and no sex before marriage. Shelby doesn't want to make the vow, but she can't go against Promise 1. Shelby decides the only solution is to have sex before the ball, thereby negating the vow. She's in a race against time to lose her virginity.

So this was...predictable. Yes, that's how I would sum up this book. Super predicable. By the time I was on page 20 it was plenty clear exactly where this book was going and what was going to have happened by the end.

Shelby has two close friends, Ruby, her fun-loving adventurous crazy friend and Jonas, her organized, serious, male friend. Together they help Shelby live life to the fullest by jumping of bridges and so forth. Shelby has practically no relationship with her father. They are awkward and uncomfortable together, and never have any kind of conversation.

As soon as this information was presented I had the book figured out. Shelby was at some point going to realize she was in love with Jonas all along, and Jonas has been in love with her all along but already knew it. Also, Shelby and her father were going to become closer as they are forced to work together on this crazy Princess Ball thing.

And that is exactly what happened. Shelby works out THE WORST PLAN EVER of having sex with a random guy she doesn't care about to negate the Promise because IT IS THE ONLY WAY because having to actually talk to her dad about feelings is six million times worse than having sex with practically a stranger. And yes, I know adolescents have swollen amygdales and therefore they often make reckless and stupid choices but damn, what a crazy-ass plan. One that her friends, while not necessary approve of, support.

So Shelby proceeds to try to have sex with several people and it all ends badly. Shelby has no game. Also, she won't have sex with someone who won't use a condom, so she's not a total idiot. That was nice.

THEN Shelby finds out Jonas had sex with someone once and she's totally upset and angry and hurt and trying to figure out why, oh why does she feel this way? She figures it out...and then proceeds to finally have sex with a perfectly nice guy from Ruby's work. That was the only surprising thing in this book. I was totally surprised that Shelby actually went through with the having sex with someone she didn't really care about. After she'd figured out she cared about Jonas. It felt very strange. So that was the one unpredictable moment in the book. Don't worry, Jonas seems cool with Shelby having sex with someone else, even though he was upset about it before.

And yes, Shelby and her father are much closer now, and Shelby realizes she's been ignoring Promise 2 all along, and blindly following the others.

There were some genuinely funny moments and some witty dialogue. I definitely think it will be a hit with teens.

Purity comes out April 24, 2012.(less)

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Mar 19, 2012 Kelly Hager rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelby's mom died when she was little. Before she did, though, she made Shelby promise three things: to listen to her father, to love as much as possible and to live a life without restraint. Shelby clings to those promises, because they're now as close as she can get to her mom and basically her mom's last pieces of advice. She and her dad get along fine, living parallel but not particularly close lives. She has high school and her friends; he has his job and a habit of volunteering for every c...more Shelby's mom died when she was little. Before she did, though, she made Shelby promise three things: to listen to her father, to love as much as possible and to live a life without restraint. Shelby clings to those promises, because they're now as close as she can get to her mom and basically her mom's last pieces of advice. She and her dad get along fine, living parallel but not particularly close lives. She has high school and her friends; he has his job and a habit of volunteering for every committee that comes his way.

And then her dad announces that he has a new project, one for both of them. They're going to plan the Princess Ball...which is a purity ball. And at the end, there will be vows that each girl will abstain from drugs (forever), drinking (until they're of age, and then only in moderation) and sex (until marriage). Here's the thing: if she promises that, she will have to obey it. And Shelby doesn't want to get married young, but she ALSO doesn't want to be a virgin in her 30s (when she does plan on marrying). So how to listen to her dad in this case? But Shelby's found a loophole. If she loses her virginity BEFORE she takes the pledge, then she's home free.

I'll be honest, I read this book at the exact perfect time. It's just a few days after the anniversary of my dad's death (a traditionally awful time for me) and Shelby was the perfect narrator. This book isn't completely grief-soaked but at the same time, the lack of her mom is all over this book.

Also, the idea of purity balls fascinates and repels me in equal measure. If I had a daughter, I would tell her to wait until she's in college but the number one lesson about sex, the most important one? Do not ever have sex or not have sex based on what someone else tells you to do. We each know our bodies and our hearts, and we're the ones who know when we're ready or when we're not.

As a grownup reading this, was it sad that Shelby wanted this loophole and to sleep with someone she didn't particularly care for/about? A little, yes. But at the same time, it's sex. And I would rather my imaginary daughter have a first time like that than one that she thought mattered until the other person absolutely smashed her heart to bits. And I'd be willing to bet the second case is a lot more prevalent (it was in my case).

I absolutely adored this book, but again, I read it at the perfect time. I'm not entirely sure that it'll translate for everyone. Even so, I highly recommend it.
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Mar 08, 2012 Erika rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2012

Title: Purity
Author: Jackson Pearce
Publisher: Little, Brown Children’s
Number of Pages: 224
Date of Release: April 24th, 2012
Summary From Goodreads:

A novel about love, loss, and sex -- but not necessarily in that order.

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...more Title: Purity
Author: Jackson Pearce
Publisher: Little, Brown Children’s
Number of Pages: 224
Date of Release: April 24th, 2012
Summary From Goodreads:

A novel about love, loss, and sex -- but not necessarily in that order.

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.

Review: Before I read Purity I had no idea there were balls where daughters make vows to live pure lives. Now I have a plethora of knowledge and most of it is quite fascinating. Jackson Pearce has written an insightful contemporary her readers will be able to relate to. You don’t have to have attended one of these balls to know the pressure pressed on teen girls to stay ‘pure’, but yet it is frowned upon by the general school population. It’s all very confusing and Purity has walked these lines perfectly and I loved that Jackson Pearce didn’t show her favoritism toward one of those beliefs. She laid out the feelings of Shelby and let her character explore the repercussions of her actions.

Shelby was a bit confusing at first. I mean I couldn’t figure out her need to rebel and lose her virginity before the ball until I had read further into the novel. Then I started to see where she was coming from. Which just goes to show even in books, don’t judge someone before you know why they have chosen what they have. The sociology in that is quite fascinating but that is so for another time guys! Once I got over that I found I did enjoy reading about Shelby.

Overall Purity is a great short read. It really gets you thinking about purity and what it really means and how you should handle that. Jackson Pearce has taken something controversial and tip toed that fine line brilliantly like her fans knew she would. I cannot wait to see what she has up her sleeve next!!
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Feb 25, 2012 Patty rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Since the death of her mother, Shelby Crewe has attempted to honor the three promises she made to her: listen to her father, love as much as possible, and live without restraint. Balancing these promises becomes much more complicated when her father becomes the chairman of the Princess Ball, an annual event at which daughters vow to live "pure lives".

I liked this book far more than I anticipated. I find the idea of purity balls unsettling; the symbolism of rings, roses, and vows seems to blur th...more

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Jun 06, 2012 Hallie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ya, audiobook

This was a very odd book, which in the end won me over despite some pretty major reservations. It's not often that I feel the need to flag this fact, but I did read this as a not-at-all-young adult and furthermore, as a mother (of girls). However, I also read it as someone whose father died when she was 7, and who wasn't even in the same continent as her parents at the time.

There's not much point in copying and pasting the description above of the book, although I do want to comment on this des...more This was a very odd book, which in the end won me over despite some pretty major reservations. It's not often that I feel the need to flag this fact, but I did read this as a not-at-all-young adult and furthermore, as a mother (of girls). However, I also read it as someone whose father died when she was 7, and who wasn't even in the same continent as her parents at the time.

There's not much point in copying and pasting the description above of the book, although I do want to comment on this description of the vow that is to come at the end of the Princess Ball: 'to live pure lives -- in other words, no "bad behavior," no breaking the rules, and definitely no sex'. It's actually much less vague than that - no alcohol before legal drinking age (and not excessive amounts after), no drugs and no pre-marital sex. And that last line 'who has a right to her purity'? Horrible.

Anyway, the reason I said the book is odd is the sense I got when reading of the layers of book (to a certain extent justified by the acknowledgments section, in which Pearce said she'd originally planned for a very light and fluffy book, and thanked fellow writers who'd helped her to write something much deeper and more introspective). Layer 1 was, to my mind, pretty silly. That was the part of the book relating to Shelby's contortions over trying to keep promise 1 (love and listen to your dad) and promise 3 (live without restraint), when her father is pushing her into attending the Princess Ball with him, where she'll have to vow not to have sex until she's married. The loophole she and her friends come up with is that if she's *already* had sex when she takes the vow, it's meaningless. So she's got to find a guy willing to have sex (with condom!, without high likelihood of STDs!) and who'll be happy to just leave it at that. Wham, bam, thank you sir. It's more a rom-com film set-up than a real novel, to my mind.

But, that's definitely not all the book has, and layer 2 - including Shelby's striving to live up to the promises she made to her mother, her questioning of religion, of God, and the gradual growth of her understanding - was moving. She comes to see what has been glaringly obvious to the reader throughout - that her mother would *never* be happy with her finding some random guy to hook up with, in order to create a loophole of this kind.

I suppose that's where I don't think the two layers of the book fit that well together, because Shelby seems smart enough to have figured out sooner that this type of game playing to abide by the letter of the law with respect to the promises, is actually a deeply dishonest way of appearing to be loyal to promises made. Especially as she has two very close friends who are supportive of her attempts to keep the promises, and also smart and kind. But I managed to accept that this is just the way it's happened, and then was able to appreciate her working it out. Along the way, Shelby has fun with her father for the first time in ages, makes some pretty rotten decisions, and realises what, again, the reader will have known all along are her feelings towards Jonas.

Finally, the whole idea of the Princess Ball appalled me, though I suspect that things of the sort aren't that unusual in the States. I found the wearing white, having the big wedding-style cake and making vows - between father and daughter - quite disturbing. Attaching the pledges to 'purity' onto what is supposedly a social event makes it even worse, as this became coercive rather than supportive. It was nice that Shelby found a surprising lack of correlation between the apparent 'goodness' of the girls participating and the actual sincerity of their feelings towards the event. Not that it actually should be surprising, but Shelby is, I think, intentionally shown as rather young in some of her emotional understanding.

No book is for everyone, and this one may not be for a lot more people than is the case with many other books. Some readers are doubtless going to be bored or offended by the religious questioning; some by Shelby's decision to engage in a casual sexual encounter, and willingness to use a guy to get what she wants; some will probably find the mixture of funny and silly with much greater emotional depth doesn't work. I ended up caring a lot for all of the main characters, and finding many of the emotional responses very true. And the life list itself was wonderful, but the scene in which Shelby goes by herself to 'cross off' one item from it had me in tears.

Note on the audiobook: Pearce herself reads it, and reads it very well. Nicely pitched, and whatever about authorial intention it was good to know that there weren't any distortions of character or tone by a reader. The acknowledgments at the end, especially when Pearce thanked her mother and grandmother for inspiring a scene with Shelby's mother when she's near death, had me in tears again.(less)

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