My Parents are Sex Maniacs: A High School Horror Story

by Robyn Harding

Louise Harrison's folks are destroying any chance she has of enjoying 11th grade... Sixteen-year-old Louise Harrison is insecure about a lot of her hair, her fashion sense and her "big-boned" build. At least her social status is secure because her BFF (best friend forever), Sienna Marshall, is a certified member of the mega-watt crowd. But all hell breaks loose when Louise's brother walks in on their father, Len, and her friend Sienna's mother, Sunny, in a flagrantly compromising position. Soon after, Len and Sunny move in together. When Sunny decides to return home to her family, everyone lays blame for the entire fiasco on one guy, and Louise calls him dad. Louise instantly loses her BFF and is ostracized by the "it" girls at school. Just when it appears things couldn't get worse, Louise's mom announces she's pregnant-and the baby's father is Louise's math teacher! Wry and melodramatic, smart and spirited, Louise is a typical girl who just wants to fit in. This fun and upbeat novel will captivate readers as they enter Louise's wildly topsy-turvy world.

Genres: Young Adult

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

Robyn Harding is the bestselling author of several books and has written and executive produced an independent film. She lives in Vancouver, BC with her family and two cute but deadly rescue chihuahuas.

To learn more about Robyn's books visit: http://www.robynharding.com. Or follow her on Instagram: @rhardingwriter
or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorRobynH...

Reviews

[Jessica-Robyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Parents Are Sex Maniacs is about what happens when you are forced without a doubt to acknowledge that adults, despite their paternal role in your life, also have sex. When Louise's father is caught in a compromising position doing something he shouldn't have, with someone he shouldn't have, her calm family life takes a turn for the worse and we get to join her as she gets thrown into the deep end in completely unfamiliar waters with a surprising amount of humour.

Louise is such a stand out main character. I rooted for her like you wouldn't believe! I loved the way the focus of her story wasn't just about her friendships, or just about her romantic entanglements, or just about her family, but all of those things all at once. It made her experiences all the more real and all the more interesting as her life gets rather complicated.

Here Robyn Harding has reminded me how awkward and uncomfortable high school is. The high school experience is portrayed in this novel so realistically that I saw some of my own experiences and old friends echoed in her characters.

High school is a bitch. As much as we turn our noises down at popular harpies and jerk boy, the halls of any educational establishment is just as filled with hormones and uncertainty as it is teenagers trying to make their way to class. That showed through in this without the melodrama I expected.

I'll be the first to admit this type of novel won't be for everyone. Although I enjoyed the writing, I was thrown off initially by the genre. It has been a long time since I've read a contemporary YA novel set in high school without much of a romantic focus for the main character. I did not expect to enjoy this as much as I ended up enjoying it, but now I would definitely recommend this one. (There is even a lgbtq sub-plot that had me harkening back to my "everyone's flawed" Will Grayson, Will Grayson experience.)

A common theme for my December reading this year appears to be sex. First, The Color of Earth and now My Parents Are Sex Maniacs. Although these two stories are entirely different when it comes to tone and presentation there are some surprising parallels.

When it comes to sex we first learn by witnessing how our parents relationships. This is where we get our beginners glimpse into the world of sexuality (without any of the icky stuff), before we even have the opportunity to do anything ourselves. In My Parents Are Sex Maniacs how parents influence their children can be seen within each character, especially with Louise's and her best friend Sienna.

Overall, I was very happy with this book and definitely plan to read more of Harding's work. Seeing a book set close to home has made me appreciate home grown Canadian writers even more. British Columbia represent!

[Tasha Baxendale · Rating 3 out of 5]

I decided to read 'My parents are sex maniacs' because I thought it would be funny to read and a joke but then when I started reading it, I thought the book was a great quick read and clearly the title of this book is pretty provocative but it's not nearly as innapropriate as you think.

This book falls into the category of 'a book of your own choice'. This category was great for me because I liked choosing a book that didn't have to cover one of the catagories and in some ways I could relate to the main character, Louise.

This book taught me a lot about friendship. I learnt that no matter what happens and the circumstances are your friends will always be there for you and will always care about you even if your friendship ends. This happens to Louise and her bestfriend Sienna. When their parents have an affair together they have a awkward and uneasy phase between them. Their friendship ends but in the end they've had so much history together and have been such great friends that they believed there was no point in ending their friendship over a silly incident.

A character that I admired was Louise, the main character. She interested me because she was bestfriends with a girl called Sienna who is apparently the most popular girl in school and is friends with some judgemental girls who don't accept Louise. Despite being unpopular and unliked by those girls, Louise was not afraid to be herself and do things she enjoyed that might not be considered 'cool' by the in-crowd. She didn't let them get to her and when her life wasn't going too well she made some great new friends who were supportive and not judgemental.

[Canadian Children's Book Centre]

Reviewed by Elizabeth Creith

Louise and her best friend Sienna aren’t exactly two of a kind. Sienna is one of the popular girls; Louise is more interested in art and theatre. They plan to open a fashion design business together as soon as they finish high school, move to New York and get noticed. That’s before Louise’s dad and Sienna’s mom are caught cheating – in Louise’s basement during a party. Suddenly the normal angst of being the slightly frumpy, nerdy kid on the fringes of an in-group is complicated by – what else? – parents. While the romance between Louise’s dad and Sienna’s mom is short-lived, the effects are long-lasting. Suddenly Sienna no longer wants to be friends with Louise – and then Louise’s mom starts dating the algebra teacher! To complicate matters, Louise’s handsome co-worker at Orange Julius just wants to be friends, but Louise hopes for more. Harding obviously remembers well what it’s like to be a teenager, and she writes with a firm grasp of the adolescent voice. Louise is an appealing protagonist, fragile and resilient, self centred and caring. Over the course of the story she learns about the nature of friendship, loyalty, achievement and maturity in an imperfect, but still enjoyable, world.

Canadian Children's Book News (Fall 2009, Vol. 32, No. 4)

[Sherry Harvey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have just found this author and am on her third book. I love her writing. I rarely become immersed in a book anymore but I find myself anxious to get back to reading and I love that! This book was so well written, had a powerful message and did not seem like a YA piece, as so many have felt to me.
If you are a fiction junkie just download everything Robyn Harding has written.
Great writer. Compelling stories.

[Kelsey · Rating 2 out of 5]

The novel was just alright. It was cheap so I guess that makes it worth the money and, I have to admit, it was good for a few laughs. I felt so bad for her brother when he walked in on...well...let's just say that kid is going to need therapy. You know what though? It wasn't funny enough for a reread.

The blurb is right, it is very melodramatic. I mean, the main character is very melodramatic. I wanted to punch her at times. It's proof that I'm getting old.

Anyway, the writing was good enough. I mean, it was a pretty good plot and it was, as I mentioned, entertaining. I don't know. I just didn't really stand out. Also, my format was weird and the book was a stupid size and shape which already made me judge it a little bit. I almost want to say that it could have been longer. It's not that I really want it to be longer because I can't get enough. It's that it didn't really seem to build to an ending. It also covered a lot of time for how short it is. I'm starting to get used to novels that are 400 pages of just a weekend so 200 for a year or two seems a bit cramped.

So: If it's only a $1 for you like it was for me than it's probably okay that you pick it up and consider reading it. $1 is a good price for an hour of entertainment and a few laughs. I'm not sure how much more it would be worth though. I will give it one thing though. This was a very unique concept and I doubt I'll find anything else like it.

http://one-chapter-ahead.blogspot.ca/

[AnnaBnana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clearly the title of this book is pretty provocative...perhaps even a little shocking. It's not nearly as racy as you might think though.

Sixteen-year-old Louise Harrison is forced to face the fact that her parents have sex...and not just with each other. And to make matters worse, it's ruining her whole junior year.

This book took me some time to get into. In fact, I read the first couple of chapters and then put it down for a couple of weeks, only picking it back up when it was nearly time to go back to the library. I did think the set up was overly long and the detail about Louise and Sienna's fashion dreams was somewhat irritating to me (but that's not to say I don't realize there's probably an audience for this kind of thing).

Anyway, at some point, the story hooked me. I wanted to know what was going to happen and I started thinking Louise was really funny. Her inner monologues constructing entire hypothetical conversations/events based on the tiniest things was both hilarious and relatable.

[Jamie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Louise Harrison is like most sixteen-year-old girls, self-conscious of herself. Lucky for her, Louise's best friend is Sienna Marshall which keeps her high on the social ladder despite her lack of fashion sense and big-boned figure. Junior year doesn't seem like it's going to turn out so bad when Louise's younger brother catches their dad and Sienna's mom in a very compromising er... position. Louise's world is turned upside down when her family falls apart and everyone places the blame on her dad, including Sienna.

This book was cute, I guess. It was definitely more of a light, fluffy read than anything else. The story was interesting enough, Louise's internal dialogue was funny, and Harding's version of high school was realistic. My favorite character was actually Louise's younger brother, Troy. His angry outbursts kept me laughing when the rest of the characters seemed a little bland.


Read more reviews like this one at http://bookmarkedreviews.blogspot.com

[laaaaames · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably more like 2.5 stars. There was so freaking much going on, and despite that it was handled well, I wasn't loving the shift in the last section with so much emphasis on the whole Russell/unnamed-boy-so-I-don't-have-to-spoiler-this-stuff/other person love triangle.

Also really thought Louise's mom's secret was going to be a different one!

Liked the friendship stuff, loved Louise figuring out where she belonged. Not necessarily any new ground tread but I liked the emotional honesty here, how absolutely dead-on Louise's observations/fears/hopes were.

(read: 31)

[BAYA Librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

When Louise’s brother walks in on their father and her best friend Sienna’s mother fooling around, everything in Louise’s life changes – her father moves out, her mother becomes a recluse, and, worst of all, Sienna stops talking to her. As Louise starts to rebuild her life, she becomes stronger, more independent, and an increasingly interesting character to read about. Despite the naughty title, it’s a comparatively chaste read. My Parents are Sex Maniacs focuses on what teenagers can and can’t control in their lives, and does it in a funny, sincere way.

[Nellie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The beginning of the book was intriguing, but I found the main character, Louise, very unlikeable. The plot was promising, but as the plot got deeper and deeper, I found Louise's relentless whining over little things tedious and melodramatic. There were some interesting plot twists that had me hoping everything would turn out better, but my hopes were instead met by Louise overdramatic tendencies.

[Cole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good, solid fun and not as raunchy as the title might make you think. The barest tinge of Canadian-ness, too.

See my full review at http://booksaremyhomeboys.blogspot.co...

[L-A · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm calling it: this book and I are through. I started in 2010 and I haven't gone back or cared to figure out what happened to the main character, her best friend or her sex maniac parents. It's clear I'm never going to finish it.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Angsty and funny and I really enjoyed it.

[Nikki · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really humorous YA. I would recommend this to anyone who likes YA and just wants a light and funny story to read.

[Amy Mathers · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://amysmarathonofbooks.ca/my-pare...