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Gingerbread, by Rachel Cohn, is definitely a book that stands alone among all the teen literature found out there right now. To start with, the book manages to squeeze in most of her history within the first few chapters or so, beginning with abortions, crime, and sex. Blunt, I know, but that’s the way the book is. However, as you stick with it, you realize that there’s a whole lot more going on there behind the initial impression. To start with, her family situation is confusing, to say the least. Her step-father and her get along much better than she and her biological mother do, and it’s a certain fact that she’s a spoiled rich girl trying to rebel from … having money? That is a little hard to relate to, you’d think, but you actually find yourself understanding her point of view on all of it. The storyline follows her getting kicked out of the house after staying the night over at her boyfriend’s place, Shrimp. Ironically, they send her not to a boarding school or anything restrictive, but to her real father’s place in New York. While in New York she learns about all the old family secrets that are now hers, while at the same time taking a different view on her life. I suppose you could say this is yet another teen girl growing up, but it’s definitely not the cliché version of it, and the ending leaves room for the sequel (which I will definitely be reading). She is a rebel, and you’re kept turning pages trying to figure out the cause. It’s edgy and written in a very straightforward way, with no frills to soften everything up. The only down part about it I didn’t care for, really, was the ending … and of course I’m dying to tell you why, but I can’t do that because I’m not allowed to give it away, so you’ll just have to read it for yourself.
Chelsea Grimmer
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