LitPick Review
"Jailbait," by Leslea Newman, is a thoughtful lesson on life through the quirky voice of a teenage loner from Long Island. Finding no acceptance, Andi endures the critical comments of her aloof mother and needy father. At first, her only confidant is a fenced cow on route to school. But in time, Andi finds escape in Frank, an older man who is the first person to make her feel special. Through a series of meetings, Andi must decide how much she will surrender to Frank's unpredicatable and abusive behavior.
Opinion:
Andi recounts her experience conversational tone bringing the reader to her side with heightened empathy. She doesn't need to say she is embarrassed, angry or exhilarated; these emotions scream through every situation Andi encounters. There are three sexually dominated scenes, but no excessive graphic detail. More energy is wittily focused on language.
Newman, author of over 50 works of fiction, demonstrates her uncanny ability to write in the voice of an adolescent girl living in the 70's. Among many amusing conversations, Andi refers to her parents as "the 'Rents," or, even more hip, Shirley and Fred. Language is also used to reveal Andi's innocence as she awkwardly learns that a "raincoat" is also slang for "condom," and "jailbait" means a girl with whom sexual intercourse is punishable as rape because of her youth. Whether or not the reader is familiar with such terms, or is discovering a new vocabulary for the first time, Newman is genius in her language.
The book is not short on sentiment or style, but does possess an annoying ping-pong structure as it predictably bounces from Andi's life at home to Andi's life with Frank and Andi's life at home and Andi's life with Frank and you get the point. Nevertheless, Jailbait has a lot to say about self-worth and is highly recommended for older teens.
