From School Library Journal
Gr 9 Up-Keisha's senior year of high school is quite an ordeal. Her ex-boyfriend has recently committed suicide; a good friend was killed in a car crash; and she is attracted to the new track coach, the principal's college-aged son. When he begins to make advances, Keisha decides that she is mature enough to date this older man. Jonathan, however, turns out to be more than a smooth talker, and attempts to rape her after a romantic date. Readers may be overwhelmed by the soap-opera feel of this issue-laden world of suicide, anorexia, teen models, divorced or dead parents, homelessness, car accidents, and girl power. There's even a romance that Keisha doesn't see coming, but readers will. Although never didactic or preachy, the issues are there to teach a lesson. While slightly unrealistic, the book still may appeal to readers who love page-turners, as Draper has given her characters life by developing relationships and using believable teen-speak.-Angela J. Reynolds, Washington County Cooperative Library Services, Aloha, ORCopyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Gr. 8-12. It's been a hard summer for Keisha Montgomery. She is still recovering from the recent suicide of her ex-boyfriend, Andy, though she finds comfort in her tight circle of good friends and supportive family. Then handsome new track coach (and the principal's son) Jonathan Hardaway notices Keisha and sweeps her off her feet with his smooth manner. When a dinner date with Jonathan turns into attempted rape, Keisha successfully fights him off, but the incident leaves her depressed and shaken. This third title in Draper's books about Hazelwood High will draw readers anxious to follow the personable characters from Tears of a Tiger (1994) and Forged by Fire (1997). However, the teen phone conversations, so well handled in those titles, become awkward here when used to relate plot developments, and the frequently didactic tone of the characters is contrived. What's more, so many problem issues are raised--date rape, anorexia, depression, mental illness, suicide, and grief, to name a few--that the focus blurs. Yet the graduation scene, in which class president Keisha gives the closing speech, is moving and triumphant, showing Draper and her vibrant characters at their best. Debbie Carton
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Book Description
Has Keisha found happiness at last? In her senior year, things are finally looking a little brighter for Keisha. Still haunted by the suicide of her ex-boyfriend, Andy, she finds comfort in the attentions of the new track coach, twenty-three-year-old Jonathan Hathaway, the principal's son. How can Keisha not be swept off her feet by a tall, dark, handsome "lemon drop wrapped in licorice" who treats her like a woman, not a girl? But suddenly this intoxicating relationship takes a frightening turn, and Keisha is once again plunged into the darkness she's fought so hard to escape. Will Keisha ever be able to find her way back into the light?


Card catalog description
Recovering from the recent suicide of her ex-boyfriend, senior class president Keisha Montgomery finds herself attracted to a dangerous, older man.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In her senior year, things are finally looking a little brighter for Keisha. Still haunted by the suicide of her ex-boyfriend, Andy, she finds comfort in the attentions of the new track coach, twenty-three-year-old Jonathan Hathaway, the principal's son. How can Keisha not be swept off her feet by a tall, dark, handsome "lemon drop wrapped in licorice" who treats her like a woman, not a girl?