Sex Education

by Jenny Davis

Book Overview

As a project for an unusually open class in sex education, Livvie and her boyfriend David learn to care for a pregnant young neighbor, and as they become deeply involved with her and with each other,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 053108356X
• ISBN13: 9780531083567
• Release Date: January 1988
• Publisher: Orchard Books (NY)
• Length: 150 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Age Range: 12 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 7 and higher

Customer Reviews

Beautifully depressing.

I just happened to be browsing through my high school library, and picked out this book because of the tital. It turns out that this book doesn't really have all that much do with sex, but it was a splendid read. I loved this book, I read the whole thing in one sitting because its just one of those books you can't put down. Although I was pretty depressed after finishing it, its still worth it. You can learn a lot of valuable lessons from reading Sex Education, I highly recommend it.

A superb account of a teen's asssignment: to care

Livvie is the new girl in town when she meets David in her biology class. The topic of the semester is sex education: a concerned teacher's campaign to prevent teen pregnancy, and to help young people make more informed and hopefully safer choices. Through a variety of assignments, she teaches her students not only the facts and statistics about disease and pregnancy prevention, but also how to care for someone in a non-sexual way, and how to express themselves. The teacher's realistic message is "wait as long as you can." The main project of the semester is "to care about another person." David and Livvie choose to work together, befriending Livvie's new neighbor, a frail and timid pregnant woman who seems to desperately need someone to care about her The best part about this book is Davis' sensitive writing. We experience everything through Livvie's naive eyes, especially the growing affection between her and David and the joys of first love. By contrast, the problems in the marriage of the new neighbors reveal themselves bit by bit. The horrifying climax reveals the reason Livvie pens her story from an insane asylum. Readers will feel her shock, grief and anger. The deep empathy with Livvie shows strong characterization, and the plot is much more complex than one would guess from the title. This is a book that made me smile with fond memories of my own first love, and weep for the characters. Sex Education is a must have for any young adult library.

This book rules

I don't read a lot of books, but when this was assigned in my youth lit class I decided to give it a chance, partly because I thought the title sounded promising. While I didn't learn as much as I wanted to about sex, I did have a wonderful reading experience. Highly recommended.

Heart-wrenching masterpiece of a young adult novel.

A wonderfully written novel which does not underestimate the audience it was geared for. Being a teen, I too often see books which talk down to me. Such was not the case with _Sex Education_. This book touched me so profoundly... I cannot remember when a book hasmade me cry for so long, or with so much pain and sorrow inside. I would reccomend this book to those who love a good modern tragedy... and a good cry.

A superbly written account of a teen's assignment: to care

From an insane asylum that she thinks is the sanest place in the world to be, 16 year-old Livvie is writing an account of the reason she is in the asylum to her therapist: the story of what happened to her a year ago. Livvie is the new girl in town when she meets David in her biology class. The topic of the semester is sex education, part of the teacher's effort to prevent more teen pregnancies, but also to help young people make more informed and hopefully safer decisions. Through a variety of assignments, she teaches her students not only the facts and statistics about disease and pregnancy prevention, but also how to care for someone in a non-sexual way, and how to express themselves. Her basic message, which I found to be a realistic on in this day and age -- not too liberal, not too conservative -- is "wait as long as you can." The main project of the semester is "to care about another person." David and Livvie choose to work together, befriending the pregnant young wife of Livvie's new neighbor, a frail and timid woman who seems to desperately need someone to care about her. Her often absent husband is gruff and frightening, and his over-protective attitude toward his wife seems to hint at a deeper problem. Despite his threatening looks, Livvie and David continue their mission to care for the woman, never realizing what they are getting involoved in until it is too late. The best part about this book is Davis' writing. We experience everything through Livvie's niave and innocent eyes, especially the growing affection between her and David and the joys of first love. We also become increasingly aware of the problems in the marriage of the new neighbors. In her retelling, Livvie never seems to get ahead of herself or assume the worst, so when we discover the real problem between the neighbore, and the reason for Livvie's being in an insane asylum, the reader feels the same shock, grief, and helplessness Livvie feels. The deep empathy with Livvie shows strong characterization, and the plot is much more complex than one would guess from the title. This is a book that made me smile with fond memories of my own first love, and cry for hours over the unfairness of it all. Sex Education is a must have for any young adult library. It is by far the best of Davis' work, and I look forward to seeing more of the same. Elizabeth Gallaway, Childrens Librarian