Trinity of Adolescent Difficulties

A trinity of books that could look less like a trinity from the outset. Other than the fact that they are all labeled as Young Adult novels, these books look very different.  As the old cliche' goes, "Never judge a book by it's cover". So, I gave them all a shot. Each one was selected for a different reason. Asking For It was honestly selected initially because of the cover, but once I read about it, I was intrigued to read the actual book.  The Odds of Loving Grover Cleveland was one option out of about nine for my Amazon free book of the month through my Prime membership. I was not very interested in most of the titles listed, and I thought this one might be pretty decent.  Symptoms of Being Human was suggested to me by my god-daughter, who is 16 and in the midst of her own adolescent crisis.

The first book in the trinity I would like to share is Asking For It by Louise O'Neill.  This Young Adult novel was rather a quick read.  I do believe I could have started and finished it in one day, if I didn't have the distractions of life. As that is not the case, it took me about 2 or 3 days to find the time to read it.
First, I would like to say, I am not a fan of the main character, Emma.  I found her to be very self-centered, catty, and just unlikable. I knew the basic story line of the book and hoped that I could power through my dislike for her character. The book is set in Ireland, which was a much welcomed change to many of the books I read, which are either fantasy or set in the United States.  Emma is a very popular, well liked (though I'm not sure why), beautiful high school student.  She, along with her closest friends, decide to go to a typical high school party. There is alcohol abounding at the party, no parent supervision, and some older males that are members of the local soccer team.  Emma decides that she is going to have sex with one of the players, but is rebuked for a younger girl.  She takes her frustration out with another male from the soccer team by flirting with him and accepting a pill he offers her, without asking anything about the pill.  She proceeds to have consensual sex with that soccer player, but what happens after is nothing she asked for. The next morning she is woken up on the front steps of her house by her parents, who have just come back into town. She is sore, sunburnt and has no idea how she arrived  home.  After logging into her facebook account, she discovers what happened to her after the pill and alcohol took effect.  There are very grotesque photographs of her in various positions, along with the soccer player and two high school males she considered friends.  The pictures were shocking enough, she then reads the comments and discovers that she is not as well liked as she thought she was (which is not surprising, as I couldn't stand her).  The book ends in a way you wouldn't really expect, unless something as traumatic has happened to you.
My biggest take away from this book is support.  Emma thought she had great friends, only to find out that she had no one, once the facebook posts were made.  She didn't feel that she could talk to her parents, brother, or anyone.  Being someone who has received unwanted sexual contact, I was fortunate enough to have a mother I could talk to about what happened, along with a few friends throughout life.  I am forever thankful for those listening, sympathetic ears.  Emma didn't have that and in the end, it helped her decide to do something. Many of those reading the book would disagree with her decision, but I can understand why she made the choice she did.

The second book in the trinity is: The Odds of Loving Grover Cleveland by Rebecca Crane.  This book, while serious, was not as serious as Asking For It. There were many interjections with humor and sarcasm.  The characters in the book are all in a camp, Camp Padua, for adolescents that have varying mental illnesses.  Yes, one of the characters is named Grover Cleveland. There is also one named Alex Trebek, or at least that's what the pathological liar wants us to believe. Zander is the main character and she is sent to Camp Padua because she attempted to drown herself, while participating in a swim team competition.  Her parents were very concerned that she was not dealing with the death of her younger sister well, so they sent her to camp to deal with her internal demons.  While at camp, Zander meets Cassie. Cassie has a host of problems, and does a wonderful job of pushing people away that try to help her.  As the summer wears on, Zander and Grover become intimate, Cassie learns to swim with help from Zander, and Alex expresses his deep love for Cassie (although we're not sure about that since he's known for lying). With Zander and Grover's budding relationship, and discovering her foster mother no longer wants her, Cassie has had enough and attempts to drown herself in the lake.  Zander saves her and stays by her side in the hospital.
Again, support is a vital point in this book.  Many times during her internal monologues, Zander feels a lack of support from her parents and boyfriend back home.  Grover doesn't feel support from his schizophrenic father and fears that he will end up just like his dad.  Cassie feels alone in the world and rejected by everyone who  is supposed to love her.  Each one of these characters needs support to help them realize that they are not traveling through life without anyone who is there for them.

The final book in the trinity, Symptoms of Being Human by Jeff Garvin is focused on the main character, Riley. Riley is a gender fluid teenager struggling with many internal conflicts, while trying to appear as "neutral" and "normal" as possible.  Riley's dad is a congressman who is up for reelection and has a strong education platform, so between that and a failed attempted suicide, Riley is enrolled in the local public school.  Riley is also known as Alix through a blog that offers advice to individuals who are members of the LBGTQ community.  The ridicule Riley endures does not stop once schools change, but Riley is able to make a few friends that are really there for Riley when it's needed the most and some friends online.  Solo and Bec are two misfits in the school that befriend Riley, regardless of gender rules.  Sadly, Riley gets on the bad side of one of the star football players and they don't make life easy for Riley.  After Riley is "outed" to the family, the pressure is too much to bear, so Riley leaves to confide in Bec.  Bec is no where to be found, so Riley escapes to a secret spot they share. Too bad Riley is followed by some key members of the football team. After being sexually assaulted by those football players, Riley is determined to give a face to others struggling with gender fluid issues and decides to speak at a local conference, which is promoted through the Queer Alliance in the area.
So many teenagers feel a lack of support, and this book was the perfect one to read after the previous two.  It really tied together the need to give support, even if you think someone is strong enough to bear the burden alone.  Asking For It deals with sexual assault, The Odds of Loving Grover Cleveland deals with mental issues like depression, and Symptoms of Being Human combines both of these problems into one text.  While I was reading it all I could think of was how lucky I was to be able to pick three books that didn't appear to go together, and yet all had the same underlying message of support.  Adolescents aren't the only ones who need support, adults need support too. Please don't think that these issues are only applicable to adolescents, they are applicable to any human being. Please remember to be there for those you love and give them your support. You never know when they will need it.