ACTS OF LOVINGKINDNESS

In Kentsis’ YA novel, a teenage girl wrestles with the highs and lows of first love.

Francie Baum is an intellectually precocious 17-year-old smart enough to apply for early-decision admission to Duke University. However, she is not so ahead of the curve when it comes to matters of the heart—she’s only kissed two boys and has never officially had a boyfriend. All of that changes when she begins to date Eitan, a handsome high school junior with whom she falls deeply in love and to whom she ultimately loses her virginity. She couldn’t be happier with him, but their relationship is challenged when he travels to Israel for six and a half weeks (both teens are Jewish) and, for reasons inexplicable to her, he doesn’t respond to any of her letters. Meanwhile, Francie struggles with the tortured absence of her older brother, Joseph, who suffers from drug and alcohol addiction and who she hasn’t seen in four years (“When I was a lot younger, I totally revered him”). Kentsis thoughtfully portrays Francie’s bout of “real boy disease” in a way that combines humorous lightheartedness with tender gravity. Francie is neither extremely popular nor unpopular, occupying a position on the adolescent hierarchy that makes her particularly relatable. Moreover, her sensitivity, intelligence, and maturity make it much easier for the author to present the teen experience with a maximum of nuance and delicacy—the entire narrative is told from her perspective. Finally, the depiction of teenage sexuality and its exploratory aspects—a feature of the YA novel typically fraught with pitfalls—is handled with impressive authenticity. Here and there, the plot slows to a leisurely amble, but this is a minor quibble; the tale as a whole should keep readers immersed. This is a book that teens will enjoy, and one their parents should read along with them.

A realistic rendering of teen life and its tumults.