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    Not So Pure and Simple
    Not So Pure and Simple
    Not So Pure and Simple
    Audiobook11 hours

    Not So Pure and Simple

    Written by Lamar Giles

    Narrated by Korey Jackson

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    ""Hysterical. I couldn’t put it down.” (Nic Stone) ""I laughed, I gasped, I church grunted through every chapter."" (Tiffany D. Jackson) ""Heartfelt and hilarious on every page!"" (Justin A. Reynolds)

    4 starred reviews! * An Indie Next List Pick! * Named one of Bank Street College of Education's Best Children’s Books of the Year!

    Two-time Edgar Award finalist Lamar Giles spotlights the consequences of societal pressure, confronts toxic masculinity, and explores the complexity of what it means to be a “real man.”

    Del has had a crush on Kiera Westing since kindergarten. And now, during their junior year, she’s finally available. So when Kiera volunteers for an opportunity at their church, Del’s right behind her. Though he quickly realizes he’s inadvertently signed up for a Purity Pledge.

    His dad thinks his wires are crossed, and his best friend, Qwan, doesn’t believe any girl is worth the long game. But Del’s not about to lose his dream girl, and that’s where fellow pledger Jameer comes in. He can put in the good word. In exchange, Del just has to get answers to the Pledgers’ questions…about sex ed.

    With other boys circling Kiera like sharks, Del needs to make his move fast. But as he plots and plans, he neglects to ask the most important question: What does Kiera want? He can’t think about that too much, though, because once he gets the girl, it’ll all sort itself out. Right?

    ""With true-to-life characters and a straightforward handling of sex, including often ignored aspects of male sexuality, Giles’s thoughtful, hilarious read offers a timely viewpoint on religion, toxic masculinity, and teen sexuality."" (Publishers Weekly, ""An Anti-Racist Children's and YA Reading List"")

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateJan 21, 2020
    ISBN9780062974532
    Author

    Lamar Giles

    Lamar Giles is the Edgar Award–nominated author of the Legendary Alston Boys series, as well as several young adult novels. He is the cofounder of We Need Diverse Books and the editor of the WNDB anthology, Fresh Ink. He lives in Virginia with his family.

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    Reviews for Not So Pure and Simple

    4.5/5

    80 ratings7 reviews

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    • 5/5
      So relatable! I absolutely loved it and will definitely recommend it to younger adults! The themes discussed are so true and honest.
    • 5/5
      This was an excellent audio reading. Kept me engaged and entertained. I really enjoyed the story. Lots of lessons about different relationships, teen sex, toxic masculinity, many things. I loved it!
    • 5/5
      So good! I need the physical copy! Narrator was bomb! Would recommend!
    • 4/5
      Del has been crushing HARD on Kiera since kindergarten. He notices at church that her promise ring is gone finally. He's kind of day dreaming, but when a bunch of other teens go to the front of the church and he hears the word adventure. He's thinking there's a trip and a opening to spending time with Kiera. Nope, he's just volunteered for a Purity Pledge program. And what they are teaching seems at odds with what's happening with a new Sex Ed kind of class, requiring parental permission, at the high school. Del is such an every teen, likeable narrator, a teen who changes, is challenged, and grows throughout the course of the book with the help of his mom, sister, teachers, and group of friends. With a large number of teen pregnancies in the school the year before, there is a deep examination of the stigma of teen pregnancy on the moms (but not so much the dads) and an exploration of relationships and interactions between boys and girls (men and women). A lot to think about, discuss here and a compelling read.
    • 4/5
      Mr. Giles' ability to write about deep issues like ingrained sexism in a nuanced way needs more development as of yet. Del's understanding of his own misogyny seems sudden, limited and not reflective of the real world, which irritated me.
    • 4/5
      I really like Not So Pure and Simple because of the way the story progresses to get to its message.The novel begins by focusing on Del, our male main character with everything being from the point of view of the male person. The girls are all mentioned in regards to as "pretty" or "hot" or "pregnant." They have no depth because the boys see them as objects to have/get. Del isn't a bad guy--he just only sees the world through his own eyes. His best friend, Qwan, believes in dating as many girls as he can. He fails to really see the difference form one girl to the next. Del has crushed on Kiera since kindergarten. She always dates someone, so he's never had a chance with her. Now that she's broken it off with her boyfriend, he feels that he has a short amount of time to get her. They talk a lot about girls, but they lump females together. There are a group of girls, known as the "baby getters," who are pregnant and Del and Qwan talk about them as a group who planned the pregnancies, not as individual girls.Del decides to get close to Kiera who goes to the same church he and his mom attend. He usually doesn't pay attention, but the pastor asks who is joining a group a church. When he sees Keira, he hops up and joins, only to discover that it's a purity club. The goal is to focus on God and save sex for marriage. Because of Qwan, Del has a reputation as a player. In reality, he's far from a player. Keira finally becomes a person as he spends time with her instead of an idea that he's formed all these years. His attempts to woo her are so bad that Jameer, Keira's good friend, offers to help. Through this journey, we see less of Qwan until he resurfaces later.As the novel progresses, the points of view expand. Del's sister comes and goes until she takes up time toward the end. His sister has lots of followers on her YouTube channel where she advocates for females to take control of their lives. Del also hangs out with an old friend, one of the pregnant girls, Shianne. Shianne arranges for Del to help her, which allows him to see her for more than a "baby getter," listening to the truth instead of focusing on rumors that elevates males and denogrates females. As more and more characters are brought in as more than stereotypes, Del learns more and more about seeing beyond his own world and considering that these groups are actually individuals.What I most like about the book is the moving beyond one's small world to realizing that there are many worlds. The main idea revolves around the realization that women are treated as free property. Del has to see what life is like for females as does Qwan to an extent. This book is a great book for boys as an introduction to respect for women. It's also a great book for girls to understand what women are talking about when they demand respect. It's worth your time. It's amusing. It's real. It's truth.
    • 5/5
      Lamar Giles has written YA thrillers and middle-grade books, all featuring characters that "look like me, like the ones I didn't see in books I read growing up." His view of the hazardous lives of young black people and all the threats they face down every day also recognizes the necessity for supportive friendships and the crucial roles played by wise adults. This novel fully inhabits the Green Creek, Virginia small town world of high school "pregnancy pacts" and lack of sex education facts. Del, a junior, fries cardboard fish at a local Long John Silver clone fast food joint and has been yearning after classmate Kiera ever since he played the Cowardly Lion to her Dorothy in kindergarten. He joins "Purity Pledge", a church group run by a dictatorial old school minister, with the sole intent of getting close to Kiera. Both teens carry loaded secrets, as do the teenage mothers who find their return to school filled with obstacles and social shaming. Although the students all boast of their sexual prowess and experience, when a sex education class allows for their anonymous questions, the cool teacher in charge is astounded by their misconceptions. He's eager to provide help, but the minister does not approve, and Del is caught between. Del's sister, a feminist and rising blogger, comes through for him with critical advice and respect. There’s plenty of great dialogue, humor, and some fine plot twists within, and the ending makes the reader hope to rejoin Del and his friends as adults.Quote: “Purity Pledge? As in the sworn denial of any physical urges or pleasure to please a patriarchal oppressor?”