cover image The Trouble with Wednesdays

The Trouble with Wednesdays

Laura Nathanson. Pacer Books, $11.95 (176pp) ISBN 978-0-448-47775-6

Becky's biggest worry is that her parents may not be able to afford the braces she so desperately wants on her teeth. If Becky doesn't get braces before she gets to junior high, she's afraid her friend Hilary will dump her because she's ugly. The irony is that getting braces introduces Becky to an even bigger worry: her dentist begins sexually molesting her. Becky is so confused, and has had so little practice talking with her parents, that she even wonders if this isn't some kind of ""payment'' her parents have arranged. She turns herself off to all things physical, including her own grooming, until at last luck and a perceptive teacher help bring the horror into the open. While the parental situation in this novel is overdramatized (Becky's mother refuses to discuss unladylike topics such as money and sex, and loses herself in romance novels and wine; Becky's father is cheerful but ineffectual), what comes across realistically is Becky's confusion over why this is happening to her. The book effectively points out how important it is to get help, to share problems and, above all, not to let an adult abuse you without fighting back. (11-up)