Galley Talk

Beth Reynolds, Norwich Bookstore, Norwich, Vt.

by Staff -- Publishers Weekly, 8/15/2005

A book about a teacher/student relationship would not be something I would normally pick up. But the cover of Teach Me intrigued me and when I read the first page about a girl known as Nine, I had to keep reading. In truth, it was the writing that blew me away. So many pages of this galley are now dog-eared—marking passages that I know I'll want to re-read.

The author perfectly captures the awkwardness and grace of a teenager teetering on the cusp of adulthood.

Each incident in Nine's life seems so credible, and the choices she makes lead to other choices that cause her life to fall apart at the seams. The effects of her affair with Mr. Mann leave her devastated with nowhere to turn. Fortunately for Nine, friendships can be rebuilt, perhaps even stronger than before, all causing her to see her life in a different light.

[Note: Razorbill, a Penguin imprint, has moved the on-sale date of Teach Me to August 25, anticipating attention from an NBC Nightly News interview with the author, R.A. Nelson, about the book's provocative subject matter.]